Sauk Village News

By Jeanette Lach - jeanette.lach@nwi.com, (219) 933-3267

The village has a new treasurer, Sauk Village resident Genorise Carmichael.

Carmichael was sworn into office at last week's Village Board meeting. She replaces Jim Griegel, who resigned Oct. 23, the mayor's Chief of Staff Brunetta Hill-Corley said.

The position is part-time and pays $6,000 annually. Carmichael will be responsible for processing payroll checks and working with Finance Director Beverly Sterrett on the budget.

See the story link for more details.

By Bob Moulesong, Times Corespondent

The financial crisis that has gripped Sauk Village has not yet released its hold, but the Administration has begun to take steps to help losen the knot.

Among restructuring some loan due dates with its banks, and voting to retain the firm of Kane, McKenna, And Associates as financial planners and advisors to the board, to assist them with advising and planning with revenue and debt of Village finances.

Please follow the story link for the complete story.

Cherrie said in the Sauk Village Forum:

Bob Moulesong - Times Correspondent | Posted: Wednesday, October 14, 2009 12:00 am The village board accepted the resignation of Sauk Village Police Chief Tom Lacheta at Tuesday's board meeting. Lacheta, who suffered a heart attack last week and is now at home convalescing, was not present at the meeting. Village attorney Jimmy Vasselli read the recommendation to the board that they accept the resignation of Lacheta. Because the police chief had enough years of service to qualify for a pension, the resignation will be considered a retirement. Deputy Chief Rebecca Sailsbery was present at the meeting, and was sworn in as the interim police chief. Afterwards, Sailsbery said she was open to the possibility of becoming police chief. "I just found out about this a short while ago, and haven't really had time to digest everything that transpired today," she said. "Right now, I want to focus on helping our department serve and protect the residents of our village." Sailsbery has been deputy chief since May 2007. She has been a member of the police force for 17 years. Rumors about department heads losing their jobs have been swirling around Sauk Village since the election of Village President Lewis Towers last spring. On May 12, the day he was sworn in, Towers put all department heads on notice he was giving them a 90-day evaluation period. That period ended Aug. 12, and evaluations were given to Towers at that time. Former Fire Chief Christopher Sewell tendered his resignation in September. At Tuesday's meeting, long-time Deputy Fire Chief Alan Stoffregen was appointed the new fire chief. Stoffregen, who has 40 years of service to Sauk Village, had been the interim chief since Sewell's resignation. "I'm excited to have the job and proud to carry on a long tradition of service in Sauk Village," Stoffregen said. It was unclear if any other department heads would be in danger of losing their job based on the evaluations.

Former Trustee said in the Sauk Village Forum:

Village Trustee Williams has raised some very valid arguments about what happened to the village's finances? The Village had been given a grant for a new fire truck by the previous administration and the money was spent. Prior to the change in administration, the Finance Director Sterret had been stating that the Village was okay and the Village Manager Dieterich was saying the Village was "right on track." During a Village Board meeting Mayor Towers stated that when the new administration took over there were 3 months of accounts payable sitting in the drawer. Mayor Towers did not understand how that was "on track." Trustee Anderson stated that the Board knows they were misled and when it came time for the budget the Village was $1.5 million dollars short because we had budgeted $1.5 million dollars of impact fees that we never received. Trustee Anderson stated that was the miscommunication. The Village's financial crisis can very easily be explained by the previous administrations "over exuberance" in anticipating $1.5 million in "impact fees" when there was no development going on. Furthermore, I believe that a full investigation needs to be started by the Village Board over the mismanagement of the finances to determine if a criminal investigation is necessary. The previous administration needs to stand accountable if there is found to be misapproriation of funds, misfeasance, nonfeasance, and malfeasance. WHERE IS THE INVESTIGATION BY THE CURRENT ADMINISTRATION? HELLO is anyone home? The inter-fund deficits owed by the General fund are going to be astronomical and will take years to correct.

Two men from Oklahoma were charged Friday with aggravated bank robbery in connection with a heist Thursday morning at the First National Bank of South Holland.

It had all the makings of a great movie plot: Bomb threat, armed bank robbery, shootout and high-speed-chase that ended with the getaway car crashing into a police car.

Share + Oct 1, 2009 1:40 pm US/Central SAUK VILLAGE, Ill. Two people, including a south suburban police officer, were injured, and two men are in police custody after a crash that ended a police chase triggered by a a bank robbery.

Cherrie said in the Sauk Village Forum:

Bob Moulesong - Times Correspondent | Posted: Monday, September 28, 2009 12:00 am

The financial crisis that grabbed the village has tightened its grip in the past month, according to a report from Finance Administrator Beverly Sterrett. Sterrett recently told the board the village was short $142,000 as of Tuesday. She was expected to deposit $29,000 in the bank last Wednesday, reducing the shortage to $113,000.

Sterrett also told the board that payroll would be met for all village employees, but it would be made "by the skin of our teeth."

Sauk Village Police are offering a free Citizens Police Academy, to allow residents to see how Police work is conducted and handled in Sauk Village.

Limited to only 40 Sauk Village residents, the academy will cover policing topics such as firearms, detective work, traffic, state vs. local law, evidence handling, crime scene investigation and community-oriented policing.

Meetings are scheduled twice a week, from 6 to 9 p.m. on Sundays and from 7 to 9 p.m. on Wednesdays. The academy will last eight weeks. To enroll or for more information, contact the Sauk Village Hall.

Former Trustee said in the Sauk Village Forum:

As reported on WGN-Channel 9: An administrative shake-up was still playing out in Sauk Village today as Mayor Lewis Towers was reportedly set to ask for the resignations of the village's police chief and fire chief. Towers, who was elected in May, said a 90-day review of the job performances of Police Chief Tom Lachetta and Public Works Director Kevin Weller revealed shortcomings in both departments. Towers did not site any specific problems with Weller but said crime rates in the village have been going up. "I was not happy with their performances," said Towers, who was scheduled to meet with both officials this afternoon. He said he has yet to decide whether he would fire Lachetta or Weller if either refuses to resign, and added there was still some wiggle room for each of the department heads. Lachetta could not be reached for comment this afternoon, but Weller told reporters outside the village hall that he was not optimistic about his future with the village. "I've been told right now that I don't fit into their plans and that I have not taken the direction of the current board," said Weller, who has worked for the village for 22 years. A third department head, Fire Chief Christopher Sewell, resigned Tuesday after a closed session of the Village Board. Towers said a budgetary shortfall of upwards of $1 million is playing into his decision regarding his top department heads. He denied he was reviewing the job performances of the village's top department heads to pave the way for the installation of his own people in top village posts but said his constituents have expressed dissatisfaction with village operations. "That's why they elected me, to make changes," Towers said.

Editorial Views and reviews

In the inagural Mayor's column of Sauk Talk Issue 46, July 2009 Mayor Towers that his focus was to "make Village business more transparent" and "exprects accountability from Sauk Village staff".

So why doesn't it publish a Police Blotter? Most other surrounding communities publish a record of arrests and police calls that result in arrests and charges being filed. Chicago Heights, Steger, Crete, Glenwood, Flossmoor, Homewood, Park Forest, Richton Park, University Park, all publish these Police Reports predominantly in The Chicago Heights Star, a Sun Times Newspaper agency that publishes several editions for the South Suburbs, which you can go to this story link for a sample of what I am talking about.

My guess is that if Sauk Village actually did publish these events, the negative effect would bring to light the severity of the crime problems facing Sauk Village today. Like many other towns in the area, the issue of crime and drugs, burglary, and theft is a spotlight hot button that every community is dealing with, but at least is forthcoming with their residents about activity in their town and how Police are making attempts to stop it.

But then again, maybe Sauk Village can't have that much space in the paper to publish the amount of Police calls that result in an arrest or charges being filed. Perhaps some basic monthly statistics can be published in Sauk Talk in the Police News section to give residents some idea that Police are making arrests and making inroads to keeping Sauk Village safe, and ensure its future safety for residents. Shouldn't these important issues be reported an or communicated to the residents you vowed to keep informed through your new accountable and transparent Sauk Village Government?

I'm not too sure what your idea if transparent and accountable Government is Mayor Towers, but so far I'm not impressed with your interpretation of it.

Share + Sep 4, 2009 3:55 pm US/Central PHOENIX, Ill. Police and DCFS are investigating the death of a 20-month-old south suburban girl, whose death was ruled a homicide Friday.

Move could potentially save Village 143K Annually.

Story excerpts by Bob Moulesong - Times Correspondent.

Village President Lewis Towers cast the tie-breaking vote Tuesday to bring Lambent Risk Management on board as the village's health care representative.

In other scheduled business, two new members were sworn in to the Police and Fire Commission. Linda Ross and Mark Galloway were both approved by board members and sworn in by village Clerk Debbie Williams.

Maxine Towers, whom is the wife of Mayor Lewis Towers, was appointed back in May, but resigned for what was called personal reasons, according to Chief of Staff Brunetta Hill-Corley, and not due to the legality of the appointment that was called into question by several board members.

Story Excerpts by: Bob Moulesong - Times Correspondent.

Much needed road repairs in Sauk Village have hit a snag on the first street scheduled for badly needed repairs, which is located in the Southwest corner of Sauk Village near the area of 225th Street and Ross Crescent.

Village Engineer Jim Czarnik appeared before the board and explained that the Community Development Block Grant worth $90,000 will not be enough money for the resurfacing project.

Robinson Engineering assessed the work needed on the roads, and due to the current conditions, the cost is estimated to be about $250,000 to repair this section of road.

Village Trustee Francine Anderson asked Czarnik if downsizing the project was an option, or if a different location could be chosen for work.

Bail was set at $1 million Friday morning for a Homewood woman accused of stabbing a Sauk Village man to death in his home Wednesday.

The Cook County POET program supervisors were contacted by Sauk Village officials before the firing of five young women by the village.

Karen Crawford, director of the Presidents Office of Employment Training, confirmed she spoke with Sauk Village Chief of Staff Brunetta Hill-Corley about firing the women.

This article also describes how the POET employees would take long lunch breaks and sometimes not return at all, tie up the SVPD non-emergency line on personal phone calls, and not until dispatchers complained to the supervisor of the POET employees, Deputy Chief Salsberry, was the problem looked into. Deputy Chief Salsberry was the appointed supervisor of the POET employees while they were working as office assistants in the Police Department.

Please visit the story URL at the provided link below.

Joe Boesen - Times Correspondent | Posted: Monday, August 3, 2009 12:00 am

Five women hired by Sauk Village through the President's Office of Employment Training program, or POET, were fired Thursday, said Brunetta Hill-Corley, village chief of staff.

POET is part of the federal Workforce Investment Act, and it offers job training services and programs to help participants find employment and improve job skills, according to Cook County's Web site.

Please visit the story link ro read the article in its entirety.

Two Rockford men appear in court today for trying to deal more than 500 pounds of pot.

Excerpts from original article by Joe Boesen, Times Correspondent

A Sauk Village Board Meeting on Tuesday drew residents that complained about teenagers' behavior in their neighborhood around Brookwood Drive.

The Sauk Village board also dealt with budgget cuts.

Mary Galloway, of the 2900 block of 225th Place, complained to the trustees that teens were playing music, drinking and smoking marijuana in the streets late at night, stopping neighbors from getting to sleep.

"I want the village to do something about this," she said.

Police Chief Tom Lacheta said he would look into the situation and report back to the board in two weeks.

"Your concerns are important and will be addressed in a report in two weeks," he said, adding that this year's arrests are up 39 percent and average response time to police calls is 53 seconds.

Bernard Barrett, of the 22500 block of Brookwood Drive, also complained about teens in the street.

"(Trustee Derrick) Burgess is talking about attracting business to Sauk Village," Barrett said. "What about keeping us? I am thinking of moving because of these issues."

Lacheta said unfortunately teenagers congregate on a utility box and can't be arrested unless the utility company presses charges, which it resists doing. Lacheta met with residents after the meeting to talk about their complaints.

In other Board business, trustees unanimously approved the village's 2010 budget, and it was also announced that three Village employees would be losing their positions with the Village in an attempt to plug the $670,000 deficit hole in the Village budget. The departments that would have staff cut was not immediately made known, and were not yet determined.

Read the entire article by Joe Boesen, Times Correspondent at the story link below.

In spite of newly elected Mayor Lewis Towers's statement in his inagural colum in the July 2009 issue of Sauk Talk, where he states "My Administration has worked hard to develop its first budget" and was "pleased to report it is highlighted by three elements: No employee layoffs, paydown Village debit, and maintain Village services", the Sauk Village Board will vote on Tuesday to layoff three Village employees and also consider a new insurance program for its remaining 60 employees.

Other cost-cutting measures to close the $670,000 budget gap, such as a proposal to give all employees a five-day unpaid furlough, were rejected by employee union leaders, Finance Director Beverly Sterrett said. Sterrett also added that the positions being considered for layoff were non-emergency personnel positions.

"We are going to tighten the belt a little bit to get a stricter handle on expenditures," she said. When asked about the budget gap, Sterrett cites the a sign of the economic times and current recession. She also stated she was't sure if the employees were notified or not.

Click on the story link to read the entire article at www.nwi.com