Mundelein trustee resigns over his votes
By Russell Lissau
Daily Herald Staff Writer
 
Nearly a year after admitting he regularly voted to pay his company with village funds, veteran Mundelein Trustee Bruce Campbell said he will step down from the board.

Campbell, 71, surprised fellow board members by announcing his resignation, effective Jan. 10, at the end of their Monday night meeting.

Campbell, 71, surprised fellow board members by announcing his resignation, effective Jan. 10, at the end of their Monday night meeting.

He revealed his plans by reading a letter to the group, and elaborated on his decision in an interview Tuesday.

He revealed his plans by reading a letter to the group, and elaborated on his decision in an interview Tuesday.

Bruce Campbell
“It’s time to close the issue and move on,” said Campbell, a trustee since 1993. “We’re just trying to put this behind us.”

The resignation doesn’t automatically end a Lake County grand jury investigation into Campbell’s voting record, Assistant State’s Attorney George Strickland said. Prosecutors will weigh Campbell’s impending departure when they decide whether to proceed with the case, said Strickland, chief of the office’s criminal division.

He hoped to reach a conclusion by the end of the month.
The state’s attorney’s scrutiny began in December 2004 after a Daily Herald report revealed Campbell habitually voted to pay Signs Now, his sign- and banner-making business, despite an Illinois law prohibiting such conflicts of interest.

The newspaper’s review of Mundelein village board minutes, invoices and payment statements issued between July 1997 and October 2004 showed Campbell voted “yes” at least 45 times to approve bills totaling more than $19,000 to Signs Now.

The checks paid for train-station decals, outdoor banners, signs for the annual Mundelein Munch event and many other purchases, village records showed. The smallest bill was for $20; the largest was for $2,941.50.

Earlier invoices could not be studied or compared with voting records because the village destroyed bills issued before May 1997 as part of routine disposal efforts, officials said last year.

The bills were included in motions that covered many invoices, and the votes were made during a section of the meeting reserved for routine items that don’t require discussion.

Campbell’s votes contradicted a state law requiring municipal board members to abstain from voting on contracts from which they benefit financially.

Infractions are felonies that could result in incarceration, fines or other penalties. Contracts made in violation of the law can be voided.

Campbell also entered “present” votes 15 times on checks to the shop during the same period, village records showed. Attorneys for the village have said the “present” votes indicated Campbell didn’t want to be counted.

Campbell abstained from voting on Signs Now bills starting in May 2004. He later explained the change was prompted by a village memo about ethics-related rules and media stories about local officials who broke the law.

Campbell publicly acknowledged the votes Dec. 27, 2004, two days before the Daily Herald published the results of its investigation.

In his resignation letter, Campbell said the disputed votes were inadvertent.

He also said he was proud of his long career in public service, which included a 10-year stint on the Mundelein High School board. He thanked the trustees for their counsel and friendship.

Trustees supported Campbell’s decision.
“Bruce made a mistake, he admitted making a mistake and he resigned because of it. That’s closure,” Trustee Terri Voss said.

Trustee Ray Semple, who has sat next to Campbell for years at board meetings, said he has “100 percent confidence” Campbell didn’t intend to break the law.

“We vote on hundreds of thousands of dollars in bills, and Bruce had some invoices in there,” Semple said.

Mayor Kenneth H. Kessler said Campbell told him about his decision to resign a few hours before Monday’s meeting. He said he would miss Campbell on the dais, but also understood “the law is very clear on these bill-payment situations.”

The case shows officials with local government agencies need regular ethics training, said David Morrison, deputy director of a watchdog group called the Illinois Campaign for Political Reform. The criminal investigation likely could have been avoided had Campbell handled the bills differently, Morrison said.

Campbell was re-elected to a fourth term in April. The board must appoint someone to replace him.

He is the second village board member from Lake County to resign in the past two years because of improper votes.

Round Lake Trustee Danette Kohlmeyer quit in September 2004 after the Daily Herald reported she voted to approve more than $105,000 in payments to her family’s automobile-service business during a 17-month period. The state’s attorney investigated but closed the case without filing charges.