Lauzen handing off projects after OKing illegal contracts
In the wake of illegal actions by Kane County Board Chairman Chris Lauzen, county officials will discuss just how much power Lauzen has.
Lauzen called for the discussion himself at Tuesday's county board meeting.
"We will have a discussion on county structure," Lauzen said. "I think we've had a shift about where we stand on that. I received clear feedback a week ago. I take it to heart. All of us, including me, want to do our best."
Last week's feedback came in the form of a full recounting of Lauzen's hiring of an outside law firm to perform consulting work. The consulting, which State's Attorney Joe McMahon said clearly entailed unauthorized legal work, involve three projects Lauzen hopes will create new revenue to defer the need for future tax increases.
McMahon said Lauzen illegally hired the firm and spent taxpayer money without the knowledge and permission of his office or the county board and without a competitive bidding process. At least part of the work involved using taxpayer money to benefit a private waste-to-fuel enterprise, McMahon said in a memo to county board members.
In light of that, county board members tabled a proposal Lauzen crafted to get their approval to hire the law firm after the fact.
Lauzen said Tuesday he would transfer the fate of the income generation projects to the board. The transportation committee would take on responsibility for Lauzen's cellphone amplification project, selling access to the county's fiber optic network would be handled by the administration committee, and the board's energy and environmental committee would tackle the idea of bringing in a waste-to-fuel facility.
"I appreciate this board is the elected authority. … All matters are initiated and then managed by the board," Lauzen said of his understanding of the power structure moving forward. "We would ask those leaders of those committees (to) keep the rest of us up to speed."
County board members can weigh in on taking over those projects during an Oct. 25 discussion on the power structure. McMahon already spelled out why Lauzen does not have the same ability to enter into contracts and spend money that some other elected county officials have.
"The county board chairman does not have internal control over the operations of the county as other elected officials do," McMahon wrote in a memo to board members. "No internal control statute exists for the position of county board chairman in Illinois. In fact, Illinois courts have explicitly held that a county board alone has the authority to bind a county to a contract, and that a county board chairman does not have that power unless it has been bestowed by the board. The Kane County Board has not conferred that authority to the county board chairman."
Lauzen has explained the need to hire the outside law firm came from the state's attorney's office indicating the county couldn't pursue the projects. McMahon's memo said his office has never issued a legal opinion on any of the projects. His staff members, he said, were never asked for an opinion. McMahon said Tuesday he's ready to help county board members navigate specific projects they bring forward.
"Each of these issues has legal and legislative challenges," McMahon said. "We will work with the county board and the committees in a collaborative manner."
Any consequences for Lauzen for the illegal contracts are unknown. McMahon documented at least $11,693 in unauthorized use of tax dollars.