On Jan. 31, 2023, Mahomet-Seymour Board President Max McComb wrote an opinion piece for the News-Gazette in rebuttal to what board member Meghan Hennesy said at the Jan. 17, 2023, regularly scheduled board of education meeting. The following are just excerpts from those pieces. Hennesy’s speech (Jan. 17) can be found here. McComb’s opinion piece (Jan. 31) can be found here.
This project is not an attempt to look at every issue that was brought up in its entirety. This publication has reported on some of these issues before. In those cases, links are provided so that each reader can learn more about the issue. The articles that follow are an attempt to look at the claims each board member brought up. In some cases, one board member named others. In those cases, this publication looked at what happened surrounding those claims. All of the articles can be found on this page. Each article also includes documents and videos referenced.
We understand that this piece comes two months after these events took place. We have taken time to watch discussions of every topic over the last three years, to look at board agendas and minutes from the same time period, to read emails, to send FOIA requests and to undertake a major project in analyzing TIF data. This work took time, and that is why it took so long to complete.
Quotes from McComb
“Mrs. Hennesy says she stands for ‘financial responsibility’ but has almost single-handedly caused some of our highest attorney bills ever.”
Max McComb
Looking Back
Since 2018, this publication has asked for invoices from the district’s legal representation. Below you will find an account of what those legal fees look like.
It’s oftentimes difficult to see exactly what is transpiring between the district and the board attorney. The files can be redacted under attorney-client privilege, according to FOIA.
There are a few things to note, though.
From what we can see, Hennesy is not listed as a reason the district is contacting the board attorney. Instead, we can see the district deal with lawsuits, looks at how to change the assessed value of Bridle Brook; has discussions about IEPs; looks at FOIA responses and PAC reviews; receives advice about the referendum, the sale of Sangamon and contracts; engages in a lawsuit against COVID-19 mitigations, among other issues.
Another notable expense began in Feb. 2021. This was the first meeting a lawyer from Franczek attended a Mahomet-Seymour School Board meeting.
McComb said, “I also want to point out that Shelli Anderson from Franczek is with us tonight. I asked her to join us and she is here at my request in case we have questions or issues that we need guidance with.”
The board attorney has virtually attended meetings since then. While Franzcek did not do this prior to 2019, it is not unusual for a board attorney to be present at meetings. The Village of Mahomet’s attorney is at every board meeting, for example.
The rate for that service is billed at $330/hour. Lawyer fees since 2015 have increased significantly. In 2020, just seven months after three new board members were seated, we reported that from 2015-2020 there had been a 1,785.26-percent increase in fees.
