© 2024 WGLT
A public service of Illinois State University
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Normal Township Creates New Disclosure Policy For Businesses

Staff
/
WGLT
Normal Township Supervisor Sarah Grammer.

Normal Township trustees approved a new disclosure policy Thursday that will require companies doing business with the township to divulge their true owners.

The new requirement was sparked by the township’s recent experience with the student apartment tax agreements and other tax deals, such as the one for Brandt Industries, said Township Supervisor Sarah Grammer. The township has questioned those deals and is expected to reject the apartment agreements.

“As elected officials, we are all bound by conflict of interest laws which help the public to be assured that we are open and transparent and that none of us are unduly profiting from our public service,” Grammer said. “In order for us to be fully open and transparent, it is important to know with whom we are doing business.”

Grammer said tax agreements are often made between public bodies and limited liability companies, or LLCs. Those LLCs make it harder to identify the actual owner of a business or property, Grammer said. The Illinois Secretary of State’s office does maintain a searchable database of LLCs and corporations, which sometimes reveals agent, manager, and president names. In other cases, LLCs show up as managed by other LLCs.

Grammer said the new policy was modeled after a similar one in the city of Champaign, which passed in 2014. That policy, she said, was inspired by one in Chicago.

Moving forward, every contract or agreement that comes before the Normal Township board must have a completed disclosure form. That form asks for the names of corporate officers and the names of any shareholders owning 5 percent or more of the stock in a corporation.

“This will allow for certainty that no conflicts of interest exist between the trustees when making a vote and for the public to verify the same,” Grammer said.

The adoption of this policy will put no undue financial burden on an entity seeking to do business with the Township, Grammer added in a memo prepared for Thursday’s meeting.

People like you value experienced, knowledgeable and award-winning journalism that covers meaningful stories in Bloomington-Normal. To support more stories and interviews like this one, please consider making a contribution.

Ryan Denham is the digital content director for WGLT.
Related Content