Your Taxes Dollars at Work to Defeat Bill that Could Reduce Taxes

When we were talking about the defeat of a bill that would shrink the number of taxing bodies in the state last week, we mused about the funding for Township Officials of Illinois.

We were particularly curious about where the money comes from to pay the salary of the group's legislative consultant (read: lobbyist) Tim Bramlet. Township officials, you may recall, were slapping Bramlet on the back for waging a successful campaign against .

So I called him up and asked him.

Bramlet apparently forwarded my inquiry to Bryan Smith, the group's executive director, who, coincidentally, was at last Wednesday’s Board meeting to . Smith helpfully responded to my questions about salaries and funding sources with this e-mailed information:

“TOI is a private, not-for-profit association that pursues the interests of township government and officials. TOI is NOT a governmental body or agency and
therefore is NOT subject to the FOIA or any FOIA requests,” he wrote.

So I asked Smith if, even though he’s not required to by law, he would care to go ahead and share this information for the edification of Patch readers. Here’s what he said:

“I will simply respond by saying that the Illinois Compiled Statutes, 60 ILCS 1/85-15 authorizes townships to join our organization.”

OK, then. There’s some news from the Straight Talk Express. I think Smith was trying not to say “from dues the townships pay.”

Wheatland Township, for example, budgets $1,200 a year for dues, most of which goes to TOI. And where do townships get the money to pay the dues? You guessed it. Your taxes.

So, yes, tax money does indirectly flow through the township to TOI to Bramlet’s paycheck.

Thanks for beating SB 173, Tim. Thanks for shooting straight with us, Bryan.

ARGOUDELIS WATCH: 195 days since Election Day 2010 and still no statement from Plainfield Township Supervisor John Argoudelis on whether he intends to be both township supervisor and a Will County Board member.