The latest village board drama in Manteno unfolded last week when Mayor Annettec LaMore directed the police chief to arrest an absentee trustee when there were not enough trustees on hand for a quorum at a meeting scheduled for August 17.
LaMore and Trustees Mike Barry and Peggy Vaughn found themselves without a quorum when the rest of the board failed to show up on August 17. Meeting cannot be conducted without a quorum present.
Trustee C.J. Boudreau, a high school teacher, had given the mayor advance notice that he could not attend because of an open house at the school.
Village Administrator Chris Larocque— back in the boardroom, fresh off his suspension for insubordination to LaMore— said Trustee Joel Gesky, who works as an insurance agent, texted him that he was tied up in Indiana dealing with storm-related claims.
Trustee Todd Crockett allegedly texted Peggy Vaughn and said he was busy with business.
Even Attorney Joe Cainkar was busy with his kids, Larocque said.
That left Annette Zimbleman, who apparently hadn’t reached out to anyone on the board, the mayor, or Larocque, the administrator, which ruffled feathers, as the board recently passed a remote attendance policy some say was specifically for her after she missed several meetings before its approval.
Not having a quorum can occasionally happen, but Barry, LaMore, and Vaughn took it as a slight.“What upsets me the most about it is that Mr. Larocque is retiring and we got a lot of things to get figured out,” Barry said.
Barry then said that maybe it was the storms and he would take them for their word.
“It’s just very odd to me that there were a lot of things on the agenda about moving the village forward— a lot of pressing concerns about moving the village forward, and no one is here, and Mr. Cainkar is not here,” Barry said.
LaMore had a solution to get the additional person needed to form a quorum after Attorney Brian Miller of Vasselli Law found something “interesting” in the village code.
She directed Miller to read 1-6-5, Rule 21 in the village code book.
Miller said the rule would allow the mayor to order police to go to the absent trustee’s home and “shall without warrant arrest such member and bring them in.”
The village code rule was consistent with state law, Miller said.
“Chief, could we send an officer to the homes of the two trustees who did not respond and see if they’re available?” LaMore asked Police Chief Alan Swinford.
At that point, the Chamber of Commerce President spoke up and said Zimbleman said she wasn’t feeling well.
Barry then asked why the mayor or trustees weren’t informed before stating it was the main reason why they voted in the remote attendance policy.
“Could you send somebody to Annette’s house to see if she’s available?” LaMore again asked Swinford.
Swinford, seemingly flabbergasted, repeatedly asked LaMore for specific direction and repeatedly asked if he should arrest Zimbleman.
“So, the board is asking me to go arrest our board members, correct? Just so I’m clear.” Swinford asked again.
LaMore said yes, and Miller said he could point to the code.
Swinford then left and said he would be back in a while. The board heard public comment, then recessed.
Swinford returned and said no one answered the door at Zimbleman’s house.
As it turns out, Clerk Steven Orth did tender his resignation as originally reported in The Vedette, though he had agreed to stay on after his notice until a replacement could be found.
LaMore had since found a replacement, but without a quorum, they couldn’t vote on a new clerk.
LaMore said Crystal Wolfe was not someone she knew, and that Wolfe had approached the mayor with her interest in the position. LaMore reported Wolfe said she knew Boudreau and had relevant experience. She previously worked in Kankakee County and advised she would serve as the village’s FOIA officer.
Additionally, LaMore introduced Jim Paicz as the Code Enforcement officer, though he also couldn’t be voted in without a quorum.
Finally, LaMore made a statement regarding the lawsuit she, Barry, and Vaughn filed against the other trustees over the dueling attorneys. She said Judge Lindsay Parkhurst would hear the case, which was continued until September.,
And with all of that, the other big news was that Larocque had recently informed the village at the Finance Committee meeting on August 17 that he was retiring at the end of the month, but nothing could get done at that meeting.
Despite the drama and arrest threats, the board convened at a special meeting a couple of days later that at least got the bills paid, and this time, everyone showed up.
In an odd move, Boudreau spoke during public participation on August 20, saying, “We don’t have comments for us, so I just wanted to use my time that way,” even though there is typically time for board member comments at the end of the meeting or during committee reports.
“I watched the meeting, I saw all the noise, and I feel like we need to just not even talk about that and just move forward,” Boudreau said, and then spoke about community events and new business.
The board went on with the special meeting, going into closed session to consider the appointment of the clerk. She was approved, as was bill payment.
With the unanimous vote to go into closed session, Crockett quipped, “Wow! Look at that!”
The board would make formal approvals of the code enforcement officer at the next meeting, which would be yet another special meeting set for August 25.