I’ve been aware of the abundant shady Elgin Township shenanigans ever since Supervisor Franklin Ramirez won that 2017 election. A number of sources regaled me with early tales of his “side job” which consisted of driving Judge John Dalton and State Senator Cristina Castro’s legislative aide, Rich Jacobs, to their Lake Geneva vacation home on Township time.
Though that may actually be the least of it. The problem has been that there’s so much political corruption in Northern Illinois that one lone journalist can’t possibly get to all of it.
That’s why I’m grateful for a variety of stellar sources who keep the investigative reporting process on the right track. And my newest source is former 14-year Elgin Township staffer, Nichole Mackall, who not only gave me the green light to print the following letter verbatim, but she also filled in a few more blanks we’ll soon discuss.
Dear Friends,
If you know me, you know that I rarely ask for favors, but I am reaching out to all of my
Elgin friends and asking this small one. Once you read the story below, please keep in mind that I have first-hand experience and knowledge on the way the Township is run.
It matters a great deal to me because I know the honest and positive change you could help make by voting! Early voting has begun, and I am asking if you would please go vote for Ken Bruderle for Elgin Township Supervisor.
Ken is a longtime resident of Elgin and has served as a realtor for 39 years. He has the expertise and knowledge and has helped people from all walks of life. He values all of his clients and customers and will do the same as the Township Supervisor. We need a Supervisor with empathy and a heart. This has nothing to do with politics or parties and everything to do with morals and principle.
I worked for the Township for 14 years. The current Supervisor, Franklin Ramirez, whom I worked under for close to 4 years is an unreliable, unempathetic, and cold-hearted individual when it comes to the low-income families and the senior community the Township
assists. He is undeserving of this title and the salary that comes along with it. Ken has the knowledge, drive, and heart to succeed as the Township Supervisor and knows that in a position such as this, the community comes first!
During the height of the pandemic last year, Franklin put forth no effort in going above and beyond in assisting the community and its families. The utility companies and landlords were not issuing disconnection notices and/or past duenotices (which is required to receive Emergency Assistance through the Township). So, individuals and families account balances were growing larger and larger to the point where once they started handing out these notices, no one was able to pay their obscenely large bills.
The Township only pays a certain amount depending upon the number of individuals in a family, and the family would then have to pay the remaining balance before the Township could submit payment. Their bills grew to the point that this was not going to be an option for them. They were not going to be able to afford to pay that remaining balance.
He did absolutely nothing to help this matter when he had the power to change these guidelines. The funds just sat and sat while he “sat” back and collected his ridiculously large paycheck as well as a $350.00 per month mileage check. If you recall no one was driving anywhere for a good part of the year because nothing was open and there were no meetings!!!! It just goes to show you that his heart is not where it should be when you are in such a position.
One more example. The Township had decided to implement a Senior Utility Assistance Program that was supposed to go into effect years ago. To date, Franklin has yet to update the “application” for this program even after multiple reminders from employees. So, for close to 4 years, he sat on this project at a time when our Seniors barely get by as it is. The Township could have been helping them with their utility bills to make their lives a bit easier. Sadly, we all know their Social Security is not enough to live on per month. All these years the Township could have been making a positive difference in the lives of our seniors.
The moral of the story is, please go vote, and vote for Ken Bruderle knowing that he will be there for the community and Seniors that make up Elgin.
Thank you.
Nichole Mackall
Fascinating, right? I couldn’t have said it better myself! But let’s move on to those other interesting incidents that Nichole and a number of sources were kind enough to provide:
- From May of 2017 to December 2020, Ramirez took 97.5 official days off as noted on his personal office calendar.
- He spent Tuesdays and Thursdays from June 2018 to October of 2018 working on the Michael Noland judicial campaign on company time.
- Many days he didn’t bother to come in to work at all, or he’d pop in for a hour or two and leave. Apparently, he always had an errand, yard work, or any other excuse to quit for the day.
- In 2019, he went to Paris from September 6 to November 3, and then he went to South Africa from November 13 to 29.
- He and Assessor Steve Surnicki charge the taxpayer $350 a month in travel expenses for simply driving in around Elgin. They do NOT need to provide any receipts to receive this “stipend.”
- The senior citizen utility assistance fund money has sat unused for four years because no official application has been created to apply for that assistance!
- The general emergency assistance fund sat virtually unused for six to eight months during the height of the pandemic.
- Ramirez has 1.5 million in Township funds sitting at a credit union while people are about to be evicted. There’s no paper trail for that money, either.
As you might imagine, I’ve reached out to the Elgin Township Supervisor for a response.
Meanwhile, I’ve also reached out to State Senator Cristina Castro and Kane County State’s Attorney Jamie Mosser because they endorsed Ramirez this electoral round. The result of that effort, so far, is Castro has been even more silent than a Trump supporter who took a wrong turn into a Black Lives Matter rally, while Mosser had the temerity to actually defended Ramirez’ rampant absenteeism.
On Thursday, we’ll cover Ramirez’ more than lacking response to these accusations.
