Representative Yingling Seeks Dissolution of Avon Township Community Foundation

A petition was filed on Friday, July 12th for the dissolution of the Avon Township Community Foundation by attorney Ed Mullen of Chicago.

The foundation and president Wendy Warden have come under criticism of late for allowing the charity to temporarily lose its tax-exempt status through the IRS as a result of not filing the required 990 forms for three consecutive years following the formation of the foundation in 2010.

The finger-pointing began almost immediately. As reported by Gene Carey of RoundLakeAreaNews.com, a letter of “caution for negligence while serving as treasurer of the Foundation”, which stated, ““Your negligence may have impacted several thousand dollars of donations to the Avon Township Community Foundation that were made under the “auspices” of ‘non-profit’, including your own. Additionally your negligence may jeopardize our future fund raising abilities, our reputation, and most importantly our ability to help the most vulnerable.“

Former Avon Township Supervisor and current State Representative Sam Yingling, meanwhile, points out that Ms. Warden submitted the yearly financial reports to the state, and was also responsible for the federal filings.  Indeed, a quick search at the Illinois Attorney General website shows that Ms. Warden filled out and signed the forms, albeit late with a $100 penalty each year.

The foundation was created in 2010 to provide residents and businesses with a means to make tax-deductible donations to the food pantry.  The township still operates the food pantry, but the foundation handles donations and food purchases.  This is a requirement of the Northern Illinois Food Bank, which only provides to charities.  According to the foundation’s initial filing with the Illinois Secretary of State, there are three board members:  Ms. Warden, Rep. Sam Yingling, and former Lake County Circuit Court Clerk candidate Cynthia Haran. The original term of each of the board members was to be 10 years, but Cynthia Haran has since resigned her position.  Current Avon Township supervisor Lisa Rusch applied for the vacancy, but was apparently voted down by Ms. Warden.  Rep. Sam Yingling has also been denied from accessing any of the financial records or tax filings of the organization since its revocation.

With the two-person board now at odds, the organization is in limbo.  The IRS has a search tool for identifying charities, and while the foundation is no longer in their revoked list, they are not in the eligible list either.  David McArtin, an employee at the township and husband of Ms. Warden, indicated that paperwork for reinstatement had been submitted to the IRS.  This paperwork, according to the IRS website, will likely have a $400 check attached to cover the non-filing penalty.  None of these filings is yet available to the public.

A conference is scheduled for 9:00am, October 24th, in room C407 at the Lake County courthouse in Waukegan.