DuPage forest preserve sues wildlife foundation

The DuPage County Forest Preserve is suing a fundraising group that splintered from the district last year.

The forest preserve commission approved the lawsuit during Tuesday's meeting.

Commissioners believe more than $500,000 is being withheld from the district and the Willowbrook Wildlife Center since the DuPage Wildlife Foundation changed its name and mission last year.

Forest preserve attorney Jim Knippen said the foundation raised the majority of its monetary assets when it was known as the Willowbrook Wildlife Foundation, and the district and injured animal refuge in Glen Ellyn were the lone beneficiaries of the group.

"Under Illinois law a charitable organization does have the ability to amend its corporate purpose, but it doesn't have any authority to use funds that were donated under the prior purpose for their new purpose," Knippen said.

The group is now raising money for any wildlife preservation activities they want to fund, he said. This summer, the group donated $7,500 to the Fox Valley Wildlife Center in Maple Park, Knippen added.

Coco Luedi, president of the DuPage Wildlife Foundation, said the group split from the forest preserve over financial accountability concerns.

"When I became president the books weren't handled properly and it took us all the way until now to straighten everything up," she said. "We got away because (the forest preserve was) mishandling our funds and basically there were lots and lot of problems with the money."

Luedi also questioned why the suit was filed a year and a half after the breakup.

Forest preserve commission President Dewey Pierotti said the district thought it could mend fences with the foundation.

"We thought they were going to cooperate with us, and we didn't think it was going to come to this," said forest preserve commission President Dewey Pierotti. "This wasn't an impetuous act, it was well thought out. We shouldn't be criticized for taking this long to do it because we were trying to resolve this in a more friendly manner."

Knippen is basing the suit on tax returns the organization submitted June 30, 2008, just two months after the foundation changed its name, that showed the group had $636,034 in its coffers.

"We have no information or evidence that between the time they changed their corporate purpose on April 8 until the tax returns were filed that they engaged in any additional fundraising activities," he said.

Luedi claims those dollar figures are high, but she didn't know offhand how much money was in the foundation's coffers when the name and mission was changed.

The suit seeks to have funds raised under the auspices of the Willowbrook Wildlife Foundation turned over to a charitable trust and refuse the group's leadership from being able to administer those assets in the future. Knippen also is hoping a judge will not allow the foundation to use any of those funds to fight the lawsuit.

Attorney General Lisa Madigan's office has also expressed an interest in the case and have agreed to participate, Knippen said.