Community Corner

Letter: Milton Township Claims Lack Facts

Milton Township Trustee Marty Keller responds to recent claims about Milton Township government. Glen Ellyn Patch welcomes letters to the editor. Send letters to maryl@patch.com.

Editor's Note: This letter to the editor was submitted to Wheaton Patch in response to some blog postings, which appeared on the site. Because some residents in Glen Ellyn are also in Milton Township, Glen Ellyn Patch is sharing this letter to the editor.

Milton Township Update

I was sworn in on June 12 of this year as the replacement Township Trustee.  I found that while there were some issues and practices that needed attention, there was absolutely no intent to defraud or mislead the taxpayers of Milton Township. Charges of “Chicago style corruption” are a real exaggeration.

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While several issues have been addressed and corrective actions taken, I was surprised to see how many other charges did not tell the whole story.  I don’t know exactly how much information was given to anyone, so let’s assume they just didn’t have all the facts.

Below are additional facts on several of the claims which were missing from the original articles.

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  1. An employee was doing political work on township time. The specific employee seen putting up campaign signs one day works on a flexible schedule.  Part of his job involves running a citizen training program that meets nights and weekends.  What he does with his free time is not the business of the township.
  2. Luxury accommodations in Springfield. The employee and two community volunteers did indeed stay in Jacuzzi Suites at the Holiday Inn, but not at the expense of the taxpayer. One of the volunteers used his personal Priority Club points to upgrade their rooms.
  3. Wiretapping of the Assessor’s Office. There is an email questioning the desired location for the video camera and the Assessor’s Office. One look at the architect’s drawings showed the Board Room had been mislabeled as the Assessor’s Office. The error was corrected the next day.
  4. Illegal videotaping of citizens. When both the state required and our security video cameras were finally installed and activated, the question of proper notification came up.  People looking for the posting at the front desk didn’t see any because the required notice was posted on the entrance door, so as to alert people before they ever entered the building.  No violation of rights occurred.
  5. Public disclosure of comments by the Auditor. One of the most recent claims was that the Township Board was hiding the comments of the auditor from the public when in fact the video tape of the 9-11 meeting shows the Board approving a motion to include said comments in the public documents.  Someone must have written their comments before the meeting and then failed to correct them to reflect what really happened.

I find it interesting that the people claiming Chicago style politics actually seem to be following the Rules for Radicals by Saul Alinsky. If the first charge doesn’t dislodge your opponent, make another and another until the shear volume of criticism convinces the general public there most be something wrong.

I also wonder why many of the critics find it necessary to use phony names when they make comments. If you read something from “Marty K”, that’s me; I won’t hide behind a fictitious screen name.

From what I have seen, this situation has been blown way out of proportion and has caused emotional damage to a lot of good people. Supervisor Heidorn has an ongoing medical situation at home right now and the lack of Christian compassion is appalling. We need to work together in a civil manner so as to attract good people to public service, not drive them away.
 
Marty Keller
Milton Township Trustee


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