Nearly a year to the day after a concerned resident filed an Open Meetings Act (OMA) violation complaint against the Village, the Illinois Attorney General’s office recently concurred that appointments made by the outgoing village president during his last official Village Board meeting in 2013 violated the terms of the Act.
At issue are dozens of appointments made to boards, commissions and committees during the April 22, 2013, Village Board meeting by outgoing lame duck President Bob Abboud. The agenda for that meeting, which can be viewed here, listed only one line item for his appointments – “10.1 [Approval] Appointments.”
OMA rules require the names of appointees and positions to be noted on agendas and that they be posted for public inspection at least 48 hours in advance of meetings.
According to recently released recordings, current board members present at that 2013 meeting were not given advanced notice of which residents were being appointed or reappointed to what Village bodies and neither was the public.
This ruling is expected to have little effect on most appointed bodies since most of them carry only one year terms, and numerous positions were already renewed or appointed last month with little or no debate. However, our Zoning Board of Appeals members are appointed to five year terms, and there lies the problem.
During the April 22, 2013 meeting, Abboud appointed two residents to the ZBA – one to fill a vacancy created by the resignation of a retiring member; the other was a reappointment of a member whose term had actually lapsed in April of 2012.
It’s expected the Village President and Board of Trustees will address filling any vacancies resulting from the recent ruling at their next scheduled meeting on June 23.
“And the walls came tumbling down” Thank you Jesus!
I BID YOU ADIEU MY FINE FOE BOBBY ABBOUD . . . . . . .
In the Post Tribune article entitled, “Attorney General reviewing Barrington Hills complaint” dated July 12, 2013, the former BH Village President said the following regarding these 35 proposed committee appointments.
“I know there was no violation. The appointments were done entirely legally. Mr. McLaughlin is just using Jack Reich. He knows the appointments were done legally.”
Trustee Selman incredibly said:
“. . . . . in her two years as a trustee, she has never come across any requirements for names of potential committee appointments to be posted on meeting agendas. . . . . . .but to her knowledge, there was no violation of Open Meetings Act”
Yes Trustee, Selmon (Gohl, Messer, Meroni and (former) Ramesh) posting of names for appointment is a legal requirement; and yes Trustee Selmon the Village routinely violated the Open Meetings Act by not doing so until finally challenged by an informed BH resident who had enough. While this illegality unfolded, our 700k to 1 Million Dollar a year Village attorney did nothing.
Unfortunately, this is only one example of the political havoc wrought upon us by the former Village President. Putting aside the Schuman Letter, Long Meadow Parkway inter alia; the Grand Daddy of them all will shortly kick-off; the trial of the Sears Lawsuit in which BH is being sued for 15 Million Dollars. If BH is unsuccessful, you can turn out the lights and close the barn doors, the party is over. BH will have to file for Federal Bankruptcy Protection.
This is the price we all paid for a compliant Board and special interests in exclusive control of Village government. The lesson here is all residents need to get involved in Village government; not taking my word or someone else’s but by doing your own research and drawing your own conclusions. Most importantly, be heard on your learned views even at the risk of not being invited to the next BH social event or worse, being shunned by a segment of the community.
I believe the prior election of McLaughlin and Hannigan was not a fluke but the start of a trend by residents of restoring true balance to Village Government. To equestrians, non-equestrians and regular Joes’ alike, we as a Village simply cannot afford to return to the ole days of us versus them; we need to pull this wagon we call Village government in unison for the sake of preserving this place all of us call home.
David Stieper – BH resident
I sit here at my keyboard pondering if this village realizes how much we are indebted to Mr. David Stieper He is a man of integrity and honesty that has given selflessly of himself and his time. If only we had 20 more people in this village willing and capable of answering the current call to arms.
I worry about the pending suit from our friends at Sears that could bring down the village, or at least change the lifestyle of the village drastically. This suit will be one of the many legacies that Bobby gifted us with that will live on forever in the annals of major and costly bungles of the decade.
No matter what happens, this village will NEVER be the same warm, welcoming place that it once was.
Mr. Reich deserves all the credit here. Only a handful of residents would have taken the initiative and time that he did to bring out the truth and as a concerned resident I would like to sincerely thank him on behalf of many in our community.
Good show Jack!
The Attorney General’s opinion is not relevant in the Village of Barrington Hills. At Monday’s BOT meeting, Trustee Joe Messer decided that he will merely reconsider the same committee nominations as those offered in violation of the OMA by Bob Abboud in April, 2013, after learning he lost the election. That way he can manage the outcome of the ZBA commercial boarding agenda to meet his needs and that of Oakwood Farms. The gang of Meroni, Harrington, Gohl and Selman will vote in favor of those nominations keeping the Abboud nominations status quo. Besides, why do what the AG recommended if it doesn’t serve Messer’s purpose?
Way to go Joe! You’ve showed-up those interfering with BH at the Attorney General’s Office not to mess(er) with you! The complaint was a real waste of time because Joe is in charge and will dictate the agenda for BH regardless of any law or good ethics standards.
That’s why BH house values are skyrocketing. Who wouldn’t want to live in a community more famous for horse sense than good governance where we can bully even the AG.
Joe Messer = Bob Abbouds sock puppet.
Jack Reich deserves the respect and appreciation for showcasing the alleged criminal wrong doings. Many residents would simply let somone else do the real work, we owe him a debt of thanks and our gratitude.
I would like to thank the Observer for the good work you do on behalf of our village residents. Without this newsletter I for one would be in the dark as to these issues. Here’s to more reporting and hope for change in this New Year!