McHenry County Township Racking Up Legal Fees In Power Struggle
GRAFTON TOWNSHIP, Ill. (CBS) -- The Grafton Township Board of Trustees in McHenry County has voted to put its budget about a $250,000 in the red, by setting aside more money for lawyers in an ongoing power struggle with the township supervisor.
As WBBM Newsradio's Mike Krauser reports, Linda Moore was elected the supervisor of Grafton Township – which includes parts of Huntley and Lakewood – three years ago. Since then, there have been lawsuits, countersuits, and mounting legal fees by the taxpayers, the Northwest Herald reported.
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Moore has been locked out of her office, bills have not been paid, the trustees have revoked Moore's use of credit and debit cards, and the taxpayers are covering the cost of all the infighting, the Northwest Herald reported.
Moore is now suing the township, and trustee Ron LaPorta tells the Northwest Herald the lawsuit is "serious" and will likely require double the amount of money already set aside for legal fees.
But Moore told the newspaper the township only has itself to blame for the lawsuits, and claims the township took illegal actions against her.
Grafton Township residents have also complained about legal fees racked up by lawsuits stemming from a plan to build a new town hall building, according to the Crystal Lake Patch. The township bought the land for a new building, then sold its old building to the township Road District for $700,000, in a setup that has the township paying the Road District rent, the Patch explained.
The trustees will have a say on the latest allocation for legal fees at the next board meeting on June 14.
