Leadership adjustments within the Calumet metropolis workplace have begun and can proceed into the brand new yr after former administrator Kim Robinson pleaded responsible to broadcast fraud expenses and resigned from the place.
Councilman Gary Darren Washington, D-At Large, stated Thursday he plans to run for Calumet Township Trustee, however declined to remark additional.
“I’m positively interested by placing my identify ahead as a trustee,” Washington stated.
Gary Council President Tai Adkins, D-4th, stated the trustee position “is actually very important to our neighborhood.” Although many have requested her to think about working, Adkins stated she hasn’t but determined whether or not she wish to run.
“Should I determine to discover this chance, I’ll focus on it additional with my household and colleagues and can make an official assertion at an applicable time,” Adkins stated.
Lake County Democratic Party Chairman Jim Wieser stated nobody has known as him to specific curiosity within the place, though the official discover for the caucus to elect the brand new trustee will not be launched till early subsequent yr. week.
The caucus to interchange Robinson is tentatively set for 6pm on January 16, though the situation has but to be confirmed, Wieser stated. People interested by working ought to apply no later than 6pm on January 13, he stated.
If an elected official have been elected as the following trustee, Wieser stated one other caucus could be held to fill the emptiness. Wieser stated he wish to see Calumet Township’s subsequent trustee be somebody dedicated to public service with a monetary background.
“First of all, you need somebody who desires to serve the neighborhood,” Wieser stated.
Calumet Township Manager Dayna Bennett was sworn in Monday — the day Robinso entered his responsible plea — to function trustee till the caucus, administrative assistant Sandi Cogan stated.
Robinson pleaded responsible in U.S. District Court in Hammond to a wire fraud cost, which carries a penalty of as much as 20 years in jail, by which federal prosecutors stated she used $11,200 in funds municipal payments to pay hire in Gary.
As a part of the deal, she resigned on December 20. If a decide accepts the plea deal, Robinson will serve one yr of probation and should repay $11,200, plus an $8,700 wonderful. He posted a $20,000 unsecured bond.
In a press release supplied to the Post-Tribune on Sunday, Robinson expressed her “deepest gratitude to every” of her constituents for the “belief and help” that they had positioned in her whereas she was in workplace. He didn’t clarify the explanation for his resignation, however stated it was necessary to make a press release as folks “could begin to hear data associated” to it.
“As I step away from this position, I stay eager for the way forward for our township. I depart the City’s working fund within the black with money reserves of greater than $2 million in an emergency fund. Furthermore, I’ve full confidence within the management that may observe me and I wholeheartedly help the method of choosing a brand new trustee who will proceed our mission of progress and repair to the neighborhood,” Robinson stated within the assertion.
Robinson turns into the third consecutive Calumet City supervisor to face federal expenses.
Robinson was elected in 2014 after defeating incumbent Administrator Mary Elgin in a main within the shadow of an FBI and IRS investigation into the workplace. He beforehand served as a former metropolis of Gary probation officer, Gary councilman for the town’s fifth District from 2008 to 2014, and the Lake County Treasurer’s Office.
In December 2014, Elgin alongside along with his son, Steven Hunter, and former Calumet Township staff Ethel Shelton and Alex Wheeler have been indicted, accusing the 4 of committing conspiracy to defraud; wire fraud; felony conspiracy to commit sincere providers; wire fraud; sincere service phone fraud; and conspiracy to commit extortion. Prosecutors stated he used metropolis staff and places of work to run political campaigns and lift cash for Elgin fundraisers.
Elgin was sentenced in 2018 to a yr and a day in jail, adopted by a yr of probation. She was additionally ordered to pay $15,000 in restitution to the trustee’s workplace and $6,311 to the IRS.
In 2007, Dozier Allen, who served as trustee for 32 years, was indicted – 5 years after dropping to Elgin – on expenses that he and three staff used a $120,000 grant supposed for the township. A jury discovered him responsible in April 2009 and he was sentenced to 18 months in jail.
akukulka@post-trib.com
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