Marquardt Bros. -- We've Got Your Back

Lobbyist for DuPage County State's Attorney's Office is Attorney & Brother of Forest Preserve's IT Covert Forensic Investigator

PART EIGHT OF COUNTYLEAKS SERIES...

Part One, Part Two, Part Three, Part Four, Part Five, Part Six, Part Seven

Scott Marquardt of the Wheaton-based law firm, Marquardt & Belmonte, P.C., represented JRM, Inc. in matters related with the company's secret "internal investigation" of the DuPage County Forest Preserve District's information technology (IT) department. JRM is an IT firm owned by Jerry Marquardt of Naperville, the attorney's brother. 

Scott is also a lobbyist at a firm named after the founder and the late father of the brothers, Roger C. Marquardt & Co. This firm is paid $4,000 per month by the DuPage County State's Attorney's office for lobbying services. Scott's wife, Barbara Skurka/Marquardt, has been paid $48,000 as a consultant for Citizens for Bob Berlin, the political campaign for the State's Attorney.

Findings from JRM were given to the State's Attorney's office in 2011. A year later, the District's former director of its IT department, Mark McDonald, and the department manager, David Tepper, were each charged with 140 felony counts, while a third man, Arif Mahmood, who worked for Alamach Technology, Inc., an IT vendor for the District, was charged with 37 counts, in an alleged scheme stealing $150,000 from the Forest Preserve.

Citizen watchdogs claim there are numerous political ties, conflicts of interest and a lack of legitimacy surrounding the internal investigation leading to the charges.

In a letter last month concerning Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests handled by the Forest Preserve's attorney, Jim Knippen of Wheaton, Marquardt stated that his firm represents JRM. After explaining that JRM has previously complied with FOIA requests, the letter reads: "JRM, Inc. is no longer in possession of any other emails." And, "Please be advised that JRM., Inc. will no longer be maintaining copies of these documents as it is not required by law or its contract with FPD to do so." (To enlarge, click the image.)

JRM was paid $66,000 by the Forest Preserve in 2011. Per the IT firm's contract, Resolution No. 11-313, all records and documents from the internal investigation are property of the Forest Preserve.

CountyLeaks reported last November that no injunction had been sought to preserve all records pertaining to this case in "Hark -- Is that the Buzz of Cicadas or a Shredder? Did the DuPage Forest Preserve Shred a Truckload of Records During a Criminal Investigation?"

Nine months later, it appears nothing has changed.

Now Entering the Ring -- Heavyweight Former Federal Prosecutor Patrick Collins vs. Featherweight DuPage County State's Attorney Bob Berlin

PART SEVEN OF COUNTYLEAKS SERIES...

Part One, Part Two, Part Three, Part Four, Part Five, Part Six

Chicago attorney Patrick Collins, famous for leading the federal prosecution which placed former Illinois Governor George Ryan in an orange jumpsuit for racketeering and fraud, will be representing Arif Mahmood, a defendant charged with 37 counts for his alleged involvement in a scheme of stealing $150,000 from the Forest Preserve District of DuPage County.

Last November, the District's former director of its IT department, Mark McDonald, and the department manager, David Tepper, were each indicted with 140 felony counts, while Mahmood, who worked for Alamach Technology, Inc., an IT vendor for the District, was charged with 37 counts, in the alleged theft scheme.

Nearly two years after losing their Forest Preserve jobs and contract, ten months after their arrests and eight months after their indictments of 317 felony counts, the DuPage County State's Attorney's office still has not produced a bill of particulars -- the formal, detailed, written complaint of charges -- as required by law (725 ILCS 5/111-6).

DuPage County Judge Blanche Hill Fawell ordered on May 13th that the State produce a bill of particulars at the hearing scheduled for today at the Henry J. Hyde Judicial Office Facility of Wheaton. After a series of delays over months -- a flood, attorney vacations, attorney non-appearance, and the judge testifying in another criminal case -- DuPage County Asst. State's Attorney Ken Tatarelis requested more time. 

The state was granted a five-week extension until Aug. 19th, as there were no objections from defense attorneys Terry Ekl and Ernie DiBenedetto, representing Tepper and McDonald respectively.

Collins was prepared to begin representing Mahmood in this morning's hearing. However, Mahmood's first attorney, Timothy Martin of Wheaton-based Martin & Kent, LLC, had not yet withdrawn from the case. Reportedly, attempts to contact Martin today prior to the hearing were unsuccessful.

DuPage County Board Chairman Dan Cronin & Brother Tom Cronin -- Attempted Takeover of RNHA Illinois No Longer Behind the Scenes

PART FIVE OF A COUNTYLEAKS SERIES...

"Eliminating boards and commissions that pay generously for part-time work will both pare down the size of government and help our bottom line." - Chris Hage, Republican candidate for 42nd District Representative of Illinois, February 2012

Part One, Part Two, Part Three, Part Four

Part Five of a CountyLeaks series on numerous ethical and public interest questions surrounding DuPage County Board Chairman Dan Cronin's reappointment of Federation of Illinois Young Republicans Executive Director Chris Hage to the DuPage County Election Commission for $27,500 annually plus health care benefits...

CountyLeaks' sources claim that Cronin and Hage have been attempting a behind-the-scenes takeover of the Republican National Hispanic Assembly of Illinois (RNHA) for several years, raising additional concerns of ongoing partisanship and political activism of the electoral board's vice chairman. 

The latest development supporting Cronin's involvement was the entrance of his brother, Tom, in a court battle between two Illinois chapters of the RNHA. A newer "chapter", Illinois Chapter of the Republican National Hispanic Assembly, is backed by Cronin and Hage. The established chapter embraces political rival and critic of Dan Cronin, Rafael Rivadeneira. 

(To enlarge, click on the image)

Six Months Later in the DuPage Forest Preserve IT Criminal Case -- 317 Felony Counts of Nothing in Particular

PART SIX OF A COUNTYLEAKS SERIES...
Part One, Part Two, Part Three, Part Four, Part Five

Nearly six months after filing 317 felony counts against two former Information Technology (IT) department employees of the DuPage Forest Preserve District and a former vendor, the DuPage County State's Attorney's office has yet to produce the bill of particulars -- the formal, detailed, written complaint of charges -- as required by law (725 ILCS 5/111-6).

Citizen watchdogs speculate that this delay involves the numerous political ties and lack of legitimacy of those behind the "secret internal investigation" initiated by the Forest Preserve -- a move which may have been prompted by a purchase order epiphany, as CountyLeaks questions today. Findings from this "investigation" were presented to the State's Attorney's office in November 2011. The bill of particulars would likely rely heavily on these findings.

The District's former director of its IT department, Mark McDonald, and the department manager, David Tepper, were each charged with 140 felony counts, while a third man, Arif Mahmood, who worked for Alamach Technology, Inc., an IT vendor for the District, was charged with 37 counts, in an alleged scheme stealing $150,000 from the Forest Preserve.

CountyLeaks was first to report on the staggering number of charges handed down by a grand jury on Halloween 2012. Lending perspective to these numbers, former Gov. George Ryan had 18 felony indictments in 2003 and former Gov. Rod Blagojevich had "only" 16 counts in 2009. 

Yet there was no customary press conference immediately following the grand jury's 317 felony counts. Three days earlier, CountyLeaks explained at length the political ties between the Forest Preserve, JRM Consulting and the State's Attorney's office. CountyLeaks found the felony indictments during periodic searches on the court clerk's website after the well-reported arrests in September.

CountyLeaks # 1 Read Post

Legal scholars, yesterday's "Tweets, Twits & Tax Dollars: Joe Birkett for Illinois, Proven Leader? Proven Corruption Buster?" just broke the record for most-read post on CountyLeaks! 

READ

Tweets, Twits & Tax Dollars: Joe Birkett for Illinois, Proven Leader? Proven Corruption Buster?

While DuPage County State's Attorney Joe Birkett was serving as Vice Chair of the Board of Governors of the Illinois Office of the State's Attorneys Appellate Prosecutor, he steered contracts to his political consultants. Birkett now sits on the bench of the Second District Illinois Appellate Court, yet questions remain as to who exactly was the tax-paid client -- Club ILSAAP or Birkett for Illinois?

Four years ago today, the topic in Illinois was ethics.

Top public leaders from the state gathered in Chicago to give testimony before the Illinois Reform Commission, established by Illinois Governor Pat Quinn in his "first official act to restore integrity and examine ethics rules and practices in state government". The impeachment of former Governor Rod Blagojevich, following his December 2008 arrest on charges of conspiracy and fraud, prompted action.

Calling for effective enforcement of anti-corruption laws were Quinn himself, Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan, Cook County State's Attorney's Chief of Special Prosecutions Bureau Jack Blakey, Illinois Executive Inspector General James Wright, Illinois Inspector General Jim Burns, best-selling author and Chicago attorney Scott Turow, and DuPage County State's Attorney Joe Birkett, who was later appointed to serve on the bench of the Second District Illinois Appellate Court in Elgin.

Birkett spoke to the Commissioners of the challenges in fighting public corruption, proposed amendments to the official misconduct statute, suggested remedies, and discussed the need for enforcement tools. He quoted Albany Law School Professor Michael J. Hutter, "Unfortunately, our review of public corruption convictions in the states indicates that there is apparently little correlation between strong laws and integrity -- if a public official wants to violate his or her trust, the laws don't stand in the way."

Also in the room that morning was...

Who is CountyLeaks?

I work alone.

This blog is my view of the world.

I don't work as part of any company, firm, organization or party. The only approval I seek is my own.

I have never been paid for work associated with this blog.

I am an incurable insomniac. Other insomniacs may choose to count sheep, drink warm milk or watch TV. I choose to read public records, particularly government documents. To scrutinize documents and make crucial connections, it helps to work without any distractions when the rest of the world is asleep.

Journalist I.F. Stone believed that everything we need to know can be found in public records. He would devote endless hours alone in musty basements devouring documents searching for contradictions to the official line. Why waste time hunting down people for a quote or testimony who may or may not tell the truth? I'm not a journalist, yet I relate strongly to Stone's style. And once you get started extricating, it's difficult to stop. It's like a treasure hunt. Imagine if Stone had the internet?

I am anonymous because... 

DuPage County Board Chairman Dan Cronin & DuPage Election Commission Vice Chair Chris Hage to the 19 por ciento: No puedo evitar enamorarme de ti

PART FOUR OF A COUNTYLEAKS SERIES...

"Eliminating boards and commissions that pay generously for part-time work will both pare down the size of government and help our bottom line." - Chris Hage, Republican candidate for 42nd District Representative of Illinois, February 2012

Part Four of a CountyLeaks series on numerous ethical and public interest questions surrounding DuPage County Board Chairman Dan Cronin's reappointment of Federation of Illinois Young Republicans Executive Director Chris Hage to the DuPage County Election Commission for $27,500 annually plus health care benefits...

This Saturday, the Illinois Chapter of the Republican National Hispanic Assembly (RNHA), not to be confused with the Republican National Hispanic Assembly (RNHA) of Illinois, will host a convention in Cronin's hometown of Elmhurst featuring George P. Bush, not to be confused with George H. W. Bush nor George W. Bush. 

CountyLeaks' sources claim that Cronin and Hage have been attempting a behind-the-scenes takeover of the RNHA of Illinois for several years, raising additional concerns of ongoing partisanship and political activism of the electoral board's vice chairman. Citizen watchdogs assert that an election commissioner should give the appearance of impartiality and not have conflicts of interest. 

The DuPage County Board Chairman should never have appointed, watchdogs underline, someone to the Election Commission who has engaged in political maneuvers for control of the RNHA.

SMOKED OUT: DuPage County Board Chairman Dan Cronin's Pick Chris Hage - All Pork & No Bean Counter Fundraiser

PART THREE OF A COUNTYLEAKS SERIES...

"Eliminating boards and commissions that pay generously for part-time work will both pare down the size of government and help our bottom line." - Chris Hage, Republican candidate for 42nd District Representative of Illinois, February 2012

Part Three of a CountyLeaks series on numerous ethical and public interest questions surrounding DuPage County Board Chairman Dan Cronin's reappointment of Federation of Illinois Young Republicans Executive Director Chris Hage to the DuPage County Election Commission...

Prior to his Election Commission appointment last July, political activist and paid campaign operative Hage was a candidate in the Republican 2012 primary race for 42nd District Representative of Illinois against Jeanne Ives.

The "First Annual Winter Ribfest" in January 2012 at the DuPage County Forest Preserve-owned Danada House in Wheaton was among Hage's fundraisers promoted during the campaign. Invitations of this widely-publicized event lured contributors with Q-BBQ ribs and pulled pork. 

David Diersen, writer/editor of GOPUSA Illinois Daily Clips, wrote: Justice Joe Birkett spoke very highly of Chris Hage at his outstanding fundraiser at Danada House in Wheaton, Tuesday evening, January 31, 2012. The 100 attendees included Anderson, Cook, Fisher, Galvin, Grogan, Johnson, A. Jorgensen, Kinsella, Kmiecik, McKillip, Mouhelis, Sanguinetti, Veenstra, and Urasky.

DuPage County Board Chairman Cronin's Mandatory Ethics 101 Training Seminar - Too Little, Too Late for Chris Hage

PART TWO OF A COUNTYLEAKS SERIES...

"Eliminating boards and commissions that pay generously for part-time work will both pare down the size of government and help our bottom line." - Chris Hage, Republican candidate for 42nd District Representative of Illinois, February 2012

Last week CountyLeaks published, "EXPOSED: DuPage County Board Chairman Cronin's Above-And-Beyond-Reproach Appointment of Chris Hage!', Part One of a series on numerous ethical and public interest issues surrounding the reappointment of Chris Hage to the DuPage County Election Commission which remain unaddressed.

The same day the CountyLeaks blog story broke, Hage and representatives from other county agencies were attending an ethics training seminar as part of Cronin's DuPage ACT (Accountability, Consolidation and Transparency) Initiative. 

“'We are holding ourselves to a high standard,' county board Chairman Dan Cronin said, 'and we’re making sure that standard applies across the board,'" Robert Sanchez quoted in the Daily Herald.

"Holding Ourselves to a High Standard"

Hage's former co-worker, DuPage County First Assistant State's Attorney Nancy Wolfe led his ethics training last week. Not covered in the seminar, apparently, was the responsibility of appointed election board officials to shut down their campaign websites.

EXPOSED: DuPage County Board Chairman Cronin's Above-And-Beyond-Reproach Appointment of Chris Hage!

PART ONE OF A COUNTYLEAKS SERIES...

"Eliminating boards and commissions that pay generously for part-time work will both pare down the size of government and help our bottom line." - Chris Hage, Republican candidate for 42nd District Representative of Illinois, February 2012

This month DuPage County Board Chairman Dan Cronin reappointed local attorney Chris Hage to serve on the board of the DuPage County Election Commission. A year ago, Hage was a candidate in a "spirited" campaign for the Republican primary slot for 42nd District Representative of Illinois, losing hands down to Jeanne Ives.

Cronin first appointed Hage to the Commission last July after the resignation of J.P. "Rick" Carney in the well-publicized shake-up following the release of a scathing Crowe Horwath report in April. 

“Under our administration, this will be an agency above and beyond reproach,” Cronin told the Daily Herald.   

Hage accepted the position paying $27,500 annually on the Board which meets twice monthly just six months after he submitted his candidate profile to the Daily Herald's editorial staff: Eliminating boards and commissions that pay generously for part-time work will both pare down the size of government and help our bottom line. 

Unlike other County appointments, the DuPage County Board chairman isn't required to seek approval by the County Board for his choices to the Election Commission.