# The Township Files: Bourbonnais Township, by its own records Plain-text version of https://www.bradleyillinois.com/Research/bourbonnais-township-files/ (same content; graphics omitted, video moments kept as links). By Chloe, The Bourbs. The Township Files By Chloe, The Bourbs UPDATE, OCTOBER 21, 2026: THE ASSESSOR’S VOICEMAIL. A voicemail meant for “Steve” landed on Highway Commissioner Jason Diaz’s phone 13 days before the Road District vote. The caller, who identifies himself as Assessor Doug Anderson, says “we’re going to cut this little guy’s balls off,” then doesn’t hang up. Full recording and transcript: https://www.bradleyillinois.com/Research/township-assessor-voicemail/ (Warning: a threat of violence and profanity, unedited.) Bourbonnais Township holds about $3 million, gives very little of its assistance money to people in need, and has asked voters to abolish its Road District on a savings estimate it hasn’t put on paper. This is the whole series in one place: ten parts, every number sourced to the township’s own audits, budgets, ordinances and meeting video. **Not the park district.** This series is about Bourbonnais Township, the township government at 1350 Armour Road, and its Road District. The Bourbonnais Township Park District, which runs Perry Farm and the area’s parks, is a completely separate unit of government, with its own elected board, its own budget and its own property tax. Nothing in this series is about the park district. [Plain-text version of this page](full-text.txt) (for screen readers, printing and AI tools). First published as a Facebook series on The Bourbs+, October 6–12, 2026. The township, its attorney and the Assessor were sent our questions on September 30 and asked to respond by October 5. Any response will be added here, with the date. $223K ahead in FY2025 after budgeting a $629,500 loss $12,400 aid to residents of $153,888 collected ~$966K above the state reserve ceiling by our math, three funds $100K given away 13 days after the tornado 0 records produced on five requests 1 contested township race in 2021 and 2025 Contents ## Ten parts 1. [01 The money pile](#money) 2. [02 $12,400](#aid) 3. [03 It’s not just a heat program](#heat) 4. [04 Who gets paid](#pay) 5. [05 $100,000 out the door](#tornado) 6. [06 The records wall](#records) 7. [07 One real race](#race) 8. [08 “Not on paper”](#paper) 9. [09 No undo button](#undo) 10. [10 The fair ledger](#scorecard) **How to read this.** “By our math” marks a figure we calculated from public records. We say where we don’t know something. Each part ends with an “In fairness” section and its sources. Nothing here says anyone broke the law. Part 01 of 10 ## The money pile Budgeted to lose $629,500. Came out $223,299 ahead. Bourbonnais Township budgeted to LOSE $629,500 in the year ending March 31, 2025. Instead it came out $223,299 ahead. This series walks through Bourbonnais Township's own audit, budgets, ordinances and meeting video, with every number sourced. ### Budget vs. reality (year ending March 31, 2025, township board side only; the Road District has its own budget) * Budgeted to spend: $1,448,800 * Actually spent: $724,669, almost exactly half * "Contingencies" budgeted: $241,000. Spent: $0 * Investment earnings expected: $14,200. Earned: $100,528 The year before showed the same pattern: the township's main fund was budgeted at $1,063,500 and spent $592,423. ### The pile On April 1, 2026 the township board's funds held $3,091,124. The separate Road District held $3,858,858. Together: $6.95 million, almost three years of both tax levies combined. ### Above the state's limit, by our math Illinois law (60 ILCS 1/85-65) says township funds "shall not exceed" 2.5 times the average of the previous three years of spending. By our math, three funds the township board controls were about $966,000 above that on April 1: * Town Fund: $392,824 above * General Assistance: $161,022 above * IMRF pension fund: $412,074 above. The plan it pays into was 105.6% funded at the end of 2024. The Road District's funds are UNDER its limit. The statute has no penalty and its wording is garbled, so we're not calling this illegal. We're asking a question: a board that says it wants to cut your road taxes is holding roughly a million dollars above the state's ceiling in funds only it controls. Why? ### This year's budget $463,900, about 26% of the township's $1.76 million budget for 2026-27, sits in open-ended lines: * $250,000 "Disaster/Community Development," up from $100,000 last year * $213,900 in contingency, miscellaneous and donation lines, including $150,000 in Town Fund contingencies The board has talked about the disaster line in public. At its Feb. 9 meeting it said it ended the township's rebate program as too costly and moved money into community development. On March 23, after the spring tornado, it voted to give $70,000 from last year's line to what it called "the county's relief and assistance fund," plus $30,000 for nonprofits the Supervisor would pick. What the $250,000 is for this year hasn't been spelled out. Nothing we've seen shows any of it was misspent. It means the spending authority is already approved. ### In fairness * The township board lowered its own levy request each year since 2022, from $818,433 to $704,229. * On a $300,000 home in the Village of Bourbonnais, the township board's levy is about $61 of an $8,214 tax bill. With the Road District it's about $206. Schools are about $5,242. The township is not why your bill is big. * The Road District has been spending down its savings. The question isn't whether they're broke. It's why the budget keeps authorizing money that doesn't get spent, and whether the December levy will give back what's above the state's ceiling. What They Said We emailed our questions to Supervisor Jeff Umphrey and the township's attorney on Sept. 30 and asked for answers by Oct. 5. We hadn't heard back when this was posted. If they respond, we'll add it here. Watch it on the meeting video * [Feb. 9 · 34:11 Rebate program "eliminated," money moved to community development](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ek4RCB3EW50&t=2051s) * [Mar. 23 · 36:15 The $70,000 / $30,000 tornado motion](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PfVaVGGozbs&t=2175s) Board meetings are recorded and posted on the Road District’s YouTube channel. Times are approximate; quotes are checked against the audio captions. #### Sources for Part 1 6 items * FY2025 audit (year ended 3/31/2025), budgetary comparison p.26 (Township side). Illinois Comptroller local government warehouse, Bourbonnais Township, unit 046/020/01. * FY2024 audit p.34 (General Fund appropriation vs. actual) * FY2026-27 approved Town and Road District budgets (beginning balances 4/1/2026). bourbonnaistownship.com * 60 ILCS 1/85-65. ilga.gov. Our math: each fund's average spending FY2023–25 (Illinois Comptroller AFRs) × 2.5, compared to its 4/1/2026 balance. FY2026 isn't audited yet; we'll update when it is. * Levy requests TY2022–TY2025: Kankakee County Clerk tax computation reports. * Tax bill: County Clerk, District Rates by Taxcode, TY2025, code 17005, $100,000 equalized value, before exemptions. Part 02 of 10 ## $12,400 $153,888 collected to help neighbors in need. $12,400 reached them. In the year ending March 31, 2025, Bourbonnais Township collected $153,888 in property tax to help people in need. $12,400 reached them. This is General Assistance, one of the core jobs Illinois townships are required to do: help for residents who have nowhere else to turn. It has its own line on your tax bill. Here's what the township's audit shows: * GA tax collected: $153,888 * GA fund's "general government" spending: $117,324. The audit doesn't itemize it. The township's GA page says the office also "manages public records." * Aid that actually reached residents ("Home Relief"): $12,400 * Balance in the GA fund at year-end: $584,878. At that year's pace, that's about 47 years of aid. ($155,676 of it is owed to the GA fund by other township funds. By the township's budget, the fund held $463,502 on April 1, 2026.) ### Is that normal? We checked 31 townships. We pulled the state audits of every Illinois township with 29,000 to 84,000 residents that splits its GA spending into office costs and aid: 31 of them, plus Bourbonnais. Then we divided each township's aid by the number of residents living in poverty. We used census figures with college students removed, so campus towns don't skew the result. * Median of the 31 townships: $8.26 per person in poverty * Bourbonnais: $3.75 * Bourbonnais is 7th-lowest of 32. Some same-size townships get a lot more to people: * McHenry Township (47,000 people) reported $43,713 in office costs and $154,801 in aid. * Normal Township (52,000 people) reported $41,895 in office costs and $328,147 in aid. Some townships pay their caseworkers out of other funds, which is why we rank on aid per person in poverty, not on office costs. It isn't one bad year. From 2018 to 2025 the GA fund spent $1,001,253; $139,164 of it, 13.9%, reached residents. ### What the township advertises The township's General Assistance web page describes one program: a one-time heat assistance grant from November to March, "first come, first serve basis until allocated emergency funds are exhausted." We don't know whether that allocation has ever run out, or whether anyone has been turned away. We've asked. ### In fairness * Paying the GA office out of the GA fund is legal under state law. * Bourbonnais actually spends MORE than the typical township on GA overall ($39.22 per resident in poverty vs. a $23.49 median). The difference is where it goes: about nine dollars in ten go to the office. * The board cut the GA levy from $145,429 to $130,429 for tax year 2025. * Six same-size townships give even less per poor resident. * We don't know how many people applied. If few people ask, aid will be low. We've asked the township for those numbers. What They Said We emailed our questions to Supervisor Jeff Umphrey and the township's attorney on Sept. 30 and asked for answers by Oct. 5. We hadn't heard back when this was posted. If they respond, we'll add it here. #### Sources for Part 2 6 items * Bourbonnais Township FY2025 audit: p.26 (GA "General government" $117,324; "Home Relief" $12,400; property tax $153,888), Note 6 (restricted balance $584,878), Note 4 (due from other funds $155,676) * FY2026-27 Town budget (GA balance 4/1/2026: $463,502) * Eight-year series: Illinois Comptroller Annual Financial Reports, GA fund total and line 256a "Welfare," FY2018–FY2025 * Peer audits: Illinois Comptroller local government audits (FY2025, or FY2024 where 2025 isn't posted). 14 comparators re-checked against the audit page. Full comparison table available on request; message us. * Poverty: U.S. Census ACS 2020–2024 (B17001, B14006) * Township GA page: bourbonnaistownship.com/general-assistance (read 9/29/2026) Part 03 of 10 ## It’s not just a heat program What Illinois law says General Assistance must do, and what the township advertises. Most people think of Bourbonnais Township's General Assistance as a winter heat grant. That's the only program its website describes. But Illinois law sets up something broader. ### What state law says * In counties like ours, townships "shall provide funds for and administer" General Assistance (305 ILCS 5/12-3). The township supervisor runs it (60 ILCS 1/70-50). * Help with basic living needs "shall be given" to residents who meet the eligibility rules (305 ILCS 5/6-1). "Shall" makes it a duty. How much people get is set by each township's own standards (6-2). * People on General Assistance must also get medical help. A township can limit that to acute care (6-1). * Townships may also offer emergency help for people not already on General Assistance, once in any 12 months, paid straight to a landlord, utility or other vendor. It's meant "to alleviate life-threatening circumstances or to assist the individual in attaining self-sufficiency" (6-10). ### What the township budgets The 2026-27 budget sets aside $130,400 for aid: * Emergency utility program $30,000 * Rent/shelter $24,000 * Hospital $24,000 * Doctor $8,000 * Utilities $8,000 * Dental $4,000 * Prescriptions $4,000 * Transient expenses $3,200 * Fuel $2,400 * Food and household needs $2,200 * Funerals and burial $1,200 * Miscellaneous and contingencies $19,400 We don't know which of those lines pays for the heat grant. In the last audited year, the budget for aid was $115,400 and $12,400 went out. The auditor described it as help "for heat and other assistance." ### What the website says One program: a heat grant, "first come, first serve basis until allocated emergency funds are exhausted." You pick up an application at the office, then call for an appointment; "Walk-ins will not be accepted for assistance meetings." On Sept. 30 the page still showed last season's dates (Nov. 3, 2025 to March 31, 2026). It says nothing about help with rent, medical bills, prescriptions, food, burial or emergencies. ### How other townships do it We read the General Assistance pages of other Illinois townships on Sept. 30. Most describe an ongoing monthly grant. Many also describe emergency help with rent or utilities. Some post their dollar amounts: * Rich Township (Cook): $475 a month, for household income of $600 a month or less * Normal Township: up to $500 a month * City of Champaign Township: up to $304 a month for a single adult * Decatur Township: $200 a month, for people with zero income None of the pages we read describes a heat grant as its main program. Bourbonnais doesn't post its income limit or its grant amount. We've asked for both. ### Who qualifies (the short version) This is a last-resort program, and the rules are strict. Generally you must: * have income below the township's own grant amount * not qualify for the state's other aid programs, including state medical coverage * register for work if you're able to work * be 21 or older, married, or 18–20 and not living with a parent * If you moved here recently, you can still apply. State law decides which township pays. ### If you apply * Ask for the decision in writing. * If you're denied, cut off or given too little, you can appeal within 60 days, free. The appeal goes to the county's Public Aid Committee: the County Board chairman and four township supervisors. You can bring a lawyer (305 ILCS 5/11-8, 11-8.1). ### How to ask Bourbonnais Township General Assistance, 1350 Armour Road. (815) 932-6422. Mon–Thu 8–4, Fri 8–3. You can ask about any kind of help, not just heat. ### Heating bills this winter The state's big heating-bill program, LIHEAP, is separate from the township. Shaw Local reported Sept. 29 that Kankakee County Community Services no longer runs LIHEAP here, and Will County's community action agency is handling it this year. KCCSI says it's in a dispute with the state. The state has designated the Will County Center for Community Concerns to serve Kankakee County residents. Call (815) 722-0722, email assistance@wcccc.net, or visit wcccc.net. ### In fairness * We found no state law that requires a township to advertise its program or post its rules online. * A township can run a narrower version of General Assistance under state law. We've asked which version Bourbonnais runs. * Eligibility is strict, so low spending can partly reflect few qualifying applicants. We don't know how many people applied, or how the $12,400 was split. We've asked. * We have no evidence anyone was turned away. * The board cut the General Assistance levy from $145,429 to $130,429 for tax year 2025. What They Said We emailed our questions to Supervisor Jeff Umphrey and the township's attorney on Sept. 30 and asked for answers by Oct. 5. We hadn't heard back when this was posted. If they respond, we'll add it here. #### Sources for Part 3 11 items * State law: 305 ILCS 5/12-3, 6-1, 6-1.1 through 6-1.10, 6-2, 6-10, 6-12, 11-8, 11-8.1; 60 ILCS 1/70-50. Read on ilga.gov Sept. 30, 2026. * Bourbonnais Township FY2026-27 approved budget, p.7 (Home Relief lines) * FY2025 audit, budgetary comparison (Home Relief $12,400 of $115,400 budgeted) and MD&A * bourbonnaistownship.com/general-assistance, read Sept. 30, 2026 * Peer pages, read Sept. 30, 2026: * richtownship.org/assistance * normaltownship.org (Financial Assistance) * cctownship.com/assistance/benefit-overview * decaturiltownship.com/general-assistance * Shaw Local, Sept. 29, 2026, on LIHEAP in Kankakee County; wcccc.net * Kankakee County Clerk levy reports (GA levy, tax years 2024 and 2025) Part 04 of 10 ## Who gets paid 55 cents of every dollar the township board spent went to one office. 55 cents of every dollar the Bourbonnais Township board spent in the year ending March 31, 2025 went to one office: the Assessor's. (Roads are a separate budget run by the Road District. These are the township board's own funds.) Where the $724,669 went: * Assessor's office: $400,926 (55%) * Board and township office: $139,028 * GA fund "general government": $117,324 * Pension and Social Security: $47,752 * Aid to residents: $12,400 (1.7%) This year's budget (2026-27) gives the Assessor's office room to spend $666,850. That's 66% more than it actually spent in 2024-25, and nearly as much as the township's entire administration budget ($677,350). A budget is a ceiling, not a bill. ### The assessor's household The elected Assessor, Doug Anderson, and the Chief Deputy Assessor, Danielle Anderson, who lists him as her husband on her state ethics form, have combined pay packages of $193,125 a year. That's $148,854 in base pay plus pension and insurance, per the township's own posting of everyone over $75,000. Also on the record: * The Assessor owns a private real-estate appraisal company, Atlas Appraisal Service, Ltd., and holds an active real-estate broker's license. * He disclosed the company on his state ethics forms, including, on an older form, under a question about businesses dealing with the township. * The Chief Deputy lists the company as an income source. * The Assessor's budget carries $20,000 for "Contract Appraiser's & Consultants." * No township payment to Atlas of $2,500 or more appears in the FY2025 Treasurer's Report. That's the only itemized payment record we have. * We found no Illinois law that bars an assessor from owning an appraisal company or from employing his spouse as deputy. We asked the Assessor whether Atlas appraises property in Bourbonnais Township, and what the $20,000 line paid for. His answer is below. ### One more line Both the township and Road District budgets carry an "Early Retirement Incentive" line: $10,000 and $8,945. The state pension fund's records show no early-retirement program in effect for the township. We've asked what the lines are for. ### In fairness, and this matters * The board isn't getting rich. In the FY2025 treasurer's report, each trustee and the Clerk was paid under $25,000. The two trustees who took office in May 2025 weren't on that report yet. * The Assessor doesn't set your tax levy, and his pay doesn't rise with your assessment. * 5 of the 9 people on the township's over-$75,000 pay posting work for the Road District. The Highway Commissioner's base pay equals the Assessor's. * The township board's levy is about $61 of an $8,214 tax bill on a $300,000 Village of Bourbonnais home. The last image shows the whole bill. What They Said We emailed our questions to Supervisor Jeff Umphrey, the township's attorney and Assessor Doug Anderson on Sept. 30 and asked for answers by Oct. 5. **Assessor Doug Anderson replied by email on Oct. 5.** He said the $20,000 line pays for hiring outside appraisers under contract for tax appeals before the Illinois Department of Revenue and/or the Kankakee County Board. He said he isn't allowed to do that work himself because those proceedings require “an independent objective market value estimate.” As an example he cited Kroger, which he said has appealed its assessment for multiple years, with the appeals resolved at the Department of Revenue. He said a record of all payments to appraisers would be in the Supervisor's records. On Atlas, he wrote: “Atlas Appraisal Service has never performed any appraisal services for Bourbonnais Township, Nor has my company received any compensation for such services.” Supervisor Umphrey and the township's attorney had not responded when this was posted. If they do, we'll add it here. #### Sources for Part 4 7 items * FY2025 audit p.26 (township side, cash basis) * FY2026-27 Town budget (Assessor $666,850; Administration $677,350; "Contract Appraiser's & Consultants" $20,000; Early Retirement Incentive $10,000) and Road District budget (ERI $8,945) * "Total Compensation Exceeding $75,000 as of June 1, 2026": bourbonnaistownship.com/officials * Statements of Economic Interests #7511 and #12451 (Kankakee County Clerk); Atlas Appraisal Service, Ltd. (Illinois Secretary of State); licenses (IDFPR) * Board pay bands and itemized payments ($2,500+): FY2025 Annual Treasurer's Report * IMRF employer data, employer 03149 (early retirement incentive rate) * Tax bill: County Clerk, District Rates by Taxcode, TY2025, code 17005 ($100,000 equalized value, before exemptions) Part 05 of 10 ## $100,000 out the door Thirteen days after the tornado, the board gave away its entire disaster line. On March 10 an EF-3 tornado tore through Kankakee and Aroma Township, including Aroma Park. Thirteen days later, the Bourbonnais Township board voted to give away $100,000, its entire disaster budget line. The Supervisor said he had first raised the idea with trustees by email and had talked with the county board chairman. At the March 23 meeting, the item ran about 16 and a half minutes on the video, from discussion to the last vote. ### Where it went * $70,000 to the county. Asking for the motion, the Supervisor called it "the county's relief and assistance fund." Trustee Matt Alexander made the motion. * $30,000 for nonprofits, with the Supervisor to research recipients and "report back." On April 20 he told the board the donations went to the county, United Way, and two churches helping storm victims: Grace Baptist and a United Methodist church. We haven't seen a check, a receipt, or the amount any single recipient got. The board never said which fund it meant. The county's main publicized tornado fund, the Emergency Response Fund, is run by United Way and the Community Foundation of the Kankakee River Valley. The county board's posted minutes don't mention a gift from Bourbonnais Township, but minutes rarely list individual gifts, so we've asked the county directly. ### Why the rush Supervisor Jeff Umphrey told the board: * "financially as a township, we're in great shape," and giving the whole amount "[wouldn't hurt us a bit](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PfVaVGGozbs&t=1459s "Watch this moment")" * the disaster line hadn't been used "in several years" * "[We have to spend it before the end of the month or use it for the month.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PfVaVGGozbs&t=2034s "Watch this moment")" The money wasn't going to disappear at midnight. Unspent, it would have stayed in the Town Fund. The township's own budget lists that fund's beginning balance on April 1 at $1,835,734. What would have lapsed was the permission to spend it from that line. The board could have budgeted it again for the new year, and this year's budget does exactly that at a bigger size. ### "Giving some of the money back" In February, presenting the proposed budget, the Supervisor said the township "eliminated the rebate program that was too costly." On March 23 he tied the donation to it: "we took that rebate thing away. We didn't do the rebate. So this is just another way of giving some of the money back to the community." What the rebate paid, to whom, and how much, isn't in any record we have. How much of the $100,000 reached people who live in Bourbonnais Township isn't known either. We've asked for both. ### What about our own? According to Shaw Local, the county board chairman said extensive hail damage hit parts of Bradley and Bourbonnais. The vast majority of Bradley lies inside Bourbonnais Township. At that same March 23 meeting, board members brainstormed ways to help "some of our residents" whose cars were totaled or undrivable: * money for a rental * bus tickets * a discounted hotel deal * General Assistance for people without full coverage We reviewed the captions of every board meeting video posted from March through September (nine meetings, on the Highway Commissioner's channel). We found no vote, program, or follow-up on any of those ideas. For the fiscal year that ended March 31, 2025 (the latest audit), the township's General Assistance fund spent $12,400 on home relief. It had budgeted $115,400. On that date the fund held $584,878. State law also gives townships a tool made for this. After a governor's disaster proclamation, a township may use General Assistance money for 90 days to help storm-hit households, without the usual income rules (305 ILCS 5/6-9): * food and temporary shelter, for households that have applied to FEMA or the SBA * up to $1,500 per household to repair storm damage to the home: structural repairs, heating and electrical systems, bedding and refrigerators. It’s paid directly to the contractor or other vendor, never to the household, and the household must have filed an insurance claim Any household with storm damage qualifies, whatever its income. It’s a loan, not a gift: households sign an agreement to pay it all back, from their insurance, FEMA or SBA money, or on a payment schedule if they’re turned down. It doesn’t cover cars. Pritzker’s proclamation, which covers Kankakee County’s March and April storms, was signed June 30, so that window ran through about Sept. 28. We found nothing in the nine meeting videos we reviewed showing the township used it, or offered any other help to its own storm-hit residents. The money was there. The General Assistance fund held $463,502 on April 1, 2026. At the $1,500 maximum, that’s enough to front repairs for about 309 households, and because the money is paid back, it would have returned to the fund. The $100,000 the board gave away would have covered about 66. Instead, the board sent its money to outside groups. The two churches came up from the floor on March 23. Someone at the board table asked, “What’s the church on Walden Road?” A woman in the room said, “I’m just going to speak up real quick,” and described a Methodist church doing housing help and canned goods and Grace Baptist serving hot meals. Her name isn’t given on the video. The Supervisor said he would lean on others for suggestions “because I haven’t been out there,” adding, “I didn’t know the Methodist one up the road.” On April 20 he told the board the money went to the county, United Way, Grace Baptist and United Methodist Church. In fairness: FEMA aid never came to the county, which made the food-and-shelter part harder to use, though the repair part didn’t depend on FEMA. Both churches were doing real storm relief, and some of that help may have reached township residents. We’ve asked whether any did. This year's budget raises the disaster line from $100,000 to $250,000. ### Meanwhile, the highway commissioner Commissioner Jason Diaz sent Road District equipment, and at least one employee, to help with cleanup in Aroma Township. He says Aroma Township's highway commissioner asked because the small township didn't have the equipment. On March 23 the Supervisor praised that work, mentioning the water Diaz had delivered and the crews "helping remove debris." The board never objected to the help on any video we reviewed. It did go through his bills: * April 20. A board member asked, "[Will we get reimbursed for this? $6,700?](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZzOBtbhDq1c&t=378s "Watch this moment")" about a rented skid steer. Diaz answered that it depended on the county, that "Townships help each other out," and that the rental was also used for other road work. The Supervisor asked that it be charged to a different road fund, and Diaz agreed. The township attorney recommended holding off on some Road District bills until the board knew the budget could cover them. * May 18. A board member asked about a pizza lunch for cleanup crews on April 10: "[A month after the tornado?](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eh-eSFlLJyU&t=3360s "Watch this moment")" Diaz said about 20 workers from different local governments were still out there. The board approved the rental invoices 5–0, and later approved the night's bills 5–0. On Sept. 21 a resident asked why the board was "[questioning about pizza when he was trying to help out Aroma Park](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uhH5z1wte0s&t=3281s "Watch this moment")" when no one else's spending gets questioned. A board member answered that the other budgets have "been in line and haven't over extended themselves on anything." Someone at the board table added that the trustees "audit the bills. That's their job." ### In fairness * The tornado was a real disaster. The county, United Way and local churches did real relief work, and helping neighbors is what communities do. The Supervisor also floated asking the county to pass any reimbursement on to United Way or the Red Cross. * Checking bills is part of a township board's job, and the bills discussed here were approved. This board and the Highway Commissioner have been at odds over road money for months. * The law gives a township more than one route here: * The Township Code lets a township spend directly or contract with other governments and nonprofits to provide services "to the residents of the township." * Illinois' emergency-management law lets local governments take on obligations "to provide emergency assistance to victims" of a disaster, and in a disaster to skip some of the usual spending formalities. Which authority the board relied on is one of our questions. We are not saying it broke the law. ### What we asked the township 1. Where exactly did the $70,000 go, and who deposited the check? 2. How was the $30,000 split? 3. What legal authority did the board rely on for gifts to groups outside the township? 4. Did any help reach township residents with storm or hail damage? 5. What did the rebate program pay, and to whom, before it ended? 6. What's the plan for this year's $250,000? What They Said We emailed our questions to Supervisor Jeff Umphrey and the township's attorney on Sept. 30 and asked for answers by Oct. 5. We hadn't heard back when this was posted. If they respond, we'll add it here. We've filed public records requests with Kankakee County for its record of the $70,000 and with the township for the checks and receipts. We'll post what comes back. [Watch the moment: ▶ March 23, 2026 board meeting. Starts at “We have to spend it before the end of the month.”](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PfVaVGGozbs&t=2034s) Watch it on the meeting video * [Mar. 23 · 22:22 The donation discussion begins](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PfVaVGGozbs&t=1342s) * [Mar. 23 · 22:41 The Supervisor praises the Road District’s cleanup work](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PfVaVGGozbs&t=1361s) * [Mar. 23 · 24:19 “We’re in great shape”](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PfVaVGGozbs&t=1459s) * [Mar. 23 · 27:48 Board brainstorms help for residents (rentals, bus tickets, hotel)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PfVaVGGozbs&t=1668s) * [Mar. 23 · 33:05 “Another way of giving some of the money back”](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PfVaVGGozbs&t=1985s) * [Mar. 23 · 33:54 “We have to spend it before the end of the month”](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PfVaVGGozbs&t=2034s) * [Mar. 23 · 34:27 “What’s the church on Walden Road?”](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PfVaVGGozbs&t=2067s) * [Mar. 23 · 36:15 The motion: $70,000 to “the county’s relief and assistance fund”](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PfVaVGGozbs&t=2175s) * [Mar. 23 · 36:52 “I’ll report back to you guys”](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PfVaVGGozbs&t=2212s) * [Mar. 23 · 38:14 “I haven’t been out there”](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PfVaVGGozbs&t=2294s) * [Feb. 9 · 34:11 The rebate program “was too costly”](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ek4RCB3EW50&t=2051s) * [Apr. 20 · 3:15 Where the donations went](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZzOBtbhDq1c&t=195s) * [Apr. 20 · 6:18 “Will we get reimbursed for this? $6,700?”](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZzOBtbhDq1c&t=378s) * [Apr. 20 · 6:30 “Townships help each other out”](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZzOBtbhDq1c&t=390s) * [May 18 · 55:39 The pizza question](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eh-eSFlLJyU&t=3339s) * [May 18 · 56:00 “A month after the tornado?”](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eh-eSFlLJyU&t=3360s) * [Aug. 10 · 36:38 A resident on the skid steer](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zvNtVRBQ8Wc&t=2198s) * [Sept. 21 · 54:41 “questioning about pizza”](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uhH5z1wte0s&t=3281s) * [Sept. 21 · 58:25 “They audit the bills”](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uhH5z1wte0s&t=3505s) Board meetings are recorded and posted on the Road District’s YouTube channel. Times are approximate; quotes are checked against the audio captions. #### Sources for Part 5 30 items * Board meeting videos, posted on the Highway Commissioner's YouTube channel. * March 23, 2026 (youtube.com/watch?v=PfVaVGGozbs), donation item 22:22–38:58: * 23:07 earlier email * 24:16 "great shape" * 24:31 "several years" * 27:19–28:43 ideas for residents * 32:59 rebate * 33:50 "end of the month" * 36:06 amounts * 37:07 motion by Trustee Alexander * Feb. 9, 2026 (Ek4RCB3EW50), 34:08 and 35:38: rebate program and disaster line * April 20, 2026 (ZzOBtbhDq1c): * 3:11 recipients * 6:18 "$6,700" * 6:44–8:21 fund change * 11:25–12:37 attorney * April 2026 minutes, p.1 * May 18, 2026 (eh-eSFlLJyU): * 7:20 rental invoices * 55:31 pizza * 1:01:06 bills * Aug. 10, 2026 (zvNtVRBQ8Wc), 40:13: Diaz on Aroma Township's request * Sept. 21, 2026 (uhH5z1wte0s), 54:41–58:25 * FY2026-27 Town budget: p.2 beginning balance $1,835,734; p.3 Disaster/Community Development $250,000 and Rebates $0 * FY2025 audit (year ended 3/31/2025), budgetary comparison: Home Relief $12,400 of $115,400 budgeted; General Assistance fund balance $584,878 * Shaw Local, 3/11/2026 and 3/12/2026: the tornado, its EF-3 rating, and hail damage in Bradley and Bourbonnais * Emergency Response Fund (United Way of Kankakee & Iroquois Counties and the Community Foundation of the Kankakee River Valley): myunitedway.org/disasterhelp * Kankakee County board and committee minutes, as posted at planning.k3county.net, March–August 2026 * 60 ILCS 1/85-13(a), 20 ILCS 3305/10(j) and 305 ILCS 5/6-9, ilga.gov * Governor's disaster proclamation signed June 30, 2026 (WSIU and Shaw Local, June 30–July 1, 2026) Part 06 of 10 ## The records wall Five records requests. Zero records. An answer due five days before the vote. Five public records requests about the road district vote. Zero records produced on those five. The township's own estimate for an answer lands five days before you vote. FULL DISCLOSURE FIRST: The Bourbs' publisher filed these requests and has asked the Illinois Attorney General's office to review the township's response. He's a party to this dispute, so we'll show you the timeline and let you judge. ### What happened * Aug. 11–13: Five requests sent, covering records about the Aug. 10 abolition vote, meeting rules, how that meeting was posted, officials' pay, and records-management files. * Aug. 17–20: The township's lawyers designated all five "voluminous." No records. * Aug. 24: The lawyers designated the requester "recurrent," counting "approximately 113" requests. We count five requests containing 54 numbered items. They also said the requester hadn't shown he qualifies as "news media," which would take the requests out of the "voluminous" category. * Aug. 24: Request for Review filed with the Attorney General's Public Access Counselor. Acknowledged Sept. 8 as "in the intake process." No ruling yet. * Sept. 10: A timely letter saying the township "anticipates" responding within 35 business days, which is Oct. 29–30, and requiring a $100 fee paid in full first. The law says a body charging that fee must provide an accounting of fees, costs and hours. The letter didn't include one. * Sept. 28: A second set of requests sent, about the Road District fact sheet the board approved Sept. 21: the math behind its $500,000–$600,000 savings estimate, who prepared it, and what printing and mailing it cost. * Oct. 5: The township’s lawyers counted that set as 128 requests, labeled it “voluminous” and set Oct. 27 for an initial response, which may be a fee estimate or a denial rather than records. The same letter said the township “has determined that your claim is unfounded” that The Bourbs is news media. It gave no reason. * Nov. 3: Election Day. ### Is The Bourbs “news media”? Yes. Illinois’ records law defines news media to include “a newspaper or other periodical issued at regular intervals whether in print or electronic format” (5 ILCS 140/2(f)). The Bourbs publishes a newsletter by email every morning, and BradleyIllinois.com publishes local news, government meeting coverage and events for Kankakee County every day. It also publishes original investigations from public records, including the Manteno Record, our Flock camera reporting, and this series. The law exempts news media from the “voluminous” label when a request’s main purpose is to report on news and current events (5 ILCS 140/2(h)). These requests were filed to report on the Road District vote. This series is that reporting. That is our position. The township’s lawyers disagree, and the Attorney General’s office will decide. Because The Bourbs’ publisher is a party to this dispute, weigh it accordingly. The township took that position on the same day its own Assessor answered The Bourbs’ written questions for publication. His answers are in Part 4. We’re asking the township’s attorney what the determination is based on, and we’ll add his answer here. ### Same month, same requester, other offices * Kankakee County Clerk: nine-item request answered with 16 attachments in five days. No fee, no exemptions. * Village of Bourbonnais: 31 pages in eight days, no fee. * County Highway Department: answered inside the legal deadline (mostly "no records"). * Bourbonnais Township: estimated Oct. 29–30. The Clerk's request was for narrow, named records, and ours to the township covered a live dispute. But no office took longer than eight days to send its first real answer. ### The audit The township's audit for the year ending March 31, 2025 appeared on the state's website in mid-August 2026, about 16½ months after the year ended. The state listed the annual report as due Sept. 27, 2025. The township's treasurer's report says it got a 60-day extension, which would run to about Nov. 26, 2025. ### The rules At the Aug. 10 meeting, a resident asked to speak before the vote. The chair said, "[Public comment is on your agenda, sir. It is after we vote.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zvNtVRBQ8Wc&t=837s "Watch this moment")" Comment was taken after the vote. State law doesn't require comment before a vote. It does require comment "under the rules established and recorded by the public body," and as of that night the township had published no board rules. A one-page public-comment policy sheet surfaced in September; we don't know whether it was ever adopted. ### In fairness * The Sept. 10 letter arrived on time under the law. * The township says it has no staff member whose job is only FOIA. * "Voluminous" is a real legal designation. The Attorney General will decide whether it applies to a news outlet's requests. * The township posts more online than most. In our August check of 15 Illinois townships, none fully met the posting law, and most small Kankakee County townships have no website at all. * The township answered an earlier request of ours in July. What They Said We emailed our questions to Supervisor Jeff Umphrey and the township's attorney on Sept. 30 and asked for answers by Oct. 5. We hadn't heard back when this was posted. If they respond, we'll add it here. Watch it on the meeting video * [Aug. 10 · 13:57 Request to speak before the vote; “It is after we vote”](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zvNtVRBQ8Wc&t=837s) Board meetings are recorded and posted on the Road District’s YouTube channel. Times are approximate; quotes are checked against the audio captions. #### Sources for Part 6 6 items * The five requests (Aug. 11 and 13) and the replies from Bond Conway Smith (Aug. 17–20, Aug. 24, Sept. 10): on file with The Bourbs; message us for copies * Request for Review to the Public Access Counselor (Aug. 24) and acknowledgment (Sept. 8): on file with The Bourbs; message us for copies * 5 ILCS 140/2(h) and 2(f) (voluminous; news media), 3.2 (recurrent requesters), 6(a-5) (fee accounting); 5 ILCS 120/2.06(g) (public comment rules): ilga.gov * Audit timing: Illinois Comptroller local government warehouse, unit 046/020/01; FY2025 Treasurer's Report (extension) * County Clerk, Village of Bourbonnais (FOIA 26-2368) and County Highway Department responses: on file with The Bourbs * Aug. 10 meeting video (00:13:57–00:15:35) Part 07 of 10 ## One real race Two elections, one contested race. In the last two Bourbonnais Township elections, voters had a choice in exactly one race: Highway Commissioner. In 2025 they picked Jason Diaz. This November the township board has put his office, the Road District, on the ballot for abolition. ### What was on your ballot (certified results, Kankakee County Clerk) In both 2021 and 2025, every other township seat drew exactly one candidate: Supervisor, Clerk, Assessor and all four trustee seats. Highway Commissioner results: * 2021: Steve Bisaillon 2,205, Jason Diaz 1,807 * 2025: Jason Diaz 2,184, Steve Bisaillon 1,984 That's a 598-vote swing. All five board members who voted to put the Road District on the ballot hold seats that were unopposed in 2025. ### The party In 2025, every township candidate except Diaz, including Bisaillon, ran under one label: UNITY. * The committee behind it is the Bourbonnais Township Unity Party (ISBE #40317). * Chair: Supervisor Jeff Umphrey. Treasurer: Trustee Frank Cianci. * Its stated purpose: "To elect Bourbonnais Township Independents." The same wording appeared in its predecessor committee's paperwork, which dates to 1993. * The only Independent in the 2025 township races was Jason Diaz. ### Money raised: $0.00 The committee has filed six quarterly reports since January 2025, and all six report $0.00 raised. Total spent: $150. * Its first registration listed $1,882.54 available. * Nine days later an amended registration left that line blank. * The only documented money in is a $262.54 transfer from the predecessor committee. ### The same names, for years In 2017, a single brief in an Electoral Board court case was filed on behalf of eight township officials and candidates, plus the Bourbonnais Township United Party (Unity's predecessor). The board's decision was upheld. Four of those eight still hold township office. We haven't obtained the complaint that started the case. ### In fairness * Running unopposed is legal and common in township races. * We found no rule requiring a party committee to raise money, and nothing showing anyone was kept off the 2021 or 2025 ballot. * We have no evidence the referendum and the 2025 election result are connected. Township offices are on the ballot again in April 2029. If you want a choice, someone has to file. What They Said We emailed our questions to Supervisor Jeff Umphrey and the township's attorney on Sept. 30 and asked for answers by Oct. 5. We hadn't heard back when this was posted. If they respond, we'll add it here. #### Sources for Part 7 4 items * Certified Abstracts of Votes, April 6, 2021 and April 1, 2025: Kankakee County Clerk * 2025 Voter Information Guide (party labels): kankakeecountyclerk.gov * Committee #40317, D-1 statements and six D-2 quarterly reports, and predecessor #8999: Illinois State Board of Elections, elections.il.gov (checked September 2026) * Case 17MR167 (brief filed 4/24/2017; decision affirmed 12/26/2017): Kankakee County Circuit Clerk Part 08 of 10 ## “Not on paper” The math behind the $500,000–$600,000 savings estimate. "[They're not on paper somewhere. No.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uhH5z1wte0s&t=3063s "Watch this moment")" That was the answer at the Sept. 21 township board meeting, when a resident asked whether the numbers behind the township's $500,000–$600,000 road-tax savings estimate were written down anywhere. The estimate appears in the township's official fact sheet on the Road District abolition referendum you'll vote on Nov. 3. The board approved the fact sheet 5–0 that night. We're not telling you how to vote. We're showing you what's on the record. ### The exchange (Sept. 21 meeting video, 50:02–53:37) A resident asked the board to "give us the math" and whether the numbers were "on paper somewhere to back up what you're putting on paper." The answer, from Supervisor Jeff Umphrey: "[They're not on paper somewhere. No.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uhH5z1wte0s&t=3063s "Watch this moment")" Moments later, Umphrey added: "I have confided in Mr. Conway to tell him I know how we can save $500,000," and "If we can't lower the levy by that amount of money by $500,000, [I won't run next time.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uhH5z1wte0s&t=3187s "Watch this moment")" ### The fact sheet vs. the record The fact sheet says: "the Township Board estimates that the current tax levy for road services that was increased this year by the current Highway Commissioner can be substantially decreased by $500,000 to $600,000." On the "increased by the Commissioner" part: * On Dec. 15, 2025, the board adopted that road levy 3–2. Alexander, Cianci and Umphrey voted AYE; Pallissard and Pepin voted NAY. * The ordinance says the board "does hereby certify that the amount levied herein is necessary." On the "decreased" part, the township's attorney said at the same meeting: "[This board cannot unilaterally lower his levy.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uhH5z1wte0s&t=3125s "Watch this moment")" The fact sheet doesn't say which tax year the savings would start. So which is it, and when? The resolution approving the fact sheet is titled "…to consolidate road district duties and road district staff into Bourbonnais Township." Your ballot asks: "Shall the Road District of the Township of Bourbonnais be abolished…?" Right before the 5–0 vote, a resident asked, "So what is this doing again? Can you please explain to the people what this resolution is?" The transcript shows no explanation and no questions from trustees before the roll call. ### When it would actually happen Even if "yes" wins, state law (605 ILCS 5/6-134) says the Road District isn't abolished until the current commissioner's term ends in May 2029. Diaz stays in office until then. * The Aug. 10 meeting where the board voted to put this on the ballot didn't mention that date. * The fact sheet says the position would "eventually" be eliminated. ### Follow the money * Road District funds: about $3.86 million as of April 1, 2026 (the amount in 2029 may differ). They would move to the township board, along with all road taxing power. * The $1.29 million Permanent Road tax isn't repealed by abolition. It moves to the board too. * The one cost certain to end: the Commissioner's pay package, $126,951 a year, minus whatever it costs to replace the work. * The fact sheet's savings estimate: $500,000–$600,000, with no written basis produced so far. ### In fairness * The road levy did go up this year, by $51,629 (3.2%). * The board's levy vote may be a required step once the commissioner sets the amount. We don't claim they could have cut it. * An estimate that isn't written down isn't automatically wrong. It's unproven. * The fact sheet prints the word "abolished" in the ballot question at the top. * State law lets public bodies share factual information about a referendum. Whether a dollar estimate with no written basis counts is a question for the State's Attorney or the Attorney General, not for us. * The resolution says the fact sheet will be published on the township's website. We've asked how else it's being distributed, and at what cost. What The Commissioner Said Highway Commissioner Jason Diaz told The Bourbs the December 2025 levy was his first. He said he wanted to lower it, but was advised that money not levied could be lost in future years, so he kept the increase under the 5% mark that triggers a state truth-in-taxation hearing. What They Said We emailed our questions to Supervisor Jeff Umphrey and the township's attorney on Sept. 30 and asked for answers by Oct. 5. We hadn't heard back when this was posted. If they respond, we'll add it here. [Watch the moment: ▶ Sept. 21, 2026 board meeting. Starts at the answer: “They’re not on paper somewhere. No.”](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uhH5z1wte0s&t=3063s) Watch it on the meeting video * [Sept. 21 · 50:02 The resident asks for the math](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uhH5z1wte0s&t=3002s) * [Sept. 21 · 51:03 “They’re not on paper somewhere. No.”](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uhH5z1wte0s&t=3063s) * [Sept. 21 · 52:05 The township attorney: “This board cannot unilaterally lower his levy”](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uhH5z1wte0s&t=3125s) * [Sept. 21 · 53:07 “I won’t run next time”](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uhH5z1wte0s&t=3187s) * [Sept. 21 · 1:12:54 “Can you please explain to the people what this resolution is?” and the 5–0 vote](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uhH5z1wte0s&t=4374s) * [Dec. 15, 2025 · 46:41 The road levy ordinance and 3–2 vote](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EHD6Zz94HfM&t=2801s) * [Aug. 10 · start The special meeting that put abolition on the ballot (full video)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zvNtVRBQ8Wc&t=0s) Board meetings are recorded and posted on the Road District’s YouTube channel. Times are approximate; quotes are checked against the audio captions. #### Sources for Part 8 7 items * Video of the Sept. 21, 2026 board meeting, posted on the Road District's YouTube channel (uhH5z1wte0s): 50:02–53:37 (savings exchange), 52:05–52:36 (attorney), 1:12:54–1:13:24 (resolution vote). Quotes checked against the captions; speaker confirmed on video. * Resolution R-09-26-02 and Exhibit A (fact sheet): posted on bourbonnaistownship.com * Road District levy Ordinance 12-25-02 (Dec. 15, 2025): roll call and Sec. 4 certification * 605 ILCS 5/6-134 (abolition timing), 6-116 (term), 6-601 (permanent road tax); 10 ILCS 5/9-25.1 (public funds and referendums): ilga.gov * Road District balances: FY2026-27 approved Road District budget (4/1/2026) * Commissioner's pay package: township posting of compensation over $75,000 (June 1, 2026) * Our records request for the written basis of the estimate (sent Sept. 28, due Oct. 5): no response as of Oct. 5 [UPDATE IF ONE ARRIVES] Part 09 of 10 ## No undo button What a “yes” vote does, and what it doesn’t. On Nov. 3 you'll vote on this: "Shall the Road District of the Township of Bourbonnais be abolished…?" Here's how that law works. The township's fact sheet doesn't cover it. ### Only the board could put this on your ballot The state law behind this question (605 ILCS 5/6-134) lets the township board put abolition on the ballot "by resolution." It gives voters no petition route. The board voted 5–0 to do it on Aug. 10. ### Is there a way back? If "yes" wins, the Road District is abolished "by operation of law." That section has no provision for reversing it or re-creating the Road District later, and we found none elsewhere in the sections we read. ### When it happens Abolition takes effect 90 days after the vote is certified, or when the current highway commissioner's term ends, whichever is later. That's May 2029. Commissioner Jason Diaz stays in office until then. ### What moves to the township board that day * All road taxing power * The Road District's funds: about $3.86 million across its accounts as of April 1, 2026 (the 2029 amount will differ) * Its equipment, property, debts and duties * Running the roads. The board may hire the county, a village or a private company to do the work. The five-member board makes those calls from then on. Its seats are next up at the regular township election in April 2029. ### What a "yes" doesn't do * It doesn't end the Permanent Road tax, about $1.29 million a year and 78% of the road levy. That tax was created by referendum and takes its own referendum to repeal. Abolition hands it to the board. * The abolition section itself has no language locking road money to roads. Other laws may limit how some of it can be spent; we haven't found a clear answer. * It doesn't guarantee a tax cut. The township's $500,000–$600,000 savings estimate has no written basis produced so far (see Part 8). ### The villages have money in this too State law (605 ILCS 5/6-507) gives half of the road-and-bridge tax levied on property inside a village's limits to villages that maintain their own streets, to be spent on roads or streets. That comes from the road-and-bridge tax only, not the Permanent Road tax. For tax year 2025: * Village of Bourbonnais: $58,350 * Village of Bradley: $48,970 * City of Kankakee: $1,522 After abolition the township would make those payments, from the road-and-bridge levy. If the board cuts that tax, the villages' share shrinks with it. ### In fairness * Abolishing a road district is legal, and supporters say it can save money. * Folding the Road District into the township removes a separately elected office and one layer of overhead. That's a real argument for "yes." * If "no" wins, nothing in the section stops the board from asking again at a later election. * We're not telling you how to vote. We want you to know what your vote does. What They Said We emailed our questions to Supervisor Jeff Umphrey and the township's attorney on Sept. 30 and asked for answers by Oct. 5. We hadn't heard back when this was posted. If they respond, we'll add it here. Watch it on the meeting video * [Aug. 10 · start The special meeting where the board voted 5–0 to put abolition on the ballot (full video)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zvNtVRBQ8Wc&t=0s) * [Sept. 21 · 50:02 The $500,000–$600,000 exchange](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uhH5z1wte0s&t=3002s) Board meetings are recorded and posted on the Road District’s YouTube channel. Times are approximate; quotes are checked against the audio captions. #### Sources for Part 9 6 items * 605 ILCS 5/6-134 (who can start it, when it takes effect, what transfers, municipal payments), 6-507 (village share), 6-116 (term), 6-104 and 6-109 (road district organization and consolidation). Read on ilga.gov Sept. 30, 2026. * Aug. 10, 2026 special board meeting video (5–0 vote) * Kankakee County Clerk, tax year 2025 township road district report (road-and-bridge transfer to municipalities) * FY2026-27 approved Road District budget (balances as of 4/1/2026) * Road District levy Ordinance 12-25-02 (Permanent Road tax $1,294,000 of $1,660,300) * County Clerk certified ballot question (Aug. 17, 2026) Part 10 of 10 ## The fair ledger What the township gets right, what doesn’t add up, and seven questions to ask. That's the series. Here's the scorecard: what they get right, what doesn't add up, and what you can do about it. ### What they get right * Lowest township-side spending per resident in Kankakee County: $18.74. Kankakee Township is next at $39.45. Size helps: Bourbonnais spreads its costs over 39,000 people. So does spending only half its budget. * The township levy request is down 14% since 2022, from $818,433 to $704,229. * No long-term debt. The pension plan was 105.6% funded at the end of 2024. * No fund overspent its budget in the last audit. * It posts audits, budgets and pay online, more than most townships do. * Trustees and the Clerk were each paid under $25,000 in the last treasurer's report. ### What doesn't add up * General Assistance: $153,888 collected, $117,324 on the GA fund's general-government line, $12,400 to residents (FY2025). * That's $3.75 in aid per resident in poverty, against a $8.26 median at 31 similar-size townships. * In the last audited year the township budgeted about twice what it spent. By our math it holds about $966,000 above the state's reserve ceiling in funds the board controls. * Five records requests, zero records produced on those five, and an estimate that lands five days before the vote. (Disclosure: The Bourbs' publisher filed them and is a party to the Attorney General review.) * A $500,000–$600,000 savings estimate that, by the Supervisor's own account, is "[not on paper somewhere.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uhH5z1wte0s&t=3063s "Watch this moment")" * The board certified the road levy as "necessary." The fact sheet describes it as the Commissioner's increase. Bottom line: this isn't a township that's broke or out of control. It holds more than the state's ceiling by our math, spends very little of its GA money on actual aid, and is asking voters to approve a big change based on a savings estimate it hasn't published. ### 7 questions for your township board 1. Where is the math behind "$500,000 to $600,000"? 2. Why did it cost $117,324 to give out $12,400 in aid? 3. Will the December levy give back money above the state's 2.5× ceiling? 4. What is the $250,000 "Disaster/Community Development" line for? 5. Will you release the requested records before Nov. 3? 6. Why call the road levy the Commissioner's increase after certifying it "necessary"? 7. Will you publish board rules, including when public comment happens? Bourbonnais Township, 1350 Armour Road. Board meeting dates are posted at bourbonnaistownship.com. Election Day is Nov. 3. Township offices are on the ballot in April 2029. Every number in this series has its source listed under its part, above. What They Said We emailed our questions to Supervisor Jeff Umphrey and the township's attorney on Sept. 30 and asked for answers by Oct. 5. We hadn't heard back when this was posted. If they respond, we'll add it here. Watch it on the meeting video * [Sept. 21 · 51:03 “They’re not on paper somewhere. No.”](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uhH5z1wte0s&t=3063s) Board meetings are recorded and posted on the Road District’s YouTube channel. Times are approximate; quotes are checked against the audio captions. Tell us ## Have you asked the township for help? If you have asked Bourbonnais Township for help with rent, a utility shutoff, a medical bill or heat, we want to hear what you were told. We won’t publish your name without permission. Use [our tip form](../../submit.html) or message The Bourbs+ on Facebook. Township offices are on the ballot in April 2029. The Road District question is on your ballot November 3, 2026. The Bourbs is an independent local news site covering Bourbonnais, Bradley and Kankakee County. The publisher filed the records requests described in Part 06 and is a party to the Attorney General review described there. Corrections: if anything here is wrong, tell us and we will fix it and note the change on this page. Nothing on this page is legal advice. Published October 6, 2026.