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Residents and county judges urge probe after partisan-style insert appears in Kane County tax bills
Summary
Several public commenters pressed the county executive committee to investigate a partisan‑looking insert that accompanied recent Kane County property tax bills, asking for an independent cost audit and a review under the Illinois State Officials and Employees Ethics Act; the board agreed to research costs and consider referral to the state's attorney.
Three residents who spoke during public comment asked Kane County officials on May 6 to investigate an insert that accompanied recent property tax bills and which they said resembled political advertising.
Vicky Davidson Bell of Geneva told the executive committee the treasurer’s office included a color photograph and messaging in the mailed tax bill that “counts how he kept down taxes,” and she called the insert “completely inappropriate” for an official tax document. “Tax bills should have only been tax bills and not included advertisement for himself to every taxpayer in the county,” Bell said.
Ed Monk said his wife mistook the handout for a campaign mailer and urged the county to send the matter to the state’s attorney for review. “This is our real estate tax bill…This is a political advertisement,” Monk said, asking the committee to “request the state’s attorney look into the misappropriation of taxpayer funds.”
Denise Stable, also speaking during public comment, pointed to specific language and images that she said mirror candidate messaging and argued the insert misleads taxpayers about the treasurer’s authority. “The treasurer does not set tax rate or tax levies…It’s inaccurate and misleading to taxpayers,” she said, and asked for a “full independent audit of the additional cost of this mailing” and a legal and ethical review under the Illinois State Officials and Employees Ethics Act.
Committee members did not take immediate formal action during the meeting but directed staff to research the cost of the insert and its procurement and to coordinate with the clerk and legal counsel. The chair said the finance committee will review how communications are handled and report back, and some members suggested referring the matter to the state’s attorney for an ethics review if warranted.
No county official present disputed that inserts were distributed; the treasurer’s office was identified in public remarks as the origin of the material. The committee did not make a policy change at the May 6 meeting; members asked staff to provide cost and procurement information at the next committee or county board meeting so the full board can decide whether to request an independent audit or a legal opinion from the state’s attorney.
