Complaint Review: Bonnie Thomson Carter

Now-Lake County Board Member and former Wooster Lake Improvement Association (WLIA) board member Bonnie Thomson Carter has been quoted on record and in the press claiming "The residents have done all they can to protect Wooster" and "For over 50 years, Wooster Lake has been a no-wake lake". 

HISTORY LEADING TO CORRUPTION & FRAUD:

Back in 1962, Lake County and the WLIA were plantiffs against a Wooster Lake property owner and took him all the way to the Illinois Supreme Court.  County of Lake & WLIA v. Macneal, 181 N.E.2d 85, 24 Ill.2d 253 (Ill. 03/23/1962).  The county and WLIA wanted to restrict Macneal's lake property rights but had already lost at the circuit court level.  Further wasting tax dollars, Lake County and the WLIA senselessly and in bullying fashion took the lake owner to the Supreme Court level where once again the county and WLIA lost in court.   During the High Court's ruling, the Judge identified and fully described how each of the lake owners were already and historically using their private lake properties on Wooster.   Not only did the Judge highlight many were using the lake for recreational boating, but the Judge also highlighted owners were largely renting out boats for that recreation on Wooster.  Historical, recreational boating has therefore been documented on Wooster Lake by the Illinois court system.

So Ms. Carter's statements in recent years of "no wake for over 50 years" are in stark contrast to reality and what the High Court Judge has already ruled and documented in the Illinois court system.

But Ms. Carter is more than a liar.   For Macneal's lake properties were later sold to none other than Cambridge developers, which in the late 90's began to develop the property into Cambridge at Holiday Park subdivision!  Those lake properties sold were simultaneously annexed by the Village of Fox Lake where the village - at the request of former WLIA board member and then-Lake County board member Bonnie Thomson Carter- passed ordinance 2001-52 compelling the developer to insert the forged, falsified documentation into the development's Declaration, which was then recorded at the County, under document # 5094179.  On page 46 of this recorded document, amongst all the many other forgeries is Helen Macneal's name, address, and PINs, also forged onto the recorded document.  All buyers later bought into these newly developed properties with lake-access relied on this recorded document to be valid, which it was not.  Ms. Carter later admited on record her constituents at Holiday Park and other developments "bought into them".

To simplify the years of nonsense, the Judge wouldn't allow the ethically-challenged at the county or in the WLIA to bully the lake owner, so they waited for him to sell.  Once sold, Ms. Carter spun her web of lies and went back to work abusing government powers, so as to skirt the true definition and rights of these lake properties defined previously by the Judge.  Via abuse local government power, this corrupt local public official had an invalid zoning ordinance adopted by a village that had just annexed that property, where later the lake-access properties were sold and bought with purported restrictions on the lake, all relying upon a forged and falsified document that was recorded at the Lake County Recorder of Deeds.

Then in early 2005 after being caught relying on this forged recorded document where even the attorney's name has been forged on it, Ms. Carter spun the issue and played the card of a "hand shake deal that everyone has agreed to" to the press, claiming  there was such agreement on Wooster.   Not legal even if there was such an agreement by the lake's owners, which there never was.   NO AGREEMENT OR CONSENT from the lake's owners.  But that was the pitch from Ms. Carter that was then used to get the illegal reinforcement-of-the-fraud extraterritorial zoning ordinance in 2005 from V. of Round Lake, which she got in the form of ordinance 05-O-27.  Ms. Carter is on record 9/6/2005 soliciting for the (illegal) ordinance highlighting how so many people of Holiday Park had "bought into the covenants and restrictions".  "They bought into it."

This is a compulsively, lying politician who has been repeatedly abusing the powers of government, bullying other local officials as well as constituents, and orchestrating the fraud of her own constituents just to get what she wants.  Her own constituents have been ripped off at her direction.

Mr. Michael Waller's State's Attorney's Office failed miserably to prosecute Lake County Board Member Carter.  Or the Fox Lake attorney Howard Teegan, the attorney who advised his village trustees to pass, adopt, and record ordinance 2001-52 and include a provision to require the forged covenants and restrictions claimed of Wooster Lake.  Maybe his predecessor Mr. Michael Nerheim will do the job Mr. Waller should have done and was paid by the tax payers to do.  Time will tell.

Corrupt politicians- elected and appointed- in Lake County are only above the law if law enforcement allows them to be above the law.

As lake-access properties continue to be bought and sold, buyers and realtors of lake-access properties to Wooster should beware they are TODAY still being done so under false pretenses.  Cheating politicians and those who have already been defrauded are assuring this scam is alive and well today in Fox Lake and unincorporated Lake County.

Some evidence and documents supporting the historical fraud can be found in the hyperlinks at:

http://thelocalview.info/2011/11/16/the-saga-of-wasted-resources-continued/

http://thelocalview.info/2012/02/03/the-beginning-should-be-end-of-wasted-resources/

The overwhelming evidence shows Tanneron Bay Officials some who doubled as WLCCA Officials and others who used to live around Wooster have historically distributed a falsified, forged document not only placing it willfully in Tanneron Bay's own bylaws/website as people sell and buy properties but also conspiring with local public officials to have the falsified document inserted into Holiday Park's recorded Declaration.  As Bonnie Thomson Carter revealed on record:  "They bought into it."

These 3 associations of Tanneron Bay, Holiday Park, and WLCCA neither separately nor combined have authority to apply any special usage regulations on the lake.  NONE.  Nor does the inclusion of Wooster Lake Improvement Association (WLIA) which purports in its recorded documentation "no wake usage is enforced at all times".  All 4 associations with lake-access properties are falsely claiming they have authority over the lake water's usage and claiming as such in bogus documents.  In doing so, they are each defrauding all of their residents who buy into properties and have lake-access.

The Illinois Supreme Court ruling in Beacham v. Lake Zurich Property Owners' Association, 1988 was very clear.  Beacham was one of the lake's legal owners and as Beacham was not legally a part of the POA, the POA had no authority to be regulating the rights to the (entire) lake's usage of which Beacham held through partial ownership of the lake.

The 4 associations on private Wooster only have authority to regulate the parcel of LAND, land they own which accesses the water.  They have no authority to adopt special regulations of any part of the lake's water.  Period.  Since they have no authority for special regulation over any part of the water, their purported regulations on the water - even against their own people - are PHONY AND INVALID!  A massive fraud.

In summary, the 4 associations WLCCA, Tanneron Bay, Holiday Park, WLIA:

1. Can not be legally bound to either an invalid, forged, fraudulent WLCCA DCCR document (which also no loner exists at the WLCCA as it was rescinded) or an illegal local ordianance such as 05-O-27 (which also no longer exists at Round Lake as it was rescinded.)

2. Have no authority to adopt special regulations against anyone over any of the waters of Wooster Lake.  Once they are on the lake, Wooster is as the Lake County Sheriff's Department has written: "An Open Lake".

Anything else is a lie to facilitate fraud.

Developments and private lakes are abundant all over Lake County.  So it's not surprising this fraudulent scam being facilitated by local officials in Lake County, developers, subdividers, and sellers of lake-access property with these phony, property-value-inflating local ordinances extends beyond private Wooster Lake to other private lakes in Lake County. 

Not surprising, the deception involves some of the same as well as some other corrupt politicians masquerading as public servants.  It's all about the money and fleecing unsuspecting buyers of real estate.  Quite a scam.

www.ripoffreport.com/politicians/lake-county-commissi/lake-county-commissioners-bonn-01733.htm

As Bonnie Carter's friends at Tanneron Bay, the Wooster Lake Improvement Association, and Cambridge at Holiday Park continue to scam others with legal lake access about the use of Wooster Lake via use of (invalid) lake covenants recorded at Lake County Recorder of Deeds and on website  www.tanneronbay.com/WLCCAcov.pdf ,

the Lake County Sheriff's Department released a statement clarifying the legal use of Wooster Lake.



On February 20, 2012 on behalf of the Sheriff's Department, Deputy Chief Kevin Parker stated:



"....The Sheriff's Office is in the middle.  Our stance is that we will enforce the laws that are legal for us to enforce.  The (Wooster) lake is considered an open lake by the laws of the state of Illinois and will be enforced as such."



So regardless of what Bonnie Carter and/or her friends continue to falsely record at the Lake County Recorder of Deeds Office or post on the web, Wooster Lake is considered by the Lake County Sheriff's Department "an open lake".

Following the Village of Round Lake attorney James Magee's clear, written advice on 9/6/2005 to "not proceed" with Lake County Board Member Bonnie Carter's and Fox Lake attorney's solicitation for the (unlawful) extraterritorial ordinance and following the Village of Round Lake board's inexplicable actions of disregarding their own attorney's advice when they instead voted to adopt the (unlawful) extraterritorial ordinance, Bonnie Carter's intentional railroading to cover up this scam picked up steam.   Bonnie Carter thereafter immediately went to further work on the Village of Fox Lake officials attempting to convince them to also officially join in on this scam cover-up: the extraterritorial no-wake ordinance on Wooster Lake.

Retrieved via FOIA from Village of Fox Lake, these are Bonnie Carter's exact words she herself wrote from a personal email account (how lame and sneaky!) to the village officials the next morning 9/7/2005, titling her email "Ordinance for Wooster Lake", writing the Mayor of Fox Lake Cindy Irwin and Fox Lake attorney Howard Teegan:

"Hi Cindy and Howard.

Nice to see you both last night.  Looking forward to next Tuesday.

I know you have much on your mind so I thought I'd e-mail you both this morning and repeat what I told you last night.  The Village of RL passed the (extraterritorial) ordinance last night as (I, Bonnie Carter) presented.  For that village to pass an ordinance they require two readings but last night they waived the first and passed it as presented (by me, Bonnie Carter.)

Would the Village of Fox Lake be able to do the same next Tuesday?  What worked great last night was, it was on the agenda for approved action, I made a presentation, discussion amoung the members and then a motion to approve.  (Admitting in the RL meeting the night before that affected and legal property owners of private Wooster wouldn't be notified until after "the villages come down on it".)  Is this possible for your village also?  That way, I can have the county start working on the IGA with V RL for enforcement and then with Tanneron Bay for reimbursement.

I have attached a copy of the (extraterritorial) ordinance for your consideration.  I will also bring with me a letter from the president of the Tanneron Bay HOA (Penny Cummings) stating their support for the lake protection and their financial committment for the reimbursement. 

Please advise so I know the process you will be taking.

Thanks much and I truly appreciate your support on this important issue.

Bonnie"

6 days later, on record September 13, 2005 - again intentionally without any prior notification to the lake's legal owners as required by state law and the 14th Amendment of the US Constitution - Bonnie Thomson Carter hastily solicited village of Fox Lake officials to engage in the illegal and prohibited by Illinois state law activity of zoning extraterritorially against the private owners of Wooster Lake.......all to attempt to reinforce and cover up the real estate scam already taking place on Wooster Lake via recordings of the " lake covenants" which had been recorded by a developer, politicians, and some lake-adjacent association board members at the Lake County Recorder of Deeds Office. 

A real estate scam facilitated by many "leaders" at different levels.  A true conspiracy to use government powers to commit and cover up real estate fraud.

Further revealing the malintent of those seducing for the extraterritorial ordinance, the intentional railroading nature, the apparent desperation to reinforce/cover-up the DCCRs, and the get-it-at-all-costs-nature even if it was prohibited by State law and even if the Village of Round Lake attorney James Magee had repeatedly advised against it, it is worth noting that:

*  in addition to no prior notification being provided to Wooster Lake's legal owners, the disregard of substanitive due process was furthered when only 1 reading was facilitated before adopting the extraterritorial ordinance on 9/6/2005.  No 2nd reading.  An email obtained via FOIA reveals Bonnie Thomson Carter wrote and gloated on 9/7/2005 to the Mayor of Fox Lake and the Fox Lake attorney Howard Teegan about the railroaded nature of the adoption of the ordinance calling the events of the night before "great" and then repeatedly asking for Village of Fox Lake "to do the same" just as she had conducted and accomplished the previous night at Village of Round Lake.

*  in addition to no study ever being conducted so as to validate the adoption of the ordinance would actually have the effect as advertised by Bonnie Thomson Carter, there was also no comprehensive plan ever done for this agenda.

www.eroundlake.com/meetings.asp?month=9&year=2005

(then click the 9/6/2005 "Minutes" or "Audio", scrolling to marker 1:03:08 / 1:56:56 )

This link at Village of Round Lake's website reveals Bonnie Thomson Carter making deceitful, false, and incriminating statements and reveals her motives to obtain the cover-up, illegal ordinance targeting privately owned, vastly unincorporated Wooster Lake, where Bonnie Thomson Carter is recorded 9/6/2005 of saying:

"I am here tonight to ask you (village officials) for an ordinance which will establish Wooster Lake as a no wake lake.  There's been many new developments around Wooster Lake....Silver Leaf Glen in the village of Round Lake and one in the village of Fox Lake (Cambridge at Holiday Park), and their new residents there pose new challenges for the lake and for the residens that use the lake."

"So what I'm asking for here is for you to recognize there's a state statute that allows a new municipality to go to extend actually beyond the borders that you actually are on to establish the use of the lake.  It gives you the jurisdiction to do that.  With that jurisdiction, once this ordinance is passed, then the Lake County Sheriff's Marine Unit can actually go out there and enforce the ordinance."

"The Village of Fox Lake, I've talked to the Mayor.  They're not really fussy.  They are willing to do this...it was actually on their agenda tonight but I couldn't do both this evening.  And they had another development issue, so I'll be introducing there at their next meeting also."

"Fox Lake is going to pass it (the extraterritorial ordinance).  They have Holiday Park that new development from Cambridge on the lake."

"The Sheriff's Department will do the enforcement (of the extraterritorial ordinance) on the lake."

"It's important to know too that the residents of Silver Leaf Glen and the residents that bought in at Holiday Park development all bought in with the covenants knowing that it was a no wake (lake).  No different than the Tanneron Bay residents.  They bought into it.  They knew when they went there."

And lastly, answering a village trustee's question of "Will all residents be given a letter once this all passes saying what...."

Bonnie Thomson Carter interjects and in true railroading fashion says: "I think we can do that.  I think that would be a good idea.  I would like to have both villages (first) come down on it and (then) get that word out."