Dated, sourced events from the audit's approval through the September 21 veto. Items marked in red are the flashpoints.
April 21, 2025
A new administration takes office
Annette LaMore is sworn in as Village President, ending Tim Nugent's 20-year tenure. A largely new board of trustees is seated.
Source: The Daily Journal/Shaw Local (Apr. 26, 2025); Affidavit of Pres. LaMore.
June 16, 2025
The board rejects the mayor's first counsel change
Weeks into the new term, the board votes 4–2 against Mayor LaMore's first attempt to replace the village attorney (her nominee was attorney Tiffany Thompson, per the Village's June 16, 2025 minutes), the first of what will become two rejections. A year later, at the June 15, 2026 meeting, LaMore invokes exactly that history: she claims emergency appointment power "because you have turned me down twice." Cainkar, the incumbent since roughly 2003, continues serving as a statutory holdover.
Source: Village of Manteno minutes, June 16, 2025; The Daily Journal/Shaw Local (June 2025); The Vedette (June 23, 2026).
August 4, 2025
A divided board approves a forensic audit, on the mayor's tie-breaking vote
The trustees split 3–3 on hiring Greene Forensic Accounting Solutions of Chicago for a multi-year forensic review of the prior administration's finances, and Mayor LaMore votes yes to break the tie for the $168,000 engagement (Greene was the low bidder). The audit that both camps now invoke was, at its origin, the mayor's initiative as much as the board's.
Source: The Daily Journal/Shaw Local (Aug. 6, 2025); board minutes, Aug. 4, 2025 ("Mayor LaMoore Voted Yes"). Corrected September 22, 2026: an earlier version dated this vote August 5 and called it 4–3; the minutes show a 3–3 trustee vote broken by the mayor on Monday, August 4.
May 20, 2026
Audit findings presented
The auditors present their review at a special meeting. The written report raises concerns about bidding transparency, bank-deposit practices, and a land sale; it neither finds fraud nor clears anyone, and it says it does not claim to be complete. The Shaw Local story three days later said the auditors found "no serious improprieties or fraud"; that sentence was the reporter's, not a quote from the auditors. Asked from the floor whether anybody was getting arrested, the auditor answered, "That's not my call." (See the Forensic Audit section.)
Source: The Daily Journal/Shaw Local (May 23, 2026); FOIA 26-106. Corrected September 22, 2026: an earlier version dated the presentation May 23 (the article date, not the meeting date) and attributed the "no serious improprieties or fraud" line to the auditors.
June 12–15, 2026
The mayor removes the village attorney
Mayor LaMore signs a written Notice of Removal dated June 12 and emails it to Cainkar the morning of June 15, citing 65 ILCS 5/3.1-35-10 and Village Code § 1-9-2. It states her grounds (a "failure to inform," misalignment on financial oversight and transparency, and "general maladministration"), argues Cainkar was a mere "holdover" never formally reappointed, and pledges to report her reasons to the board "no less than five and no more than ten days" later. At the June 15 regular meeting she moves to appoint James Vasselli; the board votes 4–2 against confirming him, and she declares a 30-day temporary appointment. Later the same night, per the Village's posted minutes, Trustee Gesky moves "to disapprove of the removal and restore and reinstate" Cainkar; it passes 4–2, Barry and Vaughn voting no, and Gesky states that the board "will not recognize Mr. Vasselli." The same minutes record the board overriding the mayor's veto of Ordinance 26-02 by 4–2 that night.
Source: FOIA 26-133 (Notice of Removal & transmittal emails); Affidavit of Pres. LaMore; The Daily Journal/Shaw Local (June 18, 2026); Village of Manteno minutes, June 15, 2026. Added September 22, 2026: the 4–2 reinstatement vote and the Ord. 26-02 override.
June 22, 2026
Scheduling texts, and a clerk out of town
A group text thread later released under FOIA, shown as "4 People" in the phone's header (five including the mayor), shows Mayor LaMore, attorney James Vasselli, and Dennis Reboletti scheduling a meeting. Reboletti was later documented in a produced Vasselli Law invoice (#2024072819) billing 6.0 hours for a board meeting plus travel; the text thread's contact card renders his name "Rebelletti." LaMore: "Are you available Wednesday night?"; Rebelletti: "I think that will work. Im flying in from DC that afternoon." Vasselli addresses her as "Mayor" and refers to "Dennis and Julie." Trustee Barry was a member of the thread, which is how he had the same thread. The same day, LaMore texts trustees individually: "Because of a technicality, and because Steven Orth is out of town, we cannot have this meeting on Wednesday. We will try for Thursday if everything works out according to the regulations", pasting the full text of Village Code § 1-6-3 beneath it. Trustee Barry supplied his own screenshots of the same thread in response to a FOIA request on June 23.
Source: FOIA 26-138 responsive records (text messages); FOIA 26-133 (Barry screenshots, June 23).
June 23, 2026
Two competing agendas for one meeting, and the clerk gives notice
Records show Mayor LaMore signs a written "Call for Special Meeting" for June 25 (signature hand-dated June 23), listing the audit, Gotion, and "articulation of reason for removal of Cainkar", but no reinstatement vote. The same day, Trustee Joel Gesky emails the administrator at 11:53 a.m. asking that a "motion to disapprove of the removal and to restore/reinstate" Cainkar be added "for a formal vote"; LaRocque replies "Will do" at 12:26 p.m., Trustee Boudreau sends a second written request that evening, and the agenda distributed at 4:31 p.m. carries the item. Released texts also show LaRocque telling Gesky, "She's talking to the attorney to see if she can take your request off the agenda!", and that evening Boudreau texts, "So we will be going onto clerk number 4, this is unbelievable." Per the Village's posted June 25 minutes, Village Clerk Steven Orth, appointed only on June 1, gave notice that Tuesday, June 23. His formal resignation letter is dated July 14, and he served through August 28. Trustee Barry's sworn affidavit says the Village "had no sitting Clerk" on June 25, which bears on the code's requirement that a special-meeting call be presented to the clerk.
Source: FOIA 26-138 (signed call; Gesky, Boudreau & LaRocque emails and texts, June 23, 2026); Village of Manteno minutes, June 25, 2026; FOIA 26-168 (Orth letter, July 14, 2026); Affidavit of Trustee Barry; The Vedette (July 13, 2026). Corrected September 22, 2026: an earlier version said the date of Orth's resignation had not been reported.
June 25, 2026 · 7:00 p.m.
Four trustees reinstate Cainkar, mayor absent
At a special meeting held without the mayor, trustees Boudreau, Zimbelman, Crockett and Gesky vote 4–0 to "disapprove the removal" and reinstate Cainkar "effective immediately." Trustee Barry reads an objection that the meeting was not properly called and walks out; Trustee Vaughn is absent. The agenda also listed an item to articulate the reasons for Cainkar's removal.
Source: The Daily Journal/Shaw Local (June 26, 2026); Village TRO motion, Exhibit A (agenda).
June 25, 2026 · 9:34 p.m.
The mayor's written "articulation": the same letter, re-sent
Hours after the special meeting she skipped, Mayor LaMore emails the trustees: "I am resending you the email you already received on June 15 with all the reasons why I dismissed Joe Cainkar… You have had this information for over a week." Whether re-sending the removal letter by email satisfies § 3.1-35-10's requirement to report reasons "at a meeting" held 5–10 days after removal is one of the questions a court may have to answer. Earlier that afternoon (4:15 p.m.), Vasselli had emailed a legal memorandum, signed as "Village Attorney," arguing the meeting was not properly called under Village Code § 1-6-3.
Source: FOIA 26-138 (LaMore email, June 25, 9:34 p.m.; Vasselli memo & transmittal email, June 25, 4:15 p.m.).
June 30, 2026
An unsigned engagement letter arrives
Cainkar transmits an "Engagement Letter" to Village Administrator LaRocque, purporting to retain his firm at $250/hour through April 30, 2027 for the residents' suit against the Village and Gotion (Concerned Citizens of Manteno v. Village of Manteno, No. 2023 CH 37) and pending LIUNA Local 751 labor matters. The Village says it is unauthorized and unsigned.
Source: Village TRO motion, Exhibit B (engagement letter).
July 6, 2026
Two attorneys, one board table
Cainkar appears at the regular meeting and seeks to act as village attorney. According to WFAV 95.1, the mayor asked the police chief to remove Cainkar; the chief and Cainkar declined. The board votes 4–1–1 to retain Cainkar. The village now effectively has two attorneys claiming authority.
Source: WFAV 95.1 (July 7, 2026); The Daily Journal/Shaw Local (July 11, 2026).
July 10, 2026
The Village sues four of its own trustees
"The Village of Manteno," through Vasselli Law, files an Emergency Motion for a Temporary Restraining Order, Declaratory Relief and Expedited Discovery (Case No. 26CH21) against the four trustees, and seeks to bar Cainkar and his firm from acting as village counsel.
Source: Village TRO motion & memorandum (filed July 10, 2026); The Daily Journal/Shaw Local (July 14, 2026).
Mid-July 2026
A veto threat hangs over the next meeting
Per The Vedette, Mayor LaMore has said she will veto the board's July 6 vote retaining Cainkar at an upcoming meeting (whether a mayoral veto even applies to that kind of board action is itself a disputed legal question) and has said "an attorney from Vasselli Law will be the village attorney at the next meeting." The next regular board meeting falls on Monday, July 20 (1st and 3rd Mondays, 6:00 p.m., Leo Hassett Community Center). Meanwhile, the clerk's office sits in flux following Steven Orth's June 23 notice.
Source: The Vedette (July 13, 2026).
July 20, 2026
A veto announced from the chair, and a trip to court
At the regular board meeting, Mayor LaMore announced from the chair, at 53:42 of the recording, "under old business tonight, I'm vetoing the Cainkar appointment that was made at the last meeting." No written objection was returned, and the Village later certified in writing that no veto message exists (FOIA 26-168). Whether an oral announcement is a veto at all under 65 ILCS 5/3.1-40-45 is the question the August 3 override turns on. In the same report she said she had also sought a temporary restraining order and expected a judge to "determine the appropriate legal representation for the village" at a hearing the next morning. She also denied, on the record, ever holding a leadership position in CCOM: "I have never had a leadership position with CCOM" (see Fact Check c29).
Source: Manteno Village View recording of the July 20, 2026 meeting (President's Report, 53:42); WFAV 95.1 (July 21, 2026). Corrected September 22, 2026: an earlier version said the mayor did not veto; that rested on a caption capture that cut off at 51:40, before her announcement. The error was ours.
July 21, 2026
Judge dismisses the Village's lawsuit: no complaint was ever filed
At the expedited hearing, Kankakee County Circuit Judge Lindsay Parkhurst dismissed the Village's suit against the four trustees (26CH21) for lack of subject-matter jurisdiction: the Village had moved for an emergency restraining order without ever filing an underlying complaint; in the judge's words, "no complaint was filed to vest the court with jurisdiction." The judge did not decide who represents the Village, so the Cainkar-versus-Vasselli question remains open. Vasselli Law had moved a day earlier for leave to file a complaint within 72 hours, leaving the door open to a refile. See Fact Check c28.
Source: Shaw Local/The Daily Journal, July 21, 2026 ("Judge dismisses temporary restraining order against Manteno trustees…").
After July 21
Two return dates, then a hearing set for November
Because the July 21 dismissal was jurisdictional (the suit was tossed for having no complaint on file), the case-management conference that had been set for July 30 was overtaken by the dismissal. The matter came back before Judge Parkhurst on August 17, when the trustees' counsel was given time to prepare a brief and the case was continued to September 21. On September 21 the judge set the attorney case for a hearing at 10 a.m. on Thursday, November 12; the trustees' response was filed that morning, Vasselli has 14 days to reply, and the trustees' attorney, Daniel Bourgault, seven days after that.
Source: Shaw Local/The Daily Journal, July 21 and Sept. 21, 2026; Manteno Village View recording (Aug. 17, 2026, President's Report). Updated September 22, 2026.
August 3, 2026
The walkout, and the override
Two agendas show up to one meeting: the 4-page version posted on the village website since July 30 carries the veto reconsideration; the mayor's shorter version doesn't. She announces she has suspended Administrator Chris LaRocque five days without pay over the paper copies. The board ratifies the Gotion fire-brigade agreement 6-0, its one unanimous moment, then the bills fail 2-4. A motion to adjourn fails 2-4; the mayor declares "meeting is adjourned" anyway and leaves. Four trustees stay and vote the Cainkar veto override 4-0. Every claim from the night is graded on the August 3 page.
Source: Manteno Village View recording (Aug. 3, 2026); The Daily Journal/Shaw Local (Aug. 4, 2026).
August 12, 2026
"It is my meeting and it's up to me what's on the agenda"
At an 8:00 a.m. special meeting, itself called under § 1-6-3, the two-trustee provision at the heart of the June 25 fight, Mayor LaMore states her position on camera: "I have the right to set the agenda," and, citing her attorney's advice, "it is my meeting and it's up to me what's on the agenda." Trustees describe items not reaching the agenda as being "censored," using the word three times. Clerk Steven Orth's resignation, effective August 28, is also discussed. (Quotes transcribed from the stream's auto-captions.)
Source: Manteno Village View recording (Aug. 12, 2026), at 39:54–51:18; posted notice. Corrected September 22, 2026: the special meeting was at 8:00 a.m., not 7:00; the 7:00 a.m. session that day was the committee meeting.
August 17, 2026
No quorum, and the police are sent after a trustee
Four of six trustees don't come to the regular meeting, leaving the board one short of a quorum. The attorney present reads Village Code § 1-6-5, Rule 21 (a 1974 rule allowing a majority of the trustees present to send a police officer after absentees), and the mayor asks whether the trustees wish to use it and then directs Chief Swinford to "send somebody to Annette's house" and "bring her in." Trustee Annette Zimbelman had messaged that she was not feeling well. The word "arrest" on the tape comes from the chief, asking, and the attorney citing Rule 21; the captions carry no speaker labels and we have asked for the audio. The chief asks for confirmation three times, goes, and reports back 38 minutes later: "There was no answer at her door." The rule's text, its five built-in limits, and six graded claims are on the August 17 page.
Source: Manteno Village View recording (Aug. 17, 2026), 27:31–32:29 and 1:10:22; Manteno Code § 1-6-5, Rule 21.
August 20, 2026
All six trustees return, and agree on everything
At a special meeting three days after the quorum failure, every trustee answers the roll and every recorded vote is unanimous, including $123,948.81 in bills. The board spends 54 of the meeting's 76 minutes in closed session under 5 ILCS 120/2(c)(1), returns, and tables the appointment of a code enforcement officer. A special meeting is called for Tuesday, August 25 at 6:00 p.m. to finish it. Trustee Boudreau thanks Village Administrator Chris LaRocque for fourteen years of service, and announces from the dais that he will also miss the September 8 meeting for a golf match.
Source: Manteno Village View recording (Aug. 20, 2026). The full breakdown.
August 25, 2026
The special meeting called to fill the vacancy is cancelled
The Village's meeting index records the August 25 Village Board special meeting as cancelled, along with the Public Works and General Government committee meetings the same day. On September 8 Mayor LaMore explains: a family emergency, and the advice of the village attorney. The appointment vote lands instead on September 8, the one date a trustee had said publicly, nineteen days in advance, that he could not attend.
Source: Village of Manteno meeting index; Manteno Village View recording (Sept. 8, 2026).
September 8, 2026
The appointment fails 2–3, and trustee comments come off the agenda
With Trustee Boudreau at a golf match, the motion to appoint Jim Paicz as Director of Building and Zoning / Code Enforcement Officer fails 2–3: Vaughn and Barry yes; Crockett, Gesky and Zimbelman no. Crockett says he emailed the mayor weeks earlier asking how the $60,000 position would be funded and never got a reply; she apologizes on camera and then gives the number in open session. The village is left with no administrator, no code officer, and no posted jobs. A resident asks who authorized the license plate cameras appearing on village roads. Trustees Barry and Gesky report that they and Fire Chief Rick Petersen inspected Gotion's fire brigade unannounced at 9 p.m. on September 1 and found six certified members on shift, with 19 on staff. Asked why trustee comments were removed from the agenda, the mayor answers: "Because our meetings have been so contentious… some of it is not necessary."
Source: Manteno Village View recording (Sept. 8, 2026); posted agenda. Twenty claims, graded.
September 9, 2026
"I will be making appointments", and the chief answers on Flock
Planning & Zoning and Properties & Recreation meet jointly with the board at 7:00 a.m. Asked whether the administrator, building inspector and front-office jobs will be posted, Mayor LaMore says: "As village president, I will be making appointments… So you don't need to worry about that." A trustee replies that any appointment needs board approval; she answers "Yeah, that's a tough thing to get these days, isn't it?" She adds that she does not plan to hire an administrator before April: "there's going to be an election in seven months." Treasurer Sheila Martin, asked why the Village is not paying the mayor's attorney: "It has not been board approved. It was on the agenda for the special committee meeting and that meeting didn't have a quorum." Asked how she found Vasselli Law, the mayor says "through friends from another community." Trustee Vaughn raises the license plate cameras and the police chief answers on camera: the department has used Flock "for years," there is "potential for abuse," and while the Village does not sell the data, "other people use Flock cameras. Everybody else has access to it, too." He offers a public pros-and-cons session. A member of the public tells the room the Village is "$1.6 million in deficit", unchallenged, and not verified by us. The Plan Commission meeting set for that evening, whose only new business was "Clean Energy Design Group, Inc.: Discussion of Zoning for Battery Energy Storage Systems," is cancelled.
Source: Manteno Village View recording (Sept. 9, 2026); committee agenda; Plan Commission agenda. Twenty claims, graded.
September 16, 2026 · 7:00 a.m.
Four trustees call a special meeting; the mayor reads a statement and leaves
Trustees Boudreau, Crockett, Gesky and Zimbelman call a special meeting under § 1-6-3, the two-trustee provision. Mayor LaMore arrives, reads a prepared statement calling the meeting illegal, names the four as "the Manteno Choice Party," says "I will veto every action taken by the board at the supposed special meeting" before any motion is made, and leaves. Trustee Boudreau is elected mayor pro tem and Trustee Gesky recording secretary, because the village has no clerk. In twenty-five minutes the board amends the August 3 minutes, approves the August 17 minutes (a date correction: the packet said August 7), and approves a professional service agreement with B&F Construction Code Services, each 4 to 0. Gesky on why not wait five days for the regular meeting: "she controls the agenda on Mondays and will not allow us to put on the agenda anything that we wish to discuss."
Source: Manteno Village View recording (Sept. 16, 2026); posted agenda. Fourteen claims, graded.
September 21, 2026
The veto, and an ordinance that does not say what it was said to say
Two meetings. At 5:00 p.m. the Public Safety and Finance committees meet, and the finance chair tells the room that with no administrator "there's one person that's verifying payroll in the village" and that staff have left owed vacation and pay. Both that meeting and the 6:00 p.m. board meeting were streamed, and neither recording is linked from the Village's own meetings index. At 6:00 p.m. the mayor vetoes all three September 16 actions, citing Village Code § 1-5-7 and quoting it as covering "items considered at a board meeting." The section is titled Approval And Veto Of Ordinances and covers ordinances; none of the three items was an ordinance. Under 65 ILCS 5/3.1-40-45 a motion is vetoable only if it creates a liability, spends money or sells property, so the two minutes motions were beyond the power and only the B&F contract was reachable. Told the special meeting was called by four trustees, she answers "you do have a mayor. It should have been approved by me", the opposite of the ordinance she had read aloud fourteen minutes earlier. She also appoints Jim Paicz herself and a temporary village clerk, on a section of the code that governs appointed officers when Manteno's clerk is elected. The board unanimously confirms Fire Chief Rick Petersen (the Village agenda spells it "Peterson") as chief of the village's fire bureau; the motion as agendized and read said "Fire Protection Bureau," while the office in the code (§ 2-2-2) is the fire prevention bureau. It also tables a fire inspection agreement it received that evening, and approves $118,472.98 in bills.
Earlier the same day, in Kankakee County court, Judge Lindsay Parkhurst set the attorney case for 10 a.m. Thursday, Nov. 12. The trustees' response to the suit was filed that morning and Vasselli said he was seeing it for the first time; the judge gave him 14 days to respond and the trustees' attorney, Daniel Bourgault, seven days to reply. A ruling is not expected for several days after the hearing.
Source: Manteno Village View recordings of the board meeting and the committee meeting; board agenda; Manteno Village Code; Illinois Compiled Statutes. Forty-seven claims, graded; The Daily Journal, September 21.