Trustees appalled after argument between mayor and employee at board meeting in Sauk Village, Illinois

SAUK VILLAGE, Ill. (CBS) – This week, fights and threats broke out at Village Hall in Sauk Village – in connection with a financial investigation in the south suburb.

The tension was captured on video Tuesday evening. In the middle of a board of trustees meeting, a heated exchange broke out between Town Clerk Marva Campbell-Pruitt and Mayor Derrick Burgess.

“It just went north,” said Diane Sapp, Sauk Village councillor. “I wouldn't say it went south. It went north.”

“Gross, gross,” said trustee Debbie Williams. “It gets worse every week.”

Williams and Sapp had a front row seat Tuesday night. They said village meetings can get heated, but this week it reached a level they've never seen before.

During Tuesday night's meeting, the secretary grabbed the mayor's gavel after repeatedly asking the mayor to stop pointing at her. In frustration, she ripped the gavel out of his hand and threats ensued.

“I'm here to do my business. I'm not here to see the mayor and the city clerk fighting with a gun in their hand,” Williams said, “and I'm standing right next to them?”

Trustees said there was a disagreement between the mayor and the clerk because paperwork was not arriving at the clerk's office – and when the clerk expressed his concerns during the meeting, a shouting voice could be heard from the crowd.

The voice turned out to be that of Mayor Burgess's wife – and Campbell-Pruitt responded: “Excuse me, did you say something to me? Get your wife! Get your wife!”

Mayor Burgess replied, “Shut up!”

“When she responded to the mayor's wife, it naturally triggered a reaction in him to protect his wife, which is a natural reaction,” Sapp said.

But trustees Williams and Sapp said the situation was boiling over because they were trying to protect the village's money.

“We don’t have the budgets, the audits or the financial reports for two years,” Williams said.

Trustees claim hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of embezzled funds are involved – and the mayor is angry that the board has launched an investigation.

“We have hired an inspector general because we know that there is something wrong in this village and in the administration,” said Sapp.

In fact, earlier in the meeting, trustees said Mayor Burgess had been served with a summons from the Inspector General's office to appear in court next week. Trustees said the mayor was upset about the summons.

CBS News Chicago contacted Mayor Burgess and the clerk. The mayor responded, but the clerk replied:

“As part of the Board of Trustees meetings, the Town Clerk’s Report was presented on September 24, 2024. I provided an update on previous initiatives approved by the Board of Trustees that were not operational, as well as others that contributed to a lack of adequate procedures, processes and statutory policies. I also discussed my efforts to ensure a smooth transition and proper documentation for the new Town Clerk following the April election. It is important to note that my intention was not to cast doubt on staff or the Mayor, but rather to keep Town Clerks informed when the Town Clerk’s office faces operational difficulties, report on the outcome of the voter registration drive conducted that day, and announce the Cook County Board of Review forum scheduled for today.

“Slanderous and hostile comments from the audience, the mayor's wife, and the divided sides of the aisle added to the discontent during my talk. When I asked her to stop, she became even angrier and attacked me personally even more frequently.

“When I called on the mayor to show leadership, control the unrest that broke out during the meeting, and call his wife and the audience to order, his frustration grew as he told me to 'shut up' while banging the gavel on me. I was horrified when he stopped banging the gavel on the hardwood sound block and began pointing it threateningly at my face.

“I am a survivor and I know that I cannot sit still when I am threatened or attacked. When I verbally ordered him to stop and he did not stop, I stood up, went to the mayor and confiscated what was now considered a weapon.

“Afterwards he apologized! Should I accept the apology?”

In the meantime, it is important to understand that this is politics. The mayor is up for re-election next year and the city clerk has already made every effort to run for his post.

But there are still many more meetings to be held before the elections in April next year.