Newly appointed Mayor Gary Lance of Bellmont, Illinois, has used public property for his own personal gain. | Pixabay
Newly appointed Mayor Gary Lance of Bellmont, Illinois, has used public property for his own personal gain. | Pixabay
As one of his first acts as Bellmont's newly appointed mayor, Gary Lance changed the locks on Village Hall to lock out the Village trustees.
The mayor was appointed to the job after the former mayor resigned on Feb. 18, 2020, leading the position to be vacant, Illinois Leaks reported.
The board never approved this action so the new mayor did not actually have any authority to change the locks.
Lance was also seen by another resident of Illinois allegedly using public property for his own personal gain. He was seen using a village tractor to spread gravel on his own property to park his RV and boat, Illinois Leaks reported.
The Illinois Constitution, Article VIII, Section 1(a), states, “Public funds, property or credit shall be used only for public purposes."
The village tractor and fuel are public property of the village. A violation of the state Constitution is deemed as felony criminal charges of official misconduct, Illinois Leaks reported.
“We hold that a violation of the constitution can serve as a predicate unlawful act for the purposes of the official misconduct statute. Accordingly, the indictment against defendant in this case, alleging a violation of article VIII, section 1(a), of the Illinois constitution, was sufficient. As such, we affirm the judgment of the appellate court," the Illinois Supreme Court ruled in People v. Howard.
Jamie Trogdon, reporter for Illinois Leaks, had a run in with Lance when he decided to take photos of the mayor's gravel driveway after viewing a video a resident took of Lance using the public tractor.
Trogdon called the mayor several times before visiting Bellmont to discuss the tractor use. Lance called Trogdon back and wouldn't admit to the tractor being public property, Trogdon reported in Illinois Leaks. Lance also said it was none of Trogdon's business.
After driving to Bellmont to take photos of the driveway, Lance approached Trogdon in his car and asked why he was taking pictures, Trogdon reported in Illinois Leaks.
The mayor told Trogdon to leave and said, “Maybe I outta to get out and just whip yer ass," Trogdon reported in Illinois Leaks.
Trogdon said the mayor not only threatened him for taking the photos, but call 911. The Wabash County Sheriff's deputy informed both Lance and Trogdon that Trogdon was taking photos on public property and had every right to do so.
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