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Politics & Government

Location, Location, Location: Where You Meet an Official May Cost You

An Arbor Creek homeowner was billed $205 after he met with Plainfield Township Supervisor John Argoudelis at his law office rather than town hall.

On Jan. 10, Stan Paulauskas went to see Plainfield Township Supervisor John Argoudelis.

Paulauskas was hoping Argoudelis, who's also a local attorney, might be able to pull some strings to get something done about the ravine in his back yard at Arbor Creek subdivision.

You might remember the we ran earlier this year about Paulauskas and his neighbor Morris Jones, who have been struggling for years to find some sort of fix for their yards, which have dropped off into the Lily Cache Creek. The erosion began shortly after they bought new houses built by Arbor Creek developer Krughoff Builders in 2001, and now their yards have steep drop-offs were the land has collapsed.

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Over the course of the last decade, Paulauskas has talked to just about every political officeholder in the area, starting with state Rep. Tom Cross right on down to dog catcher. He has never stopped trying to get someone with power interested in his case.

But Paulauskas’ chat with Argoudelis in January generated something he had never received in all his many meetings with elected officials: A bill.

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“Two hundred and five dollars,” Paulauskas told me over the phone the day the bill came. His voice was still shrill with shock and indignation.

A public servant was charging a citizen for face time? Paulauskas could not believe it, he said.

Argoudelis, who has since dropped the charges, so to speak, says it was all misunderstanding. It was a simple mixup that can be explained by that handy old adage:

Location, location, location.

“Since he came to see me at my law office, I thought he wanted me to represent him in some legal action involving the village,” Argoudelis said.

If Paulauskas had called the staff over at Plainfield Town Hall and set up a meeting with Argoudelis there at township HQ, then the supervisor would have been clear that this was a constituent courtesy call and not a billable encounter.

“If someone wants to see me as a town supervisor, they call town hall. If they want to see me as an attorney, they come to my law office,” Argoudelis said.

The problem is the supervisor is hardly ever at town hall. Paulauskas called on Argoudelis at his Plainfield law office, he says, because that’s where Argoudelis can most reliably be found. But Paulauskas says he made a point of being clear that he was there as a constituent, not a paying customer.

“I asked him if there would be a charge, and he just kind of waved his hand,” Paulauskas said.

Argoudelis typed a four-sentence memo to Plainfield Public Works Director Allen Persons for an update on Stan’s situation and to verify his facts. Persons sent back a six-sentence e-mail response, concluding, “I like Stan and his neighbor Morris (nice people) but I don’t know what we can do for them at this point.”

“Can you believe he charged me $200 for looking at that e-mail?” Paulauskas asked me.

It wasn’t the first time a township official had taken up Paulauskas’ cause.

The late Raymond Barnes, then Plainfield Township assessor, wrote a missive to the Will County Board in 2005, concluding, “The village of Plainfield and its planning commission have egg on their face and should do whatever they can to give relief to this party.”

And that bombshell was a freebie, Paulauskas said.

Argoudelis wouldn’t dream of charging a constituent for his help, he said.

“I would never, ever charge a resident for helping them,” he said. “Over the years, I have helped all kinds of people and never charged them.”

Argoudelis is hurt and dismayed by the accusation, he said. He didn’t know why Paulauskas would come to see him at his law office, only to turn him over to the press when the bill came in the mail.

The township supervisor, a Republican who's also Will County Board member for District 5, speculated that politics might have something to do with it. Paulauskas some time ago made a bid on a Democratic ticket for township highway commissioner, losing to current Highway Commissioner Sam Reichert, a Republican.

“Maybe he was trying to set me up,” Argoudelis said. “The last thing I need is another sensational story.”

Last winter, we had some sport with Argoudelis in a series of about him dragging his feet on writing a press release he promised the day after last fall’s elections. We’re all still waiting for that statement telling whether he plans to keep both his public offices or not.

At any rate, Argoudelis said he’d make nice with Stan and tell him to forget the bill. Stan is good with that, he said.

“But if I hadn’t called you, he’d probably be bugging me about that $200 forever,” Paulauskas said.

With more than $10,000 invested in trying to get someone to level off his landscape, what’s another couple hundred bucks?

“I just want to get my back yard fixed,” Paulauskas said.

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