Will County Gazette

Candidate for Will County Treasurer Raj Pillai is accusing the Will County Veterans  Assistance Commission (VAC) of racking up inappropriate expenses.

Pillai, a certified public accountant has accused incumbent Treasurer Tim Brophy of authorizing a nearly $500,000 no-bid contract to a friend the former VAC superintendent Kristina McNichol for marketing purposes. 

"No board vote was taken at the Veterans Assistance Commission board level," Pillai said. "This was a grant that came to the CARES Act fund. So it’s federal funds."

In related news, the executive board of the Veterans Assistance Commission walked out of a September meeting during a vote on a new top executive to run the agency. The commission was set to vote on a successor to McNichol, but Pillai, an alternate delegate for Plainfield American Legion Marne Post 13, said that the board was given no information regarding the candidates for the opening. 

When it was time to vote, board members were still talking, which caused many to leave. The meeting was adjourned due to a lack of a quorum, according to Shaw Local.

Edgar County Watchdogs, a good-government group claims the majority of the VAC's board is not qualified to sit on the board. The state has specific laws for who can sit in this type of board, and the group claims eight of the 10 members did not meet the 2022 requirements.

The watchdog group has sued nine members of the Executive Committee of the Veterans Assistance Commission of Will County, seeking the commission to be declared "illegally constituted," and it wants to force the Commission to cease taking further action. 

The suit also wants the following members removed because the suit claims they have not been selected or appointed by a legitimate Veteran Service Organization as that term is defined in the Illinois Military Veterans Assistance Act (MVAA). These members are Jack Picciolo, Denise Williams, secretary; Amanda Koch, Jim Singler; Tom Mlynek, Vic Martinka, John York, Wayne Horn and Janet Blue.