This morning's Daily Herald announced that the Village Board of Island Lake will meet Thursday night at 8:00PM to discuss "Personnel", meaning the suspension of its police chief, Anthony Sciarrone.
The comments in the paper are more than "interesting."
Some trustees apparently believe that Mayor Debbie Herrmann won't even show up. Since she is the only one who knows why she kicked out Chief Sciarrone, it'll be a rather boring meeting if she isn't there.
"Trustee Donna O'Malley said she's been advised by the village's attorney not to attend the meeting."
Why would the Village attorney tell a Trustee not to attend the meeting? Why would a Trustee even solicit such an opinion from the Village attorney?
Just imagine the legal fees going through the ceiling, as each Trustee rings up the Village attorney. (I was reminded of calls a few years ago by nine siblings to the attorney for their parents' estates, which were to be handled by a bank trustee. The banker directed each heir to the attorney for the estates, instead of fielding the calls himself. The legal fees for the administration of the estates sky-rocketed.)
"Four would be needed to establish a quorum," according to the article. Yes, but failure to have a quorum might not keep them from meeting. They just couldn't take any action without a quorum.
The public is owed an immediate explanation for this suspension by its mayor. Will the Village trustees announce anything after the 8:00PM meeting on Thursday? Anyone attending can expect to cool his heels for a while, while they meet in closed session. The Trustees could certainly make a statement at any time and, if they are going to vote to reinstate the chief or confirm his suspension, then they have to do that in public session. They can't do that behind closed doors.
In effect, Mayor Herrmann has merely given Chief Sciarrone a paid vacation until another decision is made. Will she take the matter to the Board of Fire and Police Commissioners, to the full Board or just can him on her own?
Reference: http://dailyherald.com/story/?id=359881
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