Will County Gazette

An investigation by DuPage Township’s law firm into former Supervisor William Mayer has validated the months-long work of a government watchdog group that sounded alarms of Mayer’s troubling, and in some instances, potentially criminal behavior, while in office.

In an October 1, eight-page memo to township trustees, the law firm of Odelson & Sterk, Ltd. found that Mayer’s practice of taking advance pay and his entering into a township employee health insurance plan on a pre-tax basis were at odds with the township code and the Illinois Constitution. Regarding the pay advances, the memo said that "the Supreme Court of Illinois has upheld felony convictions for similar conduct." In addition, the law firm concluded that accounting and financial practices involving expenditures of township funds under Mayer were at “best incompetent.” 

Over a year ago, Mayer’s conduct came to the attention of the Edgar County Watchdogs (ECW), a government oversight group that has uncovered millions in waste and abuse on the local and state levels. (The township released the law firm's memo to ECW under a Freedom of Information Act request.)

Kirk Allen

The watchdogs' investigations began in the spring of 2018 when Township Trustee Alyssia Benford, a Certified Public Accountant, reached out to them after finding township checks issued without the board’s knowledge or consent.

“As I continued to investigate these matters, I learned of pay advances issued to the former supervisor as well as the spending from general assistance that was not in compliance with the law,” Benford told the Will County Gazette.

Up against pressure from Benford and ECW, Mayer resigned as supervisor in January. He held the office for 18 years.

“While many of his defenders chose to insist we were wrong on our information, or that certain things Mayer did were not illegal, it now appears the Township’s legal representatives have confirmed and validated some of the very issues we raised,” ECW’s Kirk Allen wrote on Illinois Leaks.

Allen added that while it was gratifying to see their work validated “it’s sad to see the local State’s Attorney has not moved forward to hold anyone accountable……yet.”

Benford said that through her attorney she has reported all her concerns to the appropriate authorities.

“It is my hope that the authorities will act quickly to recover any funds they are able to recover from the former supervisor’s actions before the statute of limitations expires on the matter,” Benford said.

In the memo, the township’s law firm praised current Supervisor Felix George for taking action “to increase transparency and accountability by overhauling the process by which funding requests are made and how they are considered by the Township Board.”

Finally, the firm urged the board to abandon past personal grievances.

“Individual, petty disagreements should be left outside of the Township Board Meetings and all Trustees should help to ensure that the Township implements and follows its new policies and procedures in order to effectively and efficiently deliver the needed services to its residents,” the memo said.