The Kane County Public Service Committee voted on Sept. 18 not to advance a proclamation recognizing Treasurer Chris Lawson’s receipt of a CashFest/3 Plus 1 leadership award, after residents and some committee members raised concerns the recognition created the appearance of pay‑to‑play.

Why it matters: Public commenters and at least two committee members argued that a proclamation is reserved for matters of significant public importance, not awards conferred by a paid vendor to a paying client. Supporters said the treasurer’s investment decisions produced substantial revenue for taxpayers.

What happened: Denise Theobald told the committee she opposed a proclamation because CashFest only awards paying clients and Kane County had already paid the firm roughly $149,000 for investment consulting; she called the proclamation inappropriate. Brian Anderson and Treasurer Chris Lawson defended the contract and results, with Lawson describing RFP work and saying the county realized what he characterized as millions in gains and improved returns. During a roll call the proclamation vote failed, with recorded ‘‘no’’ votes from Lewis and Tepe, ‘‘yes’’ from Young and a ‘‘no’’ from Sanchez; the clerk summarized the outcome as three no’s and two yes’s.

Numbers and claims in the record: Public and county speakers offered several quantitative claims during the discussion: Lawson said the treasurer’s office is collecting about $1,600,000,000 on schedule and attributed roughly $47,000,000 in accumulative revenue gains to the county’s use of 3 Plus 1 tools. The transcript records a fee figure for the consultant in public comment as $149,000 and other figures offered by supporters that the program generated $47.6 million or similar amounts; these speaker‑provided numbers are preserved as reported in the transcript.

Discussion vs. decision: The committee debated optics and fairness. Supporters emphasized measurable returns to taxpayers; critics emphasized conflict‑of‑interest risk and fairness in issuing proclamations for elected officials. The committee’s roll call resulted in the proclamation not moving forward to the full board agenda.

Ending: The committee placed other reports on file and adjourned. No additional ethics investigation or formal referral was recorded in the meeting minutes for the proclamation matter.

Speakers
- Denise Theobald — resident (public comment opposing proclamation)
- Brian Anderson — resident (public comment supporting proclamation)
- Chris Lawson — Kane County treasurer
- Greg Greif — committee member (comment in favor)
- Jared (Lewis) — committee member (voted no)
- Tepe (Teppy) — committee member (voted no)
- David Young — Kane County board member (voted yes)
- Sanchez — committee member (voted no)

Authorities
- {"type":"other","name":"contract with 3 Plus 1/CashFest (as referenced in public comment)","referenced_by":["Denise Theobald","Chris Lawson"]}

Actions
- {"kind":"proclamation","identifiers":{"agenda_item_id":"proclamation-treasurer-cashfest-2025"},"motion":"Place proclamation recognizing Treasurer Chris Lawson for CashFest National Leadership Award on full board agenda.","mover":null,"second":null,"vote_record":[{"member":"Lewis","vote":"no"},{"member":"Tepe","vote":"no"},{"member":"Young","vote":"yes"},{"member":"Sanchez","vote":"no"}],"tally":{"yes":2,"no":3,"abstain":0,"absent":0,"recused":0},"legal_threshold":{"met":false,"notes":"Majority required; motion failed."},"outcome":"failed","notes":"Public commenters cited appearance of impropriety; treasurer defended financial results."}

discussion_decision":{"discussion_points":["Critics said the CashFest award is conferred only to paying clients and creates an appearance of pay‑to‑play","Supporters cited millions in revenue gains attributed to the consultant's work","Treasurer described collections and RFP process and defended results"],"directions":[],"decisions":["Committee vote failed to advance proclamation recognizing the treasurer's vendor award to the full board"]},

clarifying_details":[{"category":"consulting fee","detail":"Public comment stated county paid roughly $149,000 to 3 Plus 1/CashFest for consulting services.","value":149000,"units":"USD","approximate":true,"source_speaker":"Denise Theobald"},{"category":"revenue_generated","detail":"Speakers attributed roughly $47,000,000 in accumulative revenue gains to the county's work with 3 Plus 1 or its tools.","value":47000000,"units":"USD","approximate":true,"source_speaker":"Brian Anderson, Chris Lawson"},{"category":"treasurer collections","detail":"Treasurer said office is collecting about $1,600,000,000 on schedule.","value":1600000000,"units":"USD","approximate":false,"source_speaker":"Chris Lawson"}],

proper_names":[{"name":"CashFest","type":"organization"},{"name":"3 Plus 1","type":"business"},{"name":"Chris Lawson","type":"person"},{"name":"National Association of Counties","type":"organization"}],

community_relevance":{"geographies":["Kane County"],"funding_sources":["county general fund"],"impact_groups":["Kane County taxpayers"]},

meeting_context":{"engagement_level":{"speakers_count":8,"duration_minutes":40,"items_count":1},"implementation_risk":"medium","history":[{"date":"2020","note":"Transcript references prior county resolutions in 2020 to adopt services of 3 Plus 1; later RFP executed after treasurer returned to office."}]},

searchable_tags":["treasurer","proclamation","cashfest","3-plus-1","procurement"],

provenance":{"transcript_segments":[{"block_id":"800.265","local_start":0,"local_end":437,"evidence_excerpt":"Good morning. I am concerned about the agenda item today, posing that the county pass a proclamation to formally accept an award from CashFest by 3 plus 1...This proclamation seems strange as it's essentially asking for a public stage at a full board meeting for an award ceremony in which CashFest would hand its award to its client...","reason_code":"topicintro"},{"block_id":"5311.8804","local_start":0,"local_end":124,"evidence_excerpt":"Other business, we have a proclamation by the Kane County board honoring Chris Lawson for 20 25 CashFest National Leadership Award for financial management. I need a motion and a second...Clerk, please call the roll...Lewis? Lewis, no. Tepe? Tepe, no. Young? Yes. Sanchez, no...Hales with 3 no's, 2 yes's.","reason_code":"topicfinish"}]},