Tammy Wendt, one of the three members of the Cook County Board of Review – an elected county panel that handles property tax-related appeals - has been sued by the Cook County Ethics Board for hiring her cousin, and then refusing directives from the ethics board to fire him to comply with the county’s ethics rules.
The Board of Ethics also is suing Wendt’s cousin, Todd Thielmann, to recover wages paid to him, when he was allegedly not eligible to be hired in the first place under county hiring rules.
The lawsuit against Wendt and Thielmann was filed May 31 in Cook County Circuit Court.
“Despite the undeniable application of the Ethics Ordinance to Commissioner Wendt as an elected Cook County official, Commissioner Wendt maintains that she is not bound by the Ethics Ordinance and therefore could hire her first cousin as a Cook County employee,” the Ethics Board said in its complaint.
“… The Board of Ethics investigated the matter and held a series of public meetings, which resulted in the Board of Ethics making a final determination that Commissioner Wendt inappropriately hired her first cousin, that he should be removed, and that Commissioner Wendt should be fined for violating the Ethics Ordinance.
“Commissioner Wendt has steadfastly refused to comply with the Board of Ethics’ order.”
Wendt, a lawyer by profession, and a Democrat, has served on the Cook County Board of Review since 2020, when she narrowly unseated former BOR Commissioner Dan Patlak.
Patlak had served on the Board of Review for 10 years, standing out as one of the few elected Republican officials in Democrat-dominated Cook County.
Cook County has drawn notoriety for decades as an oft-cited example of political corruption, in no small part because of its long history of elected officials using their political offices to hire relatives and friends, and enrich their families.
In response to such sustained complaints and criticisms, as well as court action, Cook County in more recent years has enacted ordinances and implemented ethics rules, purportedly to limit such corruption and nepotism.
The county’s Ethics Ordinance, first enacted in 1993, specifically forbids Cook County employees and elected officials from “hiring a relative, on behalf of the county, or a county board or commission” or “participating in a hiring decision of a relative on behalf of the county, or a county board or commission.”
The complaint notes the Ethics Ordinance defines a first cousin as “falling within the definition of ‘relative’” under the ethics rules.
However, only about a month after she defeated Patlak, Wendt hired Thielmann to serve in her office as First Assistant Commissioner, earning a salary of $150,000 per year since January 2021.
According to the complaint, Thielmann did not respond to a question on the official county job application for the position, in which he was asked to “name the employees of the BOR with whom you are acquainted or related. If related, please indicate relationship.”
According to the complaint, Wendt’s fellow Democrats on the Board of Review, Larry Rogers and Michael Cabonargi, publicly informed her in June 2021 that her decision to hire Thielmann violated the county’s Ethics Ordinance.
After Wendt refused to take action to rectify the alleged violation, the matter was referred to the County Board of Ethics for investigation. According to the complaint, Wendt refused to participate, until after the Ethics Board ruled she had violated the ordinance and should pay a $2,000 fine.
Wendt then reportedly asked the Ethics Board to reconsider, and argued the Ethics Ordinance doesn’t apply to her office.
The Ethics Board denied Wendt’s reconsideration request on April 26, 2022, and gave Wendt 10 days to comply with its orders to fire Thielmann and pay the fine.
After Wendt reportedly ignored the order once more, and sought no further review of the board’s decision, the Ethics Board opted to ask a Cook County judge to order Wendt to comply.
The Board of Ethics is asking the court to order Wendt to comply with its directives, and to order Thielmann to repay “an amount equal to the value of the salary and benefits he received” in his post within Wendt’s office, plus interest and attorney fees.
“… Thielmann knew he was ineligible for the FAC Position and intentionally failed to accurately complete his employment application to obfuscate his relationship to Commissioner Wendt,” the Board of Ethics said in their complaint. “The continuing retention by Todd Thielmann of the salary and benefits provided to him by Cook County violates fundamental principles of justice, equity, and good conscience to the detriment of the Board of Ethics, which is responsible for ensuring fair and honest government in Cook County, and ultimately the Cook County taxpayers.”
Wendt is seeking reelection in the 2022 election to a new term in Cook County Board of Review District 1. She is running in the Democratic primary against Chicago Alderman George Cardenas
No Republican candidate has yet declared to run in any of the three Board of Review districts.