Alberta Adamson Daily Herald file photo, 2010
According to the Illinois Historical Society, 23 historical societies and museums help tell the history of DuPage County towns.
But if you’re hoping to see a treasure trove of historic artifacts from the county seat of Wheaton, you’re out of luck.
The Wheaton Historic Preservation Council is currently engaged in a lengthy legal battle over what to do with its vast collection and more than $300,000.
More than two years have passed since the Illinois attorney general filed suit against the council, board members Laurie Wuerffel and Gloria Reetz, and president and CEO Alberta Adamson.
Nancy Flannery, a local historian who has been closely following the event, is frustrated by the pace of the glacier. At last week’s hearing, she wore a sticker that read “904 days” to indicate the length of her trial, hoping the judge would notice.
“I was struck by how big a place the WHPC was in people’s lives, and how important it was, and how people now… resent the lack of a historical society. , I jumped in because I’m just thrilled,” Flannery said.
The organization operated the history center first in a Victorian home on North Main Street and then in a downtown space that closed about 10 years ago. Museum exhibits trace Wheaton’s government history, golf history as the home of Chicago Golf and Civil War history.
Women’s golf memorabilia was part of an exhibit at Wheaton’s Old History Center. Daily Herald file photo, 2006
“Then there were a lot of things that didn’t have much monetary value, maybe not that much value, but were very important to the people of Wheaton,” Flannery said. “There were a lot of personal documents and photos of families who had lived here for a long time.”
Case
The complaint alleges that the City Council has failed to register as a charity as required since 2013. The City Council also said it loaned Adamson $120,000 and tried to requalify it as compensation. The group also paid Adamson $72,000 in rent and $109,303 for an unknown purpose, according to the complaint.
The attorney general’s lawsuit alleges that Adamson, Reetz and Wurfel have refused to comply with administrative subpoenas seeking information about artifacts, loans and other payments.
Mr. Lietz was removed as a defendant in November 2022, as it was agreed that he was not on the board of directors at the time the payment was approved. She died a month later.
The defendants claim the council has re-registered as a charity.
In recent filings, lawyers for Warfel and Adamson attached minutes from several City Council board meetings. According to minutes, Adamson hasn’t been paid since 2009, and the city council hasn’t paid her $369,604 in back pay from March 2017. The documents also show that Adamson agreed to repay the $120,000 loan once he received the outstanding amount.
According to the minutes, the board gave Adamson a 10-year citation because he worked from a home office and kept confidential documents, such as payroll records and employee reviews, in his home office. They agreed to pay the year’s rent.
Last August, a DuPage County judge removed Warfel and Adamson from the board of directors, ordered a receiver appointed while the case continues, and ordered Adamson to pay restitution of $109,303.
The case will resume on June 7th.
Flannery claims the case is in “some kind of legal limbo” until a receiver is appointed.
“We need solutions,” she said.
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Description of deliverables
Minutes submitted by the defense state that the “Civil War Collection” was donated to the National Civil War Museum in Pennsylvania, the “World War II Collection” including 100 oral histories was donated to the National Museum of the Pacific War in Texas, and “slavery documents and artifacts” were returned to their owners.
The attorney general’s complaint alleges that the attorney general has a copy of a 2012 inventory of artifacts that was created when WHPC began storing items with the city. It would like to compare that list with what’s currently in storage. Warfel and Adamson have denied attorney general’s agents access to the storage site, according to the complaint.
City Manager Michael Zugan confirmed Tuesday that the city continues to store WHPC items free of charge. Otherwise, the city has nothing to do with the items and only WHPC directors are allowed access.
Mr. Flannery hopes to “revive the historic community” at Wheaton. Since WHPC closed, she has received dozens of calls from people wanting to know if there was a place they could take artifacts and historical information they had protected over the years.
“WHPC needs to rise from the ashes like a phoenix and present a new face to the community. I think we need a new name,” Flannery said. “I think we need a different kind of board. I think we need to focus on rebuilding trust with the community.”
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