Newsletter Complaint Rejected by State Board of Elections

The complaint filed against the Avon Action slate by Avon Township Trustees Bill McNeill and Douglas Raul Williams, alleging that the Avon Action slate used taxpayer money to print and mail a political mailing, was rejected by the Illinois State Board of Elections Thursday.

At the hearing Thursday afternoon, a hearing officer recommended "that the board find the complaint was not filed on justifiable grounds and no further action be taken," according to the hearing officer's recommendation letter.

"Since Williams can't run against my record, he's running on lies," said Township Supervisor Lisa Rusch, who was named in the complaint with Clerk Elona Hamilton, Assessor Chris Ditton and Highway Commissioner Tom Brust. All four individuals are running for re-election on the Avon Action slate. The slate provided a statement to Grayslake Patch. "It's a travesty he used government resources to try to get some attention. I'm glad the State Board of Elections acted quickly to stop him."

Ditton also accused Williams of "using smoke and mirrors."

"This was a blatant attempt to distract from other serious issues," he said.

The "Complaint for Violation of the Campaign Disclosure Act" alleged that Avon Action and the four people mentioned above: failed to include proper notice on political mailing, used public funds to print and mail political mailing, and failed to report in-kind contribution in excess of $1,000.

"In our attempts to prove that the newsletter was indeed a piece of campaign literature, the hearing officer ruled that because the writers didn’t state 'Vote For' or urge the voters to support or oppose the candidates, it could not be classified as a campaign piece of literature. We leave this up to the voters," McNeill and Williams said in a statement. "There was no reference in the hearing officer's position as to the timing of the literature, the fact that Trustees were absent from the literature, or to the tenor and tone of the literature. The voters will need to make a decision when they enter the voting booth."

Rusch added, "Voters will choose Avon Action because we have a record of fighting for lower tax levies and less government spending. They’ll vote for us because we tell the truth and have done the right things."

McNeill and Williams still hope to pursue an investigation into how the newsletter was paid for.