Portage Township Assessor Crystal Millsap has kept her office’s business personal property audit contract with The Leanor Group, a consulting firm owned by embattled Cook County Board of Review Commissioner Samantha Steele, even as Porter County officials question the high price tag. The arrangement, worth up to $150,000 per audit under the contract’s fee schedule, has become a flashpoint during Millsap’s bid against Republican challenger David Ondrovich.
According to the Chicago Tribune, Millsap entered into a new contract with Leanor Group on August 31, continuing fees of $100,000 for audits of companies valued between $20 million and $50 million, and $150,000 for companies valued above $50 million.
Porter County Councilman Red Stone asked county commissioners to direct their attorney to investigate what could be done about the contract, the newspaper reported.
County Says Its Hands Are Tied
County Attorney Scott McClure told commissioners the county has no legal recourse to block the township from using Leanor Group, per the Chicago Tribune’s reporting. Stone nonetheless proposed that commissioners file a lawsuit seeking an injunction against the arrangement…