Island Lake Trustee Doehler resigns unexpectedly
Embattled Island Lake Trustee Sandy Doehler has unexpectedly quit.
Doehler, who has been feuding with Mayor Charles Amrich and other trustees for months, resigned after a heated disagreement with officials near the end of Thursday night's village board meeting. Doehler abruptly left the boardroom afterward.
Doehler didn't respond to phone messages or emails Friday. She had not submitted her resignation in writing as of Friday afternoon, Clerk Georgine Cooper said.
Doehler was nearing the end of a 4-year term on the board. She did not file to run for re-election next April.
It'll be up to Amrich and the remaining trustees to appoint someone to finish Doehler's term. Amrich had little to say about Doehler's resignation Friday.
"She had her reason for doing it, and whatever it is, it is," he said.
In September, Doehler has been censured by Amrich and the board for her behavior during the village's Independence Day parade.
According to the censure resolution, Doehler made "offensive gestures and insulting comments to village employees and a fellow trustee" who were participating in the parade. Doehler was watching the parade from her driveway, not participating in it.
The allegation was publicly levied by a resident at a board meeting. Trustee Jennifer Villareal subsequently brought up the dispute at multiple board meetings and asked Doehler to apologize.
Doehler refused, insisting she wasn't representing the village during the parade and that she had the right to express displeasure with other elected officials.
Doehler was part of the board majority that voted this fall to hire an attorney to investigate allegations of harassment involving the police department and village employees. That investigation led to the firing of Police Chief Anthony Sciarrone and a part-time officer.
Action regarding two other officers is pending, Interim Chief Dan Palmer said.
Earlier in the year, Doehler objected to an exclusive police-related towing arrangement with a company whose owner donated money to Sciarrone and Amrich's 2013 political campaign.
Doehler said that exclusive pact undermined government transparency and fairness.