FALSE: Al Riley gave himself a $70,000 pay raise for a part-time job
The Supervisor’s position was once a part-time position with a full-time administrator reporting to the Supervisor. This is typical in many units of government such as cities and villages. Supervisor Riley took on the day-to-day administrative responsibilities of the Township since returning from the state legislature. Since January 2019, Supervisor Riley regularly works well in excess of 40 hours a week as CEO of the Township, not even counting evening Board meetings and his other outreach efforts in the community. The stipend (not a salary) for the position of Township Supervisor had been $30,000 per year. Riley was not compensated for days he was in session in Springfield, so the stipend was much lower. The stipend increase to $70,000 (not a $70,000 “raise”) was unanimously passed by the current Township Board in late 2016 for the 2017-2021 term, in accordance with Illinois law.
FALSE: Al Riley has created a “Toxic Environment” at the Township
This is false. Al Riley has not been hesitant to confront even the appearance of impropriety, be it Highway Commissioner Calvin Jordan’s questionable use of Township funds and resources, or Trustees Bobis, Small, and Goodrich concerning their poor judgment and lack of understanding of Illinois Township law. For many of the hard-working men and women employed by the Township, the working environment is one where fairness and protection of personal rights is at the forefront of daily operations.
- Allegations of an $80,000 sexual harassment settlement:
- Demonstrably false
- Probably defamatory
- Supervisor Riley’s record on all forms of harassment:
- Asked by his colleagues to serve on harassment committees as a member of the Illinois House
- Involved in passage of anti-bullying legislation
- Wrote Township ordinances and revised sections of the personnel manual to strengthen safeguards against any form of harassment
- Instituted yearly harassment training for all employees and elected officials of the Township
- Swiftly addressed harassment allegations against Township elected officials
- Lifelong history of combating harassment; 2018 inductee into the Illinois Martial Arts Hall of Fame partially based on his training of women in personal protection and self-defense and passage of anti-bullying legislation
FALSE: Supervisor Riley has been giving out “No Bid Contracts” to “political friends”
Who? All potential vendors are vetted with the requesting department head and evaluated and selected based on merit and demonstrated accomplishments. All work contracted for has a concomitant appropriation from the budget approved by the Township Board. Contracts are awarded as outlined by the Illinois Municipal Purchasing Act. This authority has been used by the Supervisor on a normal or emergency basis, as necessary on behalf of Rich Township.
FALSE: Supervisor Riley hired an employee accused of “unethical” conduct
Who? Since belt-tightening in 2015, very few employees have been hired at Rich Township in an effort by the Township to be a good steward of public tax dollars. There has been a mixture of full and part time employees in the Maintenance and General Assistance departments and the Assessors’ office. These hires, five or six in number, were requested by the Department Head or Constitutional Officer. Township personnel policies instituted by the Supervisor ensure Rich Township employees maintain and live up to the ethical conduct that is expected of public employees. Supervisor Riley has disciplined and, when necessary, terminated any employee who fails to meet those ethical expectations.
Finally, Supervisor Riley, in the interest of transparency, has always made it simple for the public to obtain Township information; recorded or transcribed minutes, agendas, budgets, etc. easily accessible to the public. This accessibility can be facilitated on the Township website or through a Freedom of Information request.