Plainfield Township Admin Resigns, Willard Appointed To Role

PLAINFIELD, IL — Amid allegations of misconduct — including storing a personal belongings, namely a boat and jet skis, on township property — Plainfield Township Administrator Andi French submitted her resignation, effective immediately, during a special township meeting Monday. French had been employed by the township since 1997.

In addition to accepting French’s resignation, the township board also accepted the resignation of township clerk Chuck Willard before voting to place Willard in the administrator role, creating a vacancy on the board.

Willard’s salary will be $70,000, and he will not be accepting the Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund (IMRF), which totaled around $9,000 for French, according to Fremarek. French’s current salary was $82,500.

The special meeting, called to "review and take action on the position of town administrator," came weeks after a not-for-profit group, Edgar County Watchdogs, received a tip about allegations of misconduct against French and began submitting FOIA requests to the township.

Township Supervisor Tony Fremarek said officials began investigating the allegations after being contacted by the watchdogs, applauding the group for doing a “really good job” watching out for the taxpayers’ interest.

Fremarek said French had been storing a boat, registered to husband Gene French according to the Edgar County Watchdogs post, in a building behind the Plainfield Township Community Center on Des Plaines Street. He said once officials learned about the unauthorized free storage, “We acted immediately” and demanded the boat be removed.

“The minute they contacted us, I reached out and said, ‘How can we help?’” Fremarek said. “If something is going on, we need to know about it.

“It’s just not allowed,” Fremarek said, calling the boat storage a “betrayal of trust” to taxpayers. “It’s just not right.”

Russ Flagg, who served on the Plainfield Township cemetery board before it was disbanded about a year ago, told Patch he believes township officials were aware of the free boat storage, and that it went on for years.

Fremarek and Willard both said they don’t know long the boat was kept in the township building. Willard said he was in the building during a Christmas party held at the community center last December, and the boat was not there at that time.

A story posted Monday to the Edgar County Watchdogs site said, “It would be interesting to know what storage space for these types of vehicles would have cost to better understand how much savings went into their pocket by not having to pay any rent to store their toys. It is our understanding this practice has gone on for several years.” The story included submitted photos of the boat registered to Gene French inside the township building.

“The board knew about things (French) was doing and did nothing about it,” Flagg said, adding that he took that allegation and others to authorities including the Illinois attorney general’s office, but nothing was done.

A followup by Edgar County Watchdogs said in addition to submitting her resignation, French, submitted another letter stating she would reimburse the township $1,300 "representing rent for 13 months for the storage of our boat and jet skis in the Plainfield Township Community Center." The rent covers the time periods of October 2015 through March 2016 and October 2016 to March 2016, plus October 2018, according to the letter.

Flagg said other allegations involving French — including reports that a hidden recording device was found in township facilities — have been reported to the Will County Sheriff's Office. Fremarek confirmed that a recording device was found in the township building, saying an investigation was completed by the sheriff's department and turned over to the Will County State's Attorney's Office.

Fremarek said township officials are looking into other allegations of wrongdoing but declined to elaborate, though he would not rule out the possibility of pursuing criminal charges.

“Anything is possible,” Fremarek said. “I certainly never would rule out charges against someone if what they’ve done warrants it.”

One of Willard’s first tasks as administrator will be to review disbursement records for the township’s emergency assistance and general assistance. Fremarek said French was “resistant to provide a log” of those disbursements. Willard said he began looking over the records on Monday, noting they date back to 1998 and “at first blush, appear to be matching up perfectly” and without any apparent discrepancies.

“Obviously, we have some policies that need to be crafted,” Willard said. “We need some checks and balances.”

Fremarek said he wanted to be transparent about the events surrounding French’s departure.

“The sooner we get it out in the open, the sooner we can move forward,” he said.

According to French’s bio on the township website, she worked for the township for more than 20 years. French said she has “worked under the direction of the Township Supervisor overseeing the day to day operations as well as the services we provide for the residents.”

Willard, a retired lieutenant with the Joliet Fire Department, was re-elected to a fifth term on the township board in April 2017. His term expires in 2021. Fremarek said the township has 60 days to fill the vacancy on the board.

Photo via Plainfield Patch file/Shannon Antinori