Sangamon Sun

The Edgar County Watchdogs said that after Mayor Tom Gray escaped his first ethics hearing held by the Village of Chatham Ethics Commission over Gray's obscene hand gesture, his second hearing didn't go so well for him.

At the second hearing over an amended resolution, the commission unanimously found the gesture to be unbecoming of a public official and recommended that the full village board censure Gray.

The village board plans to address the censure resolution, as well as a request for Gray to step down, at its next meeting. Gray said he was not planning to resign. This is his last term as mayor; he is not running for reelection this spring.

The original ethics hearing was triggered by a complaint regarding Gray's handling of water-quality complaints. Jewel Brant, a Chatham resident, organized a water-quality interest group in 2014 after two years of questioning the Chatham Village Board and the water commission over water-quality issues. The village's water was previously supplied by City Water Light & Power (CWLP). When the South Sangamon Water Commission's treatment plant went live in May 2012, the complaints began. Residents reported health problems ranging from asthma to eczema and hair loss. In addition to health issues that they believe are related to the water, residents have reported problems with appliances through which water runs, including water heaters, refrigerator filters and faucets.

The water quality varies from day to day, sometimes smelling musty and some days tasting of chlorine, the complaints said.

Water plant General Manager Dan Held said it's difficult to find the problem between the aquifer and the 15 miles of pipeline between the plant and the Chatham water tower. The water originates in the Sangamon River aquifer and is treated with ammonia, bleach, chlorine and fluoride. It is also filtered to remove iron and manganese.

Dave McMillan, manager of the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) public water-supply unit, told the State Journal-Register that no health hazards have been detected.

"It's really not an issue with safe water as much as it's an issue with some of the aesthetic properties of water," McMillan said.

McMillan said high levels of manganese can change the color of tap water from clear to dark. The high mineral content also can stain porcelain.

Brant and other residents pursued the water-quality issues, appearing at village-board and water commission meetings to ask about the poor water quality.  

Brant told the State Journal-Register in December 2014 that these efforts have not yielded much progress.

"As individuals going before the board and calling for requests, we're not getting good results; I do feel like something needs to be done," Brant said.

Brant also told the State Journal-Register in January 2015 that residents' complaints often fall on deaf ears.

"When citizens come to the village board and have a complaint, there is no policy for handling, tracking and responding to complaints," Brant said. "People are not treated fairly, and they're not treated respectfully. They're being dismissed."

Village trustee Mark Clayton agreed with Brant's assertions and said the complaints about the water began as soon as he took office, but the board and water commission did not seem concerned about the citizens' complaints.

The Edgar County Watchdogs reported on Sept. 2 that Gray refused to meet with residents regarding the water-quality issues. Residents and the water-quality group had sent emails requesting a "town hall" meeting with the mayor. While Gray said "we have nothing to hide," he also responded to queries at the Aug. 23 village council meeting by asking residents to write down their questions and give them to him. He said he would answer them at a later date.

Gray made it clear that he would not answer the questions in person.

The Watchdogs questioned the Gray's ability to communicate with residents.

This inability to communicate with Gray regarding the water-quality issues led to Brant's ethics complaint alleging that Gray didn't follow village policy. During the Dec. 13 hearing, he raised his middle finger to a resident who was livestreaming the hearing on social media. While he apologized to residents during a phone interview with the State Journal-Register, his action triggered an amended complaint by Brant and a second ethics hearing on Dec. 20.

 "The most we can actually do is censure the mayor, but we do believe that this type of inappropriate behavior should be a resignation," village trustee Terry Fountain told TV NewsChannel20.