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Illinois

Tensions are likely to play out at a northwest suburban township board meeting Tuesday night, as trustees consider how to move forward after a messy investigation into sexual harassment allegations.

Maine Township Trustee Kim Jones made her allegations against Trustee David Carrabotta public a few months ago. Jones alleges the fellow Republican intentionally touched her inappropriately on three separate occasions in the past year during group photos taken of the township trustees. […]

And in December, local governments got word they’d need to update their sexual harassment policies by mid-January to explicitly outlaw harassment and direct employees where to report it. But some say the problem is that there’s no statewide inspector general for local governments, and there’s no standard, or office, for investigating ethics complaints.

“It shouldn’t be so difficult for someone to file a sexual harassment claim,” state Democratic Sen. Laura Murphy said. “It’s difficult enough for them to come forward with it.”

Murphy is the chief sponsor on a bill that would create an inspector general’s office for local governments. She says the allegations within the Maine Township board highlight exactly why such an office is necessary.

Thoughts?

* More bills…

* ICOY Calls on the General Assembly to Override Rauner’s SB2662 Veto: This task force is needed to examine and develop recommendations on how to improve the contracting relationship and partnership between the state and private nonprofit human service providers so they work effectively and efficiently to improve the well-being of all Illinoisans.

* Legislation aims to make grant process more transparent: Among new requirements introduced in the legislation is grant dollars must be spent or distributed during the fiscal year for which they are appropriated. … [and creates] a blackout period before elections when state officials are not allowed to make grant announcements.

* New law requires Illinois insurers to cover hearing aids for children

* Rauner signs bill tightening notification requirements after gas leaks: That provision is aimed at preventing a repeat of a 2016 incident in which there was a leak at Peoples Gas’ Manlove Field — an underground natural gas storage facility in Champaign County — which wasn’t quickly reported to residents and authorities. The leak is said to have contaminated private water wells.

* Chicago Considers Banning Horse-Drawn Carriages

posted by Rich Miller
Tuesday, Aug 28, 18 @ 2:57 pm

Comments

Kudos to Murphy.

Independent inspectors are long overdue in local government, and I hope the Illinois Press Association will be staunch supporters, and the Tribune editorial board.

Violations of the Open Meetings Act, FOIA are common in local government. State government is adversarial (divided power) and has a minority party to highlight lapses. Chicago is under constant scrutiny because of its size. But local government is more often than not one-party rule, with no separate branches of government.

School districts may not need a fulltime inspector general, and they might contract with a law firm to independently receive and investigate complaints. But there needs to be someone independent you can go to as a teacher when the principal who decides whether you get tenure asks you out on a date; as a parent when the district ignores your complaints about mold; as a taxpayer when you suspect administrators are steering contracts to their friends.

Comment by Thomas Paine Tuesday, Aug 28, 18 @ 3:35 pm
Each unit of local government is going to have their own Inspector General? That will be incredibly expensive. How about some consolidations first, and during that process, give the IG function to the local State’s Attorney?

Comment by Smitty Irving Tuesday, Aug 28, 18 @ 3:56 pm
I don’t think each unit needs its own IG either, but I’m not sure how to divvy it up–each county? That even seems like a lot.

Comment by Cheryl44 Tuesday, Aug 28, 18 @ 4:08 pm
After the budget impasse, we absolutely need to look at state contracts. The idea that the state can contract for services and refuse to pay for those services once rendered in accordance with the contract stipulations is unconscionable. We can’t let Rauner or another Rauner-like governor hijack the state again.

Comment by Sweet Mama Tuesday, Aug 28, 18 @ 8:25 pm
“…give the IG function to the local State’s Attorney?” Grow a brain. The whole point here is to have independent statewide oversight of these township taxing bodies that is outside of the corrupt local good old boys system that has been in place for the last 200 years.

God bless Sen. Murphy! Take Union Grove township in Whiteside county for example: No notice of meeting times or identity of township board members posted on the township building owned by the taxpayers. Highway commissioner Arnold Vegter targets people he doesn’t like by knocking over their mailboxes (federal crime) and the corrupt Sheriff Kelly Wilhelmi does nothing about it.

Comment by Payback Wednesday, Aug 29, 18 @ 10:14 am