Federal grant application by Carlinville was for regional water “commission”

CARLINVILLE (Heartland Newsfeed) — A recent investigation from the Edgar County Watchdogs, in their ongoing battle with the City of Carlinville, has revealed the City’s 2016 grant application for Federal funding of a project on behalf of the Illinois Department of Agriculture.

As discovered by ECWd’s John Kraft, the intent and purpose of the grant was for “a preliminary engineering report to evaluate options” for development of a viable water supply, treatment and transmission system to serve a regional water commission, with the City being the lead entity until the commission is formed.

A water commission is a public entity authorized by the Illinois General Assembly for public bodies to form and participate in. This is separate from the “private water company” which Carlinville has been in talks with with Fosterburg and Jersey.

The private water company between Carlinville, Fosterburg and Jersey, which is under development, has been scrutinized as to whether the whole arrangement as a private company by three governmental bodies is legal or not. The legal representation of this “company” states that they are not subject to the cumbersome regulations of a legitimate public body and considers them not subject to the Illinois Open Meetings Act, stated in a meeting last fall.

What is not considered a surprise is that a certain local governmental official’s family members have since opened their own for-profit company, falling in line with the same kind of work required for this private water company.

In the Illinois Leaks article, Kraft has stated that this is not the path the City of Carlinville can participate in.

“We are not against anyone getting good, reliable, safe, clean, inexpensive drinking water,” stated Kraft in the article. “What we are, and everyone should be, against is the path chosen to get to that point — by public bodies forming a private company without the legislative authority to form it.

The City of Carlinville submitted the request for Federal funding in the amount of $30,000 via a 75%/25% grant, where the city would need to contribute $10,000, under a false pretense and narrative to obtain these funds and may have used the proceeds and product of those funds for a purpose not stated in the application.

Representatives from the City of Carlinville and Fosterburg Water District were unavailable for comment.

A copy of the application is attached below.

[pdf-embedder url=”http://heartlandnewsfeed.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/Application-City-of-Carlinville_Redacted.pdf”]

Jake Leonard

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Jake Leonard, a broadcast media and journalism veteran, is the editor-in-chief of Heartland Newsfeed. Leonard is also GM and program director of Heartland Newsfeed Radio Network, wrestling editor and contributing writer for Ambush Sports, a contributing writer for My Sports Vote and Midwest Sports Network, and a former contributor to Bleacher Report and Overtime Heroics. He resides at home in Nokomis, Ill. with his dog Buster.

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