The lawsuit arose after 2013 arrest of then-treasurer Robert Healy, who was charged with stealing more than $1.5 million from the treasurer’s office. The treasurer’s office has said the legal dispute is over $5.1 million the high school district owes the office for services. La Grange Elementary District 102 Board President Brian Anderson complained the treasurer’s cost to his district had risen by 75 percent over the last decade, though Thiessen and Getty both disputed that and argued costs have been on the decline for years. “That’s more than any single school district could manage,” he said.īut Thiessen and Getty could not - and did not - ignore the fact that a years-long lawsuit against Lyons Township High School District 204 is raising costs for legal fees for all member districts. Township School Treasurer Ken Getty said because the office pools all the money from area school districts, they are able to invest in 230 different investments. Michael Thiessen, president of the three-member Lyons Township School Treasurer Board, compared the services to that of Costco or Sam’s Club and said there is value in managing money through an economy of scale. The offices manages money for public schools in a township, and defenders of the office say it can save districts money by streamlining money management and payrolls while also offering more lucrative investment opportunities.

“This is a branch of government that was eliminated throughout the state of Illinois except for Cook County in the 1960s because it’s redundant and unnecessary,” Durkin said during a panel discussion hosted by the League of Women Voters of the La Grange Area. Illinois House Republican Leader Jim Durkin of Western Springs said Thursday he continues to try to pass legislation that will allow school districts in Cook County to separate from township treasurer offices.

Lyons township high school lawsuits