Public raises allegations of misused Rend Lake tourism funds; board says it will investigate

Public commenters at the Feb. 17 Franklin County Board meeting urged a formal review of the Rend Lake Area Tourism council’s finances and governance, alleging that the tourism entity converted to a private nonprofit and continued to receive county bed-tax money without a current intergovernmental agreement. Tom Carter told the board the county "has had no contract for two years" while payments continued and asked whether the county is negotiating with people who have authority to bind the entity. Carter also asked whether the county would seek "restitution for the two years of money that was taken."

Residents and lodging-owners’ representatives supplied a series of specific allegations: Rocky Morris said quarterly accounting "stopped" on Jan. 1, 2024, that some corporate filings were difficult to trace, and that he found IRS and Illinois Department of Revenue line items described as payroll tax payments and liability settlements. Brad Wilson told the board he believed the bed-tax collections were about "$106 or $108,000" in a recent year and said the primary injured parties are lodging business owners who pay the tax and expect tourism promotion in return. The public commenters raised a range of line-item concerns, including IRS payments of roughly $3,939 and $662 and other IDOR entries discussed at the meeting; those figures were presented by commenters as evidence of payroll- or tax-related transactions, not as an audit finding.

Board members responded on the record. County Board member Ray Minor said the county is treating the situation carefully and described "a big puzzle with a lot of pieces," adding that under Illinois case law an expired inter-agency agreement can sometimes be treated as continued mutual agreements while services and payments continue. Neil Hargis, the board chairman, told the public the board is "starting to work our way through it" and acknowledged the need for further record review. Several board members urged that the county confirm the registered agent and corporate authority for any private nonprofit that has been handling bed-tax funds.

The meeting record shows that no formal action (investigatory subpoena, litigation approval, or removal of funds) was taken at the Feb. 17 meeting; public commenters said they planned FOIA requests and complaints. The board accepted the public comments and recorded that multiple internal and external records (financial line items, asset inventories, and corporate filings) will need review to resolve whether county funds were used properly.