Morgan says blackmail and dirty politics are at the root of lawsuit claims

Morgan says blackmail and dirty politics are at the root of lawsuit claims

Mayoral candidate, Todd Morgan, states that his wife's sister/business partner, Becky Dees, is attempting to use his profile in the public's eye as a means to extort an inflated payment for Ms. Dees' share of their business after she recently resigned. Morgan states that in the process of valuing the business, he and his wife suddenly received a surprise letter from Ms. Dees' attorney demanding an exorbitant sum of money to be paid in a weeks time in order to avoid the filing of a lawsuit. The letter further stated, "lawsuits of this nature that also involve public figures such as yourself frequently find themselves in the media. The press likes nothing more than to report on titillating facts of politicians and their personal troubles, conflicts and misdeeds." The terms of the demand presented by Ms. Dees' attorney were "non-negotiable". Morgan says the tone of the letter, in his opinion, amounted to an attempted extortion or blackmail. Although there certainly are legal issues to be addressed regarding my wife's and sister-in-law's business relationship, a significant portion of the lawsuit has no merit and appears to be a blatant attempt to extort more money than the business is worth by leveraging my profile in the community.

Unfortunately when family members face issues like financial hardship or personal breakups it can sometimes result in acts of desperation. Although my family has been innocently dragged into a lawsuit attempting wrongful financial gain, we wish her well in trying to resolve her personal issues. However, we will not be blackmailed even if it reflects on my campaign. In a small town such as Frankfort, especially if you are running for Mayor, this is not the type of press you hope for and unfortunately for me, is great material for the opposing Mayors supporters and their Facebook sites. What is more troubling is that all of the real significant issues in Frankfort, such as our declining sales tax revenue; declining housing starts; increased crime; the highest debt in the Village's history; lawsuits against the Village totaling hundreds of thousands; not enough police; a Village Hall expansion costing the taxpayers over $6 million; spending $250,000 on a gun range and the issues facing Dist. 210, are all being ignored or not being posted on social media. I hope the people of Frankfort want answers to the real issues facing our Village, and they want someone with proven leadership in addressing them, I hope their decision to elect me is based upon my proven accomplishments as a former Trustee and my future goals for the community. Please go to my website to read about my platform that addresses our communities headwinds. For more information, Morgan may be contacted at 815-464-1730 or at Morganformayor2017@gmail.com or at www.morgan4mayor.com