Fireworks at public meeting in Sauk Village, Illinois over missing funds, plans for audit
SAUK VILLAGE, Ill. (CBS) -- Angry outbursts erupted at a public meeting in south suburban Sauk Village Tuesday night, with tensions running high as trustees discuss nearly $100,000 in missing funds.
Some trustees are pushing to get an internal audit to get to the bottom of where the taxpayer dollars are today. But some residents do not approve of the auditor some village trustees have in mind—saying his history with the village amounts to a conflict of interest.
Anthony Finch has filed suit against the village and Mayor Derrick Burgess for wrongful termination. Now, four trustees want to bring Finch back to the village—but this time working as an auditor.
"Why are we just now getting it when we've been behind in our audits three years, four years?" a woman said. "Why are we just now getting it?"
The trustees argue Finch is the only person who can get to the bottom of the missing tax dollars.
"You know why we're bringing Mr. Finch in, mayor? Because he can hold you accountable; because we're all going to hold you accountable," Trustee Aretha Burns said to Mayor Burgess. "That's why we're bringing Mr. Finch back in."
Some trustees say Mayor Burgess is not sharing all spending reports with them, and say he is hiring people without proper board appeal. The mayor chalks up all of this to politics.
"It's election time, people. The same people saying this are running—one's running for mayor," Burgess said. When Burns fired back, Burges added: "But you're sitting up here trying to tell people and lie about certain things that are not going on in the village. I'm not answering to you."
The board voted to approve the hiring of the auditor. However, the mayor will likely veto that vote at the next meeting.
But someone will have to look over the books in South Village, because late Tuesday, the Illinois State Comptroller sent a letter to the village informing them they are required to do audits dating back to 2020.
