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.

'As Long As It Isn't A Conflict': Let There Be Light on Genesis One & DuPage Forest Preserve

PART FIVE OF A COUNTYLEAKS SERIES...

"We don't stop anyone from supplementing their employment, as long as it isn't a conflict." - Laura Capizzano, Director of HR at Forest Preserve District of DuPage County

Four months prior to the start of the information technology (IT) "internal investigation" leading to 317 felony indictments so far, the Forest Preserve District of DuPage County hired Troy Clampit, owner of Genesis One Designs, a Villa Park-based firm which had supplied nearly $1 million in political campaign support for DuPage Republicans for a decade, including current District President D. "Dewey" Pierotti and District Commissioners Mike Formento, Marsha Murphy and Linda Painter.

Clampit was hired first as a "seasonal employee working part-time hours" in the District's IT department in March 2011 according to Daily Herald's Elisabeth Mistretta in February's "DuPage Forest Preserve Critics Say New Hires Post Conflict of Interest." Mistretta reported that District Human Resources Director Laura Capizzano said that a full-time position became available "partially because the IT department had openings, due to the firing and resignation of two employees."

Since Clampit began working for the Forest Preserve last year, his firm Genesis One Designs has been paid close to $130,000 in political campaign work for DuPage Republicans including Citizens for Dan Cronin, the DuPage County Republican Central Committee, the Addison Township Republican Central Committee, the Naperville Township Republican Organization, the Milton Township Republican Central Committee, Citizens to Elect Patrick O'Shea and Citizens for Dennis M. Reboletti. 

The District's Transparency Portal shows that Clampit receives $51,297.09 as a project analyst and his benefits are $26,213.70. His firm's billings while he's worked for the Forest Preserve are two and a half times his annual salary.

"We don't stop anyone from supplementing their employment, as long as it isn't a conflict," Capizzano was quoted.

According to the Illinois State Board of Elections, Genesis One Designs has been paid for ad books, telephone polling, printings, mailings, fundraiser invitations and extensive robo calling and website work over the past 18 months when Clampit's government employment began. (Scroll down to read the entire list of Genesis One Design's $1 million in billings.)

Clampit is currently listed as the both the administrative and technical contacts for the website domain for the Forest Preserve and DuPage Forest Giving through  2013. Simultaneously, he is listed as the registrant and administrator for dupagegop dot net, electcronin dot com, dupagechairman dot com, addisontwpgop dot org, napervillerepublicans dot net, and dennisreboletti dot com -- the website domains for the DuPage County Republican Central Committee, Citizens for Dan Cronin, DuPage County Chairman Dan Cronin's personal website, Addison Township Republican Central Committee, Naperville Township Republican Organization and Citizens for Dennis M. Reboletti respectively.

In apparent anticipation of a Democratic takeover, Clampit has held website domains since April 2007 for turndupagecountyred dot org and turndupagered dot org.

Citizens for Bob Berlin, the campaign for DuPage County State's Attorney Bob Berlin, whose office is prosecuting the IT investigation, transferred campaign funds supporting four of the organizations which paid Genesis One Designs while Clampit was working for the District -- $4,200 to the DuPage County Republican Central Committee, $675 to the Addison Township Republican Central Committee, $450 to the Naperville Township Republican Organization, and $310 to the Milton Township Republican Central Committee.

Hark - Is That the Buzz of Cicadas or a Shredder? Did the DuPage Forest Preserve Shred a Truckload of Records During the Criminal Investigation?

PART FOUR OF A COUNTYLEAKS SERIES...

Within two months of the Forest Preserve District of DuPage County presenting its findings of an "internal investigation" of its Information Technology (IT) Department to the DuPage County State's Attorney's office leading to 317 felony indictments so far, the District sought permission from the State to dispose of 815 cubic feet of records -- the size of 10 ft. by 10 ft. by 8 ft. room jammed to the ceiling.

The "internal investigation" began July 27, 2011 and concluded on Dec. 22, 2011. On Jan. 12, 2012, the District requested approval to dispose of records listed as recent as 2010, including the time period under scrutiny starting in 2005. The nature of the records sought for destruction dated 2005 through 2010 embodied administrative files, date/plan books, appointment books, attendance reports, time accounting and receipts.

Former District Executive Director Brett Manning, who was out on leave during most of the "internal investigation", signed off the request; the Local Records Commission of the Illinois State Archives office certified the request on Mar. 12th.  (To enlarge, click on image)

It is unknown if these records had actually been mulched, as there has been no public discussion by the District's Board of Commissioners. No recent direct payment to a document destruction vendor could be found on the District's "Transparency Portal", nor an injunction by the State's Attorney's office ordering the District to maintain all records throughout the investigation and all proceedings which could follow.

While the District routinely requested to dispose of records, a procedure mandated by the Illinois Local Records Act, local citizen watchdogs are alarmed that the request was made during a criminal investigation when standard practice is to freeze all record destruction -- paper and electronic -- regardless of what the records may contain. A single piece of paper has the power to change everything, they assert.

Watchdogs are also concerned that data and email back-up files stored on the disaster recovery equipment located off-site at Alamach Technology, Inc., a former IT vendor for the District under investigation, may have been altered or swept. 

According to an invoice dated Jan. 18, 2011, Alamach charged the District for "email archive and migration set-up" for 350 users from Nov. 2008 onward. An employee (or was it a subcontractor?) of politically-and-family-connected JRM Consulting, Inc. picked up the data and equipment from Alamach on Nov. 9, 2011 -- 12 days before the District presented their findings to the State's Attorney's office.

Click HERE for a timeline of events discussed in this article.