After ‘toxic’ relations with board, Algonquin Township supervisor faces challenge to his reelection bid

After years of contentious relations between Algonquin Township Supervisor Randy Funk and trustees, he’s now facing a challenge to his reelection bid by Richard Tado.

Animosity has grown between Funk and Trustees Teresa Sharpe Decker, Theresa Fronczak and Millie Medendorp, with the trustees filing nine censures against Funk from March 2023 through last December.

The censures accuse Funk of operating without trustees' approval on matters such as paying bills, appointing an attorney and transferring funds to the general assistance fund. Funk also was censured for claims that he withheld general assistance information from trustees and for “unprofessional conduct and lack of respect and fairness,” according to township documents.

Funk takes issue with the censures, saying that they were retaliatory attempts to smear his name when he was simply trying to do his job within the powers granted to the supervisor by state statute.

“I never did anything I couldn’t do,” Funk said.

Funk, a Crystal Lake resident, said trustee responsibilities include creating a budget, levying taxes and developing ordinances, and they don’t have any say in day-to-day activities of the township.

“They have no say over general assistance,” he said. “They just didn’t like where it was going.”

Sitting trustees have pointed to what they say is secrecy and a lack of transparency in how Funk runs the township. They took issue with him providing township general assistance funds so the recipient could pay fees related to getting their license back after a charge for driving under the influence. Funk said he did that so the recipient could get to their job and has countered that he has the authority to disburse general assistance. He also said trustees were compromising the identity of recipients by seeking to discuss disbursements publicly.

One instance that trustees cite is when Funk paid township bills late last year without board consent and claimed in an email to a trustee that the state’s attorney’s office said he had the authority to do so. But trustees produced an email from the state’s attorney’s civil division head, who wrote: “At no time did anyone in this office tell Mr. Funk or anyone at Algonquin Township that it was or was not OK to pay any of the Algonquin Township bills.”

Funk said the censures are only a tool to wield political power during a campaign.

“It’s just a statement,” he said. “It has no legal basis.”

Algonquin Township is the largest in McHenry County with more than 87,000 residents, covering all or parts of Algonquin, Barrington Hills, Cary, Crystal Lake, Fox River Grove, Lake in the Hills, Port Barrington, Lakewood, Oakwood Hills and Trout Valley, according to the Algonquin Township website.

Illinois townships provide property assessments, financial assistance to those in need and road maintenance. Algonquin Township provides general assistance to those in need of financial help to keep their homes, and eligibility is redetermined each month. Emergency assistance is given to eligible applicants once in a one-year period who do not qualify for general assistance.

In the candidate questionnaire he filled out for the Northwest Herald, Tado said the censures against Funk “raise serious concerns about leadership, transparency and decision-making,” and that his conduct needs more scrutiny.

Tado, who lives in Fox River Grove, said he started to pay attention to the township in the fall, when he was appointed to the Algonquin Township Road District Decennial Committee. The committee files a report every 10 years to the county to analyze the impact and cost efficiency of the township. After working on the committee, Medendorp approached Tado to run, he said.

“I began to look into the weeds, and what I found is so toxic,” Tado said.

Funk’s unofficial slate of candidates include Richard Yelle Jr. for clerk; Tim Carone for highway commissioner; and Debbie Rinn-Alcock, Kevin Byrnes, Maureen Huff and Tony Colatorti for trustee. Huff currently serves as clerk. Colatorti ran unsuccessfully for McHenry County sheriff.

Team Tado consists of Medendorp, an incumbent trustee who is running for clerk; incumbent Danijela Sandberg for highway commissioner; and Decker, Fronczak, Eduardo Aviles and Robert Becker for trustee.

Funk and all four trustees ran unopposed in 2021 after a McHenry County judge threw out a lawsuit trying to allow voters to decide whether to abolish the township government all together.

A major fracture between Funk and the trustees is over the use of attorneys that has resulted in an ongoing lawsuit. Law firm Airdo Werwas filed a lawsuit against the township last year for more than $36,000 in unpaid bills. The law firm was hired by trustees in 2022 as outside counsel to the township’s attorney, citing a conflict among trustees, the supervisor and the township attorney.

In his questionnaire, Funk said trustees spent almost $9,000 on attorneys to file the censures. Meanwhile, Funk said more than $20,000 also has been spent to fight the lawsuit.

“I’d be willing to bet $1 million for five judges to weigh in on what they think,” Funk said. “I’d bet they would all say, ‘Funk, you’re right.‘”

Tado’s campaign focus has been about transparency, and he said he plans to share bills with trustees and have them look over everything before he pays.

“You won’t see any rubber stamp,” he said.

Tado said he also wants to oversee where general assistance goes and root out “favoritism.”

“I’m tired of getting ripped off,” he said.

Funk is a previous president of the Crystal Lake Lions Club and current president of the Crystal Lake Lions Foundation. Multiple candidates in Funk’s slate also are Lions members, including Yelle and Byrnes.

Tado works as a consultant, has been a wrestling coach for more than 25 years and served on the board of the nonprofit Operation Horses and Heroes.

The political campaign became personal after a social media comment by a third party on Tado’s Facebook page accused Funk of having an affair with a township staff member.

Funk strongly denied that claim and said it “goes to show the character of the person who says something like that.”

Tado said he “liked” the post, which was written by a friend of his who also is on the board of Operation Horses and Heroes, because he originally read it as they are “all in bed together” and “scratching each other‘s backs.” He deleted the post after rereading the comment as cheating allegations.

“That’s not me,” Tado said. “It’s not what he meant, but it’s what he said.”

The primary election is Tuesday. For more information on how and where to vote, visit the McHenry County website.