DuPage Township continues to funnel tens of thousands to favorite charities & non-profits, despite media criticsm.  

Looks as if DuPage Township Supervisor, Bill Meyer, and the township board have decided to ignore the growing concerns of taxpayers.

We were shocked to learn they were still dumping tens of thousands (tax dollars) into their favorite charities and non-profits.

Check out two of the "well connected" organizations that received money (aka our tax dollars) from DuPage Township within the past 6 months.

PAT CLAAR, HEART HAVEN OUTREACH (H2O)

Date:  8/25/11

Amount: $20,000

Political Ties:  Pat Claar is married to Mayor Claar, and daughter Lyndsey created H2O.

DuPage Township has increased it's funding to H2O.  They donated $5k in fiscal years 2008 & 2009.  $10,000 was donated in 2010. 

In September, the township donated a whopping $20,000. 

Guess it pays to be married to the Mayor.

BOLINGBROOK FIRE FIGHTERS UNION

Date:  6/14/11

Amount:  $1,000

Political Ties:  A year ago, the BB firefighters union openly criticized the Mayor, and Village board, after the layoff of 2 firefighters. 

Mysteriously, attitudes quickly changed, the 2 men were hired back, and the union openly endorsed the First Party in the highly contested April, 2011 election.

In fact, union president, Matt Olson wrote a passionate endorsement letter that was included in the campaign literature mailed to more than 21k homes in Bolingbrook.

Many wonder if the $1,000 donation was nothing more than quid pro quo.

Some also question whether it's ethical for public workers like the firefighters to inject themselves into local campaigns. 

The Bolingbrook Firefighters Union have also donated money to Senator Wilhelmi (D) and Emily McAsey's (D) campaigns.

Note: The BB police union remained neutral, not offering an endorsement to any candidate.

CLICK TO READ UNION PRES. MATT OLSON'S OFFICIAL RESPONSE

FINAL WORD 

There's a laundry list of "pet" organizations sucking money from taxpayers via DuPage Township.   This is an ongoing, chronic problem.

It's important that we closely monitor how and where they are spending our tax dollars.

Coming soon, The Number Crunchers will be publishing DuPage Township's monthly payables online.  Stay tuned.

Click picture (above) to enlarge image

May 5,2011

By Rhonda Reed-Slaughter

rhonda@thenumbercrunchers-bolingbrook.com

Several months ago, we published the "Leech Alert" series, which exposed a disturbing trend in the Village of Bolingbrook -  elected officials using tax dollars to fund their "pet" charities and non-profits. 

The Village of Bolingbrook and DuPage Township were highlighted in both articles.

We consider this to be a clear conflict of interest, and do not approve of Bolingbrook leaders funding their "pet" charities with our tax dollars.

When it comes to donating to non-profits and charities, the decision should remain with the taxpayer, not the politician.

HOW MUCH WAS DONATED IN 2008-2010?

The Number Crunchers decided to dig deeper.  We expanded our focus to include the 5 primary taxing bodies in Bolingbrook.

• Village of Bolingbrook
• Valley View School District
• DuPage Township
• Fountaindale Public Library
• Bolingbrook Park District - zero dollars donated

Shocking news!  In just 3 years, the 5 "pet" charities highlighted in this article received a whopping $658k in funding from Bolingbrook taxpayers.

Do you agree with this donation?  It's your money.

CONTINUE TO FOLLOW THE MONEY

As stated, we do not agree with Bolingbrook politicians using tax dollars to fund their "pet" non-profits.

Nevertheless, This is simply our opinion.  How do you feel about the issue?

Click on to the link below to view the summary schedules.  Closely examine each non-profit/charity.  How much is being donated?  Which elected official(s) are serving on it's board?  Are the donations increasing (or decreasing) from year to year.    Will our elected leaders increase (or decrease) donations in fiscal year 2011?

Start tracking the contributions on your own.  Consider saving the schedules to your personal computer. 

Closely follow the money.

CLICK TO VIEW SUMMARY SCHEDULES

DuPage Township Scholarships:  Only the "Well-Off" & "Well-Connected" Need Apply

LEECH ALERT!!!

Should the Village of Bolingbrook Finance Non-profits/Community Orgs with Taxpayer Dollars?  Especially in the midst of an economic recession.

CLICK TO READ MORE

Chicago Tribune Expose How The Teachers Union Game The System

Local connection:  Local AFT contribute more than $1 million to IFT, and $75k to Bolingbrook politicians.
 

Du Page Township's New Appointee Collected $66k From the Township in 2010: Legitimate Appointment? Or Conflict of Interest?

CLICK TO READ MORE

Chicago & Bolingbrook Politicians Use Influence to Fund "Pet" Charities

How common is this practice of elected leaders using their influence to fund "pet" charities?

CLICK TO READ MORE

Library Board Decides to do the Right Thing with Taxpayer Dollars 

CLICK TO READ MORE

LEECH ALERT!!!

Oak Brook Voters Defy Voting Trend, Voting Against Government Leech 

CLICK TO READ MORE

LEECH ALERT!!!

Looks as if Bolingbrook's Not The Only Community Suffering From "Leeches"

The Chicago Tribune published an explosive article exposing how several elected officials in Chicago use their "pet charities" to suck millions from taxpayers.

Sound familiar?

Click here to read Chicago Tribune's article

Mayor of Dolton Shocks the Community

With a Bold Contract Proposal

The Mayor of Dolton, Illinois presented a $1.4 million contract to the Village board for approval.  One major problem - the contract holder is his very own daughter.

This contract would not have come to light if it wasn't for the Chicago Tribune, and several Dolton trustees speaking out and against this outrageous act.

FOOD FOR THOUGHT

Consider for a moment what goes on in the Village of Bolingbrook.  How many contracts of this kind has the Village board approved?  How about the school district?  Fountaindale Library?  Park District?  DuPage Township?

Click here to share your comments.

Click the link below to read the Tribune's explosive article, and feel free to join the debate. 

Chicago Tribune Article

LEECH ALERT!!!

Part 2

DuPage Township Spends Close to $200k Financing Local Non-Profits

Legitimate cost?  Or wasteful spending?

You decide.

CLICK TO READ MORE