Will Co. (ECWd) –
Bill Mayer, the Township Supervisor for DuPage Township is embroiled in what appears to be a conflict of interest related to a phone service company called Call One.
During one of the first DuPage Township meetings that I attended I asked Mr. Mayer some pointed questions pertaining to Call One. Below are the questions and the video of the meeting.
Q: Are you still affiliated with that company (Call One)?
A: I’m not an employee
Note I did not ask if he was an employee, I asked if he was affiliated with that company. A question we already knew the answer to but one he avoided answering. That is an indicator of avoidance in answering for some reason.
Q: Are you affiliated with that company?
A: No Comment
Why would a Township Supervisor respond with “no comment” instead of simply providing the public the truth, which according to his own signature points to an affiliation with Call One, as does numerous other public records?
When public officials refuse to provide answers, the public can only draw a conclusion from the facts before them. The facts we are finding could be problematic for Mayer and may well explain his “no comment”, comment.
Q: During your term as a board member and as a Supervisor was the Township Doing Business with that firm
A: Yes
Q: Have you ever recieved any compensation from Call One that was related to them doing business with this Township?
A: No
Q: If no, would you be willing to provide an affidavit?
A: Sure
To date, Mr. Mayer has refused to provide the affidavit that he told us he would during the public meeting. Why would he not provide an affidavit on this point? Doing so would clear up any question of him receiving compensation from a company doing business with the Township, provided he responds truthfully.
According to this Statement of Economic Interest document, filed with the Will County Clerk, Mayer reported having earned at least $1,200.00 from Call One during the previous year. That filing points to Call One doing business with the Township and Mayer reporting that he did, in fact, have an income from Call One.
There are strict rules that apply to elected officials doing business with a unit of government in which they are a part of. The Officers Prohibited Activities Act (OPPA), section 3, outlines those exceptions that apply to all units of government and it should be noted that those exceptions listed are inclusive, meaning you have to meet each criterion in order to do business with your own unit of Government. The other statute is found in the Township code under “Pecuniary interest in contracts“, and it is very similar to the OPAA.
A simple way to clear up any confusion on possible violations of those laws would be for full disclosure on the part of Bill Mayer. I say confusion because he chose to blame the past attorney for another SEI filing that pointed to income from Wrangler Unlimited, Inc., which he reported to be a partner in with his wife. A company that he reported as having an interest in and then doing business with the Township. We covered that in this article.
Normally we say follow the money but in this case, it appears you can simply follow the paper trail that Mayer himself has laid out and then compare his own documents to his words in the video.
Conflicted? Yes or No?
You be the Judge!
