Robert Bogue has inadvertently set himself up for retaliation by filing a complaint about the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) and the Edgar County Board regarding airport zoning, the Edgar County Watchdogs (ECW) contend.
Bogue took his case to the Governor’s Office of the Executive Inspector General (OEIG), but the office responded by sending a copy of the complaint to IDOT and Edgar County, according to the ECW's report on the group's Illinois Leaks website.
"Never mind that the county board and IDOT’s chief counsel are the ones named in the complaint – they gave the complaints to them like there is actually any possibility of being reviewed by a neutral party on the complaint," the ECW said.
Maggie Hickey, OEIG executive inspector general
The ECW said that although it's unlikely that Bogue will face repercussions from his complaint, the OEIG has set a potentially dangerous precedent.
Bogue's complaint concerned whether IDOT and Edgar County had followed state law regarding airport grant access.
IDOT Chief Counsel William Barnes had determined that the Edgar County Board's resolution declaring the affected Edgar County Airport land as "hazard zoning" was compliant with the intent of the General County Airport and Landing Field Act. He told Jeff Voigt, county board chairman, that the airport was eligible to apply for Airport Improvement Funds grants.
However, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) sent a letter instructing IDOT to not issue federal grants to the Edgar County Airport until the FAA had a chance to review and approve IDOT's decision.
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