Grayslake Dist. 46 report won’t go to prosecutors

A majority of Grayslake Elementary District 46 board members Tuesday night voted against forwarding to Lake County prosecutors an internal investigation with findings regarding former and current public officials.

Ethics violation complaints were filed with District 46 over board member Susan Facklam’s alleged engagement in prohibited political activity before the April 5 election. Former board members Mary Garcia and Colleen Wade also were named in ethics complaints that were filed with the district.

Libertyville attorney Richard Mittelman conducted the independent internal probe of the complaints and issued his findings to the District 46 board. “I think we followed the process and followed the recommendations from our independent investigator,” District 46 board President Ray Millington said.

Mittelman concluded there weren’t any violations by Garcia, Facklam or Wade.

Those who filed the complaints against Garcia, Facklam and Wade may appeal the board’s decision to not recommend the cases to the Lake County state’s attorney.

Facklam was accused of having third parties distribute campaign literature at Grayslake Middle School on or about March 11. She also was accused of violating board policy on March 13 by having Parent Teacher Organization email invitations sent for one of her campaign events.

In addition, Facklamn was accused of improperly discussing District 46 issues on March 13 with two other board members.

Garcia was accused of breaching board policy by having third parties distribute campaign literature March 11 at Grayslake Middle School She also was accused of being involved in the PTO campaign event email with Facklam on March 13.

Similar to the accusation against Facklam, Mittelman found Garcia did not improperly discuss District 46 matters with two other board members on March 13.

Wade was accused of violating board policy by sending emails from her personal account which supported the campaigns of Garcia and Facklam.

Facklam abstained from voting on the motions in which she was named in the investigator’s report. New board member Shannon Smigielski filed some of the complaints before she became an elected official, but didn’t participate in any votes for cases she initiated.

Board members Karen Weinert, Keith Surroz, Millington and Facklam didn’t vote on all seven motions on whether to refer the cases to Lake County prosecutors. None of those board members favored referring any of the internal complaints to the state’s attorney for further investigation when they voted.

Smigielski, in the complaints she was allowed to vote on, favored sending the cases to prosecutors. Board member Kip Evans also voted in favor of the state’s attorney’s involvement across the board.

“Majority rule, that’s all I can say. ... As far as the board is concerned, they have not rejected Mr. Mittelman’s findings,” Evans said.

Some of the complaints were lodged by Marchell Norris, who fell short in the April 5 election.