More Smoke Coming Out Of Tri-State
Dec 30, 2013Trustees Hamilton “Bo” Gibbons and Jill Strenzel / BGA photoFirefighters, of all people, know that where there’s smoke, there’s often fire.
And several firefighters in the western suburbs are concerned about the “smoke” coming from their very own department.
A series of Better Government Association articles on the Darien-based Tri-State Fire Protection District has already exposed wild spending habits, conflicts of interest and pension “spiking” within the agency.
Since then, a number of curious events have occurred at the district – again, raising eyebrows among the rank and file and calling into question Tri-State’s leadership.
The most recent situation centers around confidential tape recordings from closed-door meetings of Tri-State’s board of trustees – an oversight body comprised of three elected officials.
According to the Illinois Open Meetings Act, trustees are allowed to convene in private to discuss sensitive material such as litigation or personnel matters, provided certain rules are followed. Among the rules, they must keep a “verbatim record” – either video or audio – of all sessions closed to the public.
Until recently, Tri-State’s closed session tapes were stored at the private residence shared by Trustee Jill Strenzel and Fire Chief Michelle Gibson, who have been in a relationship for many years and entered in a civil union in 2012.
Fire Chief Michelle GibsonAfter Trustee Michael Orrico raised concerns at a public board meeting in September about the location of the tapes and the accuracy of meeting minutes, Strenzel said the tapes were in her possession because of renovations at Tri-State and that if Orrico wanted to listen to any of them, they could arrange it.
But in reality, that hasn’t been so easy.
Seven special meetings have since been scheduled to listen to tapes, and at least four of those were ultimately canceled.
And on one especially bizarre occasion, the police intervened.
On Nov. 21, Burr Ridge police responded to a reported burglary at the Tri-State station located at 10S110 Madison St. in Burr Ridge where Strenzel told officers someone “broke into” a district safe holding tapes and other notes, according to police reports obtained by the BGA through the Illinois Freedom of Information Act.
According to the reports, Strenzel was at the firehouse and started to pull papers out of the safe “at which time she stopped and was worried that unlawful entry had been gained.”
After investigating, the police concluded that nothing was missing from the safe. Due to a lack of evidence, officers were unable to determine a crime had been committed and reclassified the burglary as “suspicious circumstances.”
Strenzel, who, according to the reports, is the only person who possesses a key and combination for the safe, asked a police officer “what should be done if they found that someone had erased the tapes ‘using a magnet’ at which time” the officer advised her to contact authorities, records show.
The police were called back to the station after midnight on Nov. 22 and were asked to “move items from a compromised safe to a new safe.” Officers declined to physically get involved but watched Strenzel move three envelops, five plastic bags containing audio tapes, 11 manila envelops and one recording device from one safe to another.
The reported break-in came only a few days after yet another strange episode related to district tapes. Just before a regular board meeting was about to begin on Nov. 18, Strenzel fell outside of the station and broke two empty tape recorders, according to meeting minutes. At the request of a district attorney, an employee was sent to buy another recording device “so that there could be a closed session meeting,” the documents show.
Whatever has been going on during executive session remains a mystery.
At the Dec. 17 regular board meeting, the trustees voted (Strenzel and Hamilton “Bo” Gibbons yes, Orrico no) to approve – and keep confidential – meeting minutes from several closed sessions from the past year.
In another interesting development at Tri-State, paramedics and emergency medical technicians who are employed by Public Safety Services Inc. but work at Tri-State have been organizing to form a union.
Already more than 50 percent of workers signed cards seeking union representation, according to an official with the International Association of EMTs and Paramedics. An election will be held at the district at the end of the month, and results should be announced by the New Year.
In the midst of the union drive, Gibson announced that Shelly Carbone, who oversaw the paramedics at Tri-State, “has been offered an opportunity within PSSI to be involved more at the corporate level” and would no longer be working at Tri-State as EMS coordinator, according to interviews and a Dec. 19 email obtained by the BGA.
PSSI did not return phone calls.
With all the recent commotion at the west suburban department, it seems as though the district is beginning to unravel.
Firefighters, meanwhile, are standing by, keeping a close watch on the rising smoke.
thanks Dan & Scott
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#1 by about time on March 4, 2014 - 8:02 AM
The karma train came while the passengers sang, “Nah nah nah nah, hey hey hey GOODBYE!”. She was a manipulative, insecure, lying woman who bullied her way around the office. Hopefully they clean office and obtain respectable staff. Nice work Ms. Drews. Hats off to you!
#2 by Brendan on March 4, 2014 - 8:40 AM
NBC 5 story…
http://www.nbcchicago.com/investigations/Fire-Chief-Resigns-With-Controversial-Retirement-Deal–248311961.html
#3 by Brendan on February 19, 2014 - 4:25 PM
She Retired effective the 15th…
http://www.mysuburbanlife.com/2014/02/18/tri-state-fire-protection-district-chief-michelle-gibson-retires/ahiney0/
#4 by Anonymous on February 8, 2014 - 4:19 PM
Chuck you are so right. I understand there is a posted meeting for Monday and the Chief is GONE!
#5 by Brendan on February 8, 2014 - 9:50 PM
Hope she’s belted
#6 by Brendan on January 30, 2014 - 3:17 AM
ALL BELTED!!!!
#7 by Robert on January 4, 2014 - 7:28 PM
I remember the rumors from I believe 2008 when Roberts Park was going to take over willow springs. I would have loved to see that. I believe that would have been better. The first few days Roberts Park had to assist on ems calls in willow, which obviously shouldn’t happen in the first place if everything was planned out. I understand if ambulances are tied up but they have a third unit. But I believe they put their reserve ambulance at 4.
#8 by Steve on January 4, 2014 - 8:27 AM
Is there any wonder why our State and Federal governments are so corrupt? Look at the practice some of these “politicians” get at the local level! As eluded to previously, a fire district’s portion of one’s tax bill can be fairly substantial, resulting in millions of dollars of operating revenue. This tax is in addition to the hefty bill you may receive if the department actually provides a service to you (particularly for EMS services). In many cases the F.D. tax may be second only to the school district portion of your tax bill. Shamefully there is often minimal or no public interest in the day-to-day operations of most Fire Districts. Unfortunately the current activities at Tri-State are probably more prevalent in the region than we tend to realize.
#9 by Chuck on January 3, 2014 - 11:48 PM
Usually it’s a problem when the chief is is bed with the trustees, but in this case, her literal relationship with this particular trustee, breaks SO MANY rules and boundaries it’s not even funny. Why the towns covered by this department aren’t SCREAMING for their scalps is beyond me. Or maybe they’re worried about a sexual discrimination lawsuit (or lawsuitS) from this pair of cohabitators, I don’t know. Either way, the members of this department will end up paying the ultimate price for these shenanigans, and these two clowns will walk off arm in arm with fat pensions and no regrets about destroying the department.
#10 by Mike on January 3, 2014 - 9:19 PM
The union supported her, and Jill,Bo and Shelly are going to leave the department in ruins . Stay “all belted ” suckers. It will sure suck when the whole department goes contract.
#11 by 0.02 on January 3, 2014 - 6:04 PM
Everyone should be belted for this one. There is such a conflict of interest with every thing mentioned in the article, and some things are possibly illegal if not just unethical. People need to start really paying attention to fire districts and what is going on because they’re not just rural farming communities anymore. There are many districts that levy And collect millions of taxpayer monies.
#12 by FFPM571 on January 3, 2014 - 4:59 PM
“ALL BELTED!”
#13 by Tom Foley on January 3, 2014 - 2:50 PM
Wow. Just wow.