Wayne Co., Ill. (ECWd) –
The Wayne County Housing Authority board on Friday, February 6, a (delayed meeting from January) affirmed the validity of some of Resident Commissioner Ron Baker’s complaints against them when their agenda included the rescinding of two resolutions from the June 18, 2025, meeting. The three-member board unanimously approved new resolutions backtracking resolutions 25-22 and 25-23 respectively from last year, one of them which put Commissioner Baker under the possibility of trespass charges and arrest should he attend future board meetings. Board members in attendance at the June meeting were Dixie Locke, Doyle Hucker, Tim McBride, Ron Baker, and Housing Director Jill Short. Current Director Kim Musgrave was the Executor Director-in-training at the time.
The transcript from the June 18, 2025, meeting reveals that Baker was asking the board to amend the minutes from May to show that he did not vote to approve the bills and payment. He maintains there was an expense that constituted fraud. Baker says he wanted the minutes to show that he abstained. The expenditure in dispute was a back payment for 53 months (November 2020 to March 2025) for the use of a cell phone which Housing Director Jill Short said was for public use after she had previously claimed at the January 15, 2025, meeting that it was her personal phone. In the January 15, 2025, transcription, Short is heard to say, “Don’t text my personal phone,” and another commissioner is on record saying, “Personal phone has nothing to do with Housing Authority.” The back payment that she requested and received (Resolution 25-16) was for $15 per month for 53 months, totaling $795.00.
According to the transcript, Commissioner Baker pointed out that her phone number was never made public for anyone to contact her and that she was expected to carry a housing authority phone that was available for public contact. Baker pointed to FOIA call logs on the phone that showed zero resident calls.
In the transcript, Director Short explains that all the office people were given the stipend just like the maintenance men since they all used their cell phones for Housing business and that it had already been approved by resolution. After much debate, the board decided to ban Baker from future meetings under threat of trespass and arrest, and passed Resolutions 25-22 and 25-23. Other board responses at that meeting included a statement that the “bill was already paid, and that was that”, and the Director was noted as calling the police.
Baker continues to maintain that this board had no authority to pass the resolutions they did in 2025 to remove him from the board, (dismissal is the County board chairman’s responsibility after a finding of incompetence, guilt of neglect of duty, or guilt of malfeasance) and that they still have no authority to rescind the resolutions (unlawfully passed) or petition for his removal from the board since they continue to be unlawfully constituted. He continues to pursue local and HUD action. An attorney, Hannah R. Lamore, of Mahoney, Silverman and Cross, LLC was in attendance by internet at Friday’s meeting, as well as board members Locke, Hucker and McBride, and Director Kim Musgrave.
**Amended to include the vote on Agenda item 11: Resolution 26:3 “Petition Wayne County Board Chair for the removal of resident Commissioner, Ronald Baker.” The board voted to approve this agenda item.
Statement by remote attendance from Attorney Hannah R. Lamore: “This item is on the agenda before the board that the bylaws of the Wayne County Housing Authority identify a procedure for removal of commissioners that includes petitioning the presiding officer of the county or the county chair to take action. So this is on the agenda to allow the board to take action, to submit a petition for the removal of resident Commissioner, Ron Baker. For there to be action, there would need to be a motion and second. If the board elects not to take any action, there would be no petition submitted to the county chair. Please note that if there is a petition submitted to the County chair, it is then in the hands of the County chair in terms of removal of the resident Commissioner. In accordance with the Housing Authorities Act, the board action today would not remove Mr. Baker. It would just petition the County chair to consider removal.”
