After a report on the activities of NFWSD by the Cook County inspector general charging trustees mismanaged finances of the district and overpaid themselves hundreds of thousands of dollars, Cook County Commissioner Larry Suffredin said he would speak with the Cook County State’s Attorney about the possibility of criminal charges. Suffredin spoke Monday to State Rep. Elaine Nekritz (D-57th) about changing the law to insert some accountability so this never happens again.

Nekritz said she and her staff are just beginning to look into the issues involved and have not drafted any legislation yet.

Northfield sanitary trustees are appointed by the Cook County board president with the advice and consent of county commissioners, but cannot be removed by the county board president or anyone else, Suffredin and the report said.

Suffredin said even though trustees were appointed by the county president, because the stand-alone unit of government was created by state statute, it does not fall under the county’s ethics ordinance.

The report charges that three NFWSD trustees, who are by statute limited to being paid only $6,000 a year, paid themselves at least $263,863 since 2008 and did not act in the best interests of the public.

The report said a long time attorney for NFWSD claimed state law allowed trustees to pay themselves extra to perform work trustees would have paid someone else contracted from outside the agency.

The report called that argument questionable.

The agency had fiscal year end revenues of $527,429 derived from property taxes and sewer user fees and expenses of $434,814 as of Apr. 30, 2011.

A NFWSD attorney was paid $55,800 per year on a retainer until a second attorney was hired, in 2010 pumping annual retainers to $84,000 or $7,000 per month. In 2011, when one of those attorneys stepped down, the monthly retainer was not reduced.

Besides a retainer, attorneys were paid $300 to $375 per hour for water billing work and $375 per hour for “special research.”

Trustees are also accused of appointing the attorney as clerk entitling him to extra pay and health insurance benefits until 2011.