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Friday, October 22, 2004, 1:13 p.m.
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 - RIVER GROVE, Ill. -- A west suburban school district may be walking an ethical and a legal line because its school superintendent has asked vendors for contributions to push a referendum that would give the school district more money to spend on vendors.
WBBM Newsradio 780's Steve Miller reports… LISTEN HERE
It is the River Grove School District 85.5 - trying next month for the fourth time to get a referendum passed to get more property tax money. Money that'll bring back extracurricular activities that have been cut, like band.
River Grove School Superintendent Jon Bartelt says he wrote a letter, on letterhead, to vendors - such as the company that supplies band equipment - asking them for contributions to fund the referendum campaign.
Also contacted was the company that administers health care, and the company that provides investment services.
Bartelt told WBBM "I wrote a letter. It was placed on letterhead because I am the superintendent of the school district, but it was sent through a donation that I made in terms of postage to these individuals as a representative of the referendum committee."
"Whether you choose to donate to the referendum committee or not to," the letter said, "it doesn't influence the way business is conducted in the school district."
But Jay Stewart, executive director of the Better Government Association, doesn't see it that way.
"It's always going to be in the mind of a vendor, 'Boy, what happens if I don't contribute? Will my contract stay in effect? Will I get renewed?' So I think this is something that is very troubling."
A legal source in state government says what River Grove has done is questionable - and may violate the Ethics Act and the state election code.
Stay tuned to WBBM Newsradio 780 for the latest developments on this and other stories. |
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