Update: Wheatland Will Use Meeting Agenda Drafted by Citizens Group

UPDATE

Doug Ibendahl, the attorney representing a group of citizens who have petitioned for a special meeting on the proposed $1.5 million Wheatland Township hall building, said today the township will use the group's agenda for the 7 p.m. May 23 meeting.

Township Clerk Chuck Kern confirmed that is the agenda that is now posted at the township hall, and that the matter will be discussed at a 7 p.m. Thursday meeting, just before the regular 7:30 p.m. board meeting.

“It’s official,” Ibendahl said. “At the end of the day, this is supposed to be the electors' meeting and their agenda."

The group's agenda calls for a needs assessment, which will put a price on every need identified, and for an analysis of the “viable space options” to accommodate those needs.

It also calls for a space study committee to be established consisting of township trustees Frank King and Joe Hudetz and three members to be elected by voters at the May 23 meeting. The space study is to be presented to the residents at a special meeting no later than Aug. 11, where a vote will be taken.

Ibendahl said he's very interested in getting involved in this situation, which he described as "siding with the underdog."

“This thing has been bounced back and forth like a tennis ball for seven years now,” he said. “Mistakes have been made in the past, but let’s get thing back on track and for the first time make a fully informed decision with full transparency.”

“I’m very interested in political reform, so this case is right up my alley.”

Ibendahl said he plans to be at the May 23 meeting.

Posted at 12:15 p.m. Tuesday:

Leaders of the Wheatland Township citizen group are working with Chicago attorney Doug Ibendahl, a GOP heavy-hitter, to draft their approach on how to stop and potentially kill plans for a new $1.5 million town hall.

Ibendahl is a former general counsel for the Illinois Republican Party and co-founder of the Republican Young Professionals. He was on the Bush-Cheney legal team in Florida during the 2000 presidential recount.

On Tuesday, Deb Holscher and Mike Crockett, who are , released the agenda for a 7 p.m. May 23 special meeting that they crafted with Ibendahl’s advice. The group obtained its own lawyer because it did not want to work with township attorney .

“After speaking to many attorneys, some numerous times, Mike and I knew Doug was the best counsel for the people,” Holscher said. “His activism for good government is well known. "

The citizens group agenda wants an assessment done to determine what is needed in a new town hall, come up with a price tag for those identified needs, and analyze “viable space options” to accommodate them.

The meeting stems from a petition that citizens approved at the annual town meeting in April. Under state law, township residents can gather at a town meeting once a year to vote on issues directly. They can also call for additional public meetings at which they will be allowed to vote, which is what happened here.

However, the township board also plans to have a meeting on the same topic -- the fate of the new town hall and whether building, buying or leasing is the way to go -- which trustees say is in response to the residents' petition at the annual meeting. (Wheatland Township includes large portions of Plainfield and Naperville.)

The township board has drafted its own agenda and its meeting will also be held at 7 p.m. May 23. The township meeting agenda calls for a review of the history of the building plans and the needs related to the new building. It includes “discussion and possible action” on temporarily suspending the project, stopping it, continuing it or looking at different locations.

Which agenda will prevail is not known. It's also not clear if decisions made by the citizens group will override action taken by the township board.

Based on his work with Ibendahl, Crockett thinks the citizens group has the upper hand.

“It turns out that the electors have substantial rights and as long as the agenda we have submitted, pursuant to the petition, is fair and comprehensive, there should be no reason why the Wheatland (Township) board has good reason to hold
another meeting with their own agenda,” Crockett said in an e-mailed statement.

Wheatland Township Supervisor Todd Morse did not return a phone call from Plainfield Patch, but has said in the past that he believes the electorate supports the new building.

Residents wanted to meet with Morse to set an agenda for their meeting, but Morse said they did not respond to his request to choose a time to get together so the .

Although the agenda has been approved, the township board will hold a special meeting for 7 p.m. Thursday to discuss it further. It will be just before the 7:30 regular monthly board meeting.