The Rope-A-Dope

When I left City Hall on Wednesday night, I was convinced that Springfield Attorney Dan Schuering had received his last check from Fairfield. It pleased me…I’ve heard too much double-talk from him. Too much money has been sent out of the city for his services.

Every answer Schuering ever gave to the city council was always a “rope-a-dope,” a way to push his exit from Wayne County a little further down the road. One of his initial reports, which was promised in weeks, took months to produce. He was supposed to engage the city’s auditors to determine TIF surplus funds. That never happened. He waited for almost two years to call an ordinance which laid out the terms of an agreement with other taxing districts an “alleged ordinance.”

All the time, the money  kept flowing.  There was even an offer by Schuering to eventually turn over his Fairfield work to his son , thus keeping the gravy train rolling.

Always, he was promising to deliver. Always, the city council patiently allowed the rope-a-dope to continue.

If you get a chance, google the name Dan Schuering. There’s a video of him in a verbal battle with a member of the Carlinville City Council back in 2018. He called people asking for Freedom of Information Act requests “political terrorists.” It is ugly…and I fear we are going to see a similar outburst between now and April.

His services could have ended last week.

Instead, more rope-a-dope.