Addison Township Truck Feud Explained

ADDISON, IL – The former supervisor for Addison Township says a pickup truck purchased for a pantry is right where it should be – with a nonprofit group that he heads.

The township includes the northern part of Elmhurst.

Last October, former Supervisor Dennis Reboletti bought the $47,352 truck with a check from the Addison Township Foundation.

Patch wrote a story last week about the 2024 Chevrolet Silverado truck. This was after Reboletti's successor, Bobby Hernandez, asked about the truck's status during an interview.

The story apparently prompted the township government to post a sign on its property, reading, "Ask Dennis: Where's Our Truck?"

In a letter responding to the story, Reboletti asked Patch to retract it and issue an apology. He said it contained factual misstatements.

In April's election, Democrat Hernandez defeated Republican Reboletti, ending decades of GOP control. This reflected a trend around DuPage County.

Last summer, DuPage County approved $78,617 for a pickup truck, freezer and technology upgrades for Addison Township's pantry. It was one of many such grants around the county.

All the county's documentation listed Addison Township as the recipient, including the information before County Board members who approved the money.

That was also the case with the county's grant agreement with the township and the township's application for the money, drafted by a township employee using her government title.

The pantry is in the township's Addison offices, where township supervisors have long headed the foundation.

After Hernandez won, he asked Reboletti whether the foundation would be turned over to him, Reboletti said this week. But Reboletti said he would not let that happen.

"The foundation has no obligation to turn over its assets all because of a change in administration," Reboletti said during an interview in downtown Elmhurst. "I said they could set up their own foundation."

He said the Addison Township Foundation is working to set up a pantry, likely in Elmhurst.

As for the pickup truck and other county-funded equipment, Reboletti wouldn't say in Monday's interview where exactly they are. He said they are in storage in Elmhurst.

Asked why he wouldn't reveal the location, he said it's a private foundation. However, he said he would tell the county if it asked.

"The foundation is in full compliance," Reboletti said.

On Wednesday, Reboletti said the foundation's new address is 240 E. Lake St., Suite 109C, in Addison. The truck will be there, he said.

He said he would have added the word "foundation" to "Addison Township" in the county documents.

At the same time, the county records do not call Addison Township by either of its legal names – "Township of Addison" and "Town of Addison," Reboletti said. The township, he said, uses those legal names in documents.

All the other county grants went to nonprofits such as the foundation, Reboletti said. Two of the grants were listed as going to York and Bloomingdale townships, but, like Addison Township, the money went to their respective foundations, he said.

He said townships form foundations to help their pantries. The foundation, not the township, is allowed to buy food from the Northern Illinois Food Bank, and the only way to get food from grocery stores is to be a nonprofit that belongs to the food bank, he said.

In an interview last month, Hernandez said Reboletti worked to maintain full control over the foundation before leaving office. He said Reboletti decided to separate the foundation from the township.

"The nonprofit arm of the township is to help fund and receive donations for the Addison Township food pantry," Hernandez said.

Hernandez did not return a message on Tuesday.