Politicians 1, taxpayers 0 in Avon Township

It felt like a scene right out of the Chicago Democrat Machine at Tuesday night's Avon Township Board meeting. The meeting was called by the trustees to discuss the possible censure of Township Supervisor Terry Wilke, who also serves on the Lake County Board, for a litany of charges laid out by Trustee Steven Vaughn in what he referred to as "unprofessional and unacceptable" conduct against the taxpayers.

Among the charges against Supervisor Wilke, who also sits on the Ethics Committee in his role as county board member, were claims that he:

• purchased automobiles for the township without notification to nor approval of the board as required by law;

• personally collected almost $1,000 over 14 months from Lake County in mileage reimbursement for vehicles owned by the township;

• hired attorney David Weinstein, husband of fellow Democrat, Circuit Clerk of the Court Erin Cartwright Weinstein, without the advice and consent of the board as required by law;

• purchased property for the township without direction from the electors, nor approval from the board as required by law; and

• procured claims against the township without trustee approval as required by law.

I was surprised the charges did not include other claims of inappropriate acts by Wilke, which include intentionally paying a bill that the trustees specifically rejected; inaccurately calling the trustees liars in front of 50 to 60 residents; claiming he represented the township at county board meetings while justifying his use of township property for county business (not just inaccurate, but grossly improper); attempting to procure a line of credit of $250,000 from a bank to rehab a property in an attempt to bypass the township budget.

Based on the many comments and reprimands by all of the trustees aimed at Wilke going back to at least December of 2018, it appeared the vote to censure was imminent.

But a vote to censure didn't happen. In a surprising reversal Trustee Patrick Duby and Trustee Paul Law stated their wish to defer the censure vote to give Wilke an opportunity to correct the charges levied against him, indicating that as long as Wilke paid back the county for the money he took and corrected the inappropriate actions, a censure would not be necessary.

Former Lake County Board Chairman, Aaron Lawlor, Republican from Vernon Hills, removed himself from contention in his 2018 reelection bid, when current County Board Chair Sandy Hart, Democrat from Lake Bluff, mounted a rightful offense against him for using his County P-Card for personal expenses, even though he had paid the county back.

Personally, I would be interested in knowing how Wilke's colleagues on the Lake County Board, especially Sandy Hart, feel about the possibility Wilke:

• claimed he represents the township at county board meetings;

• drove a township-owned vehicle for county business;

• accepted mileage reimbursement from the county for his use of township-owned vehicles; or

• lacks understanding of how budgets work.

I'd like to know if they feel that Wilke's actions as described constitute honest, transparent and ethical behavior, and if they believe Wilke's roles as both supervisor and county board member cause a conflict of interest where the duties of either office are such that one cannot, in every instance, properly and faithfully perform all of the duties of both.

Our systems are set up to provide checks and balances, to prevent any one person from taking advantage of the taxpayers' good faith and to ensure the rules are followed, to encourage good will between elected officials and all of the constituents they represent, so that regardless of the purpose of action, it can stand up to the toughest scrutiny by any. In a state where it feels like the politicians always win, it would be nice to see the taxpayers win one for a change.

Dick Barr, of Round Lake Beach, is a Lake County Board member representing the 3rd District, which includes parts of Avon Township and most of Lake Villa Township.