Bob Bowen FOIAs Mayor Claar on Live Television Demanding Answers for the Residents on Repaying the $400 Million Village Debt

At the Dec. 14 Village Board meeting, Trustee Candidate Bob Bowen addressed the Mayor and the Trustees and once again asked them what their plan was to repay the $400 Million debt that the incumbent Trustee have voted to create for the Village.  The debt spending of the Trustees has made the Village have more debt per person than any Village in all of Illinois.  The interest on this debt alone is a staggering $30 Million a year.

Bob asked the Trustees "What made you think it was ok to vote to put us all under $400 Million in debt?  Surely you must have had a plan to pay back the debt when you voted to create the $400 Million in debt.  What is you plan?  Roger, what is your plan?  The residents want to know."

Roger could not provide any numbers on a plan to pay off the debt but then James Boan, Village attorney, replied that "5 million" would be paid toward the debt in 2011.  Bob replied "$30 Million owed in annual interest and only $5 Million in repayment.  This is not a plan this is just hand waiving."  Bob then served Roger Claar with a formal written FOIA demand live on camera that requires Roger to provide:

• Your detailed specific financially rational plan to pay back the nearly $400 Million in debt that you have put the Village in.

Bob reminded Roger "By law you have 5 business days to respond.  If you don't respond then at the next Village Board meeting everyone will know you have no plan to repay the debt and that you don't know how to do your job."

We'll report on Roger's FOIA response to Bob's FOIA demand, or lack thereof.


INCUMBENT RICKY MORALES SAYS ON PUBLIC TV THAT NO $400 MILLION DEBT REPAYMENT PLAN NEEDS TO BE PROVIDED "IF WE DON'T HAVE ONE"

Incumbent Trustee Ricky Morales, who has consistently rubber stamp voted increasing Bolingbrook's debt to the current $400 Million level, publicly responded to Bob Bowen's FOIA demand for the Village debt repayment plan by saying that no repayment plan needs to be produced "if we don't have one".

Nice job Ricky.  Not only have you been responsible for creating the $400 Million debt, now you are bragging that you never even had a plan to pay off the $400 Million debt when you created it (no one else thinks that's something you should be bragging about Ricky--you are truly out of touch with reality).  Incompetent "leadership" like yours is why Bolingbrook is in the mess it is with the highest property and sales tax in the area and being forced to layoff Village employees and reduce services to the residents.

Bob Bowen went up to Ricky after the Village Board Meeting and extended his hand to shake Ricky's hand and wish him a "Merry Christmas".  Ricky withheld his hand, scowled at Bob, and stormed away.  Extremely poor form for a Trustee to be "bah, humbug" and refuse to shake the hand of a constituent who he is supposed to be representing.   But then we all know Ricky has been too focused on mindlessly rubber stamping deficit spending to create $400 Million in debt, spending $100 of our tax payer funds a shot on lunches for himself, and bankrupting Bolingbrook to do his job and represent the interests of the actual resident of Bolingbrook.  Time for a change and for electing new Trustees on April 5!