Unexplained Bill from the Sher Group

We have received complaints from homeowners that Sher's HOC board has sent them a bill for $105 with no explanation as to what is due.

Strangely, the bill states that the homeowner has an unpaid balance of -$105.  In the real world, the negative balance would mean that the homeowner had overpaid and now has a credit toward future assessments.  But in the Robert Sher fantasy world, where accounting practices are made up on-the-fly, we are guessing that the Sher group is claiming that this money is owed to them.

We will look into this issue and report back our findings on this blog.  In the meantime, please rest assured that you cannot be expected to pay this amount until you are given a full explanation of what is owed and why. We suggest that you mail or email the Sher group and request a complete ledger that shows a breakdown of what you were required to pay them (and when) and what payments they actually received.

Stay tuned for more info, and feel free to contact us about your specific situation or any collection letter you may have received.

***update 4/29/2014***

We have received an anonymous tip from a homeowner who emailed and questioned the Sher group about this unexplained -$105 charge.  Ultimately, the homeowner pressed for documentation to justify the charge, the charge was removed. 

We doubt that this charge would have been removed if this homeowner did not question it.  We encourage any homeowner who received one of these mysterious -$105 letters to follow suit.  If you get a different result than this particular homeowner, we'd love to hear about it.

email: restoreCR@gmail.com
call or text: (224) 544-9058

It's time for Robert Sher to Go!

The desperate tactics of Robert Sher to hold onto his job have reached an all-time low!!

Wow! Just when it seemed things couldn’t get any worse, Robert Sher took Cedar Run to a new low at the recent March 19^th “Homeowners Meeting”.  Enduring three hours of Robert Sher is painful enough, but he truly outdid himself, once again turning what should have been an opportunity for homeowners to speak into yet another campaign speech filled with his patented concoction of lies and misinformation.

On a brighter note, a heartfelt thanks goes out to all the homeowners who signed the Petition for a Special Election. It is encouraging to see so many homeowners taking action to bring about a real change for Cedar Run.

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Let's Keep the Pressure On

For any homeowner who has not yet had a chance to sign the Petition for a Special Election, please <click here> for details.  We are owed a free and fair election, and we will not stop until we have one!

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And now a few “highlights” from Robert Sher’s monologue:

The Race Card

For anybody who missed Robert Sher’s performance the other night, his latest desperate rant appears to be to pit homeowner against homeowner. Following are a few choice quotes from Robert Sher from the meeting:

·         “Your former board was controlled mostly by white people, some believe they are German.” Robert Sher

·         “The minority board can do business better than a white board.” Robert Sher

·         [referring to his opposition]“They really want to remove the Hispanic people out of the way so they can spend the $400,000 created for Cedar Run. This is going to be a repeat of the 1996 takeover. They will waste all our money and increase our assessments again. It’s all they know how.” Robert Sher

·         “For the first time in nearly 18 years we have a bylaw with a judge approved election process. We follow the law and do everything for the good of our neighbors. This does not stop those Racists from trying to slander us. They cannot face us and they do not put their name to their un-supported accusations.” Robert Sher

Just for the record, my name is Jim Hartmann, and yes, that is a German name. I am a relatively new homeowner in Cedar Run, having bought my property in February of 2012, just before all of this madness started. One of the things that I find attractive about Cedar Run is the diversity of our community.

I find it offensive to hear Robert Sher say these things. This sort of talk is completely inappropriate and counterproductive. I hope that you can see what Robert Sher is trying to do here. I hope that the homeowners of Cedar Run can see through his rhetoric and recognize this desperate ploy as an attempt to maintain his own power and distract attention from his own incompetence.

Help to create real change by signing the <Petition for a Special Election>.

The Imaginary Savings

Regarding the $400,000 of “savings” that Rober Sher proclaims.  Think about all the needed maintenance on the property that Robert Sher has neglected.  Think about the costs he has shifted to you and your phase association.

• Street replacement - shoddy patchwork (which has already failed) on streets that should have been completely repaved
• Insurance - Sher simply stopped paying for it and passed the (now higher) cost along to your phase. You're still paying for it, just from a different pocket.
• Swimming pool - You still paid for a swimming pool, but it was closed for almost two full seasons, thanks to Robert Sher.
• Tree maintenance - trees in Cedar Run are in desperate need of trimming and treatment.  Overgrown tree branches have caused siding and roofing damage to buildings, but Sher doesn't feel it's worth paying for.  If trees are not properly treated by a certified arborist, many more will die.
• Sewer line maintenance - The Master Board is responsible for all sewer lines from the outside of the buildings to the connections at the city sewer.  Sher refuses to maintain and repair them, and they are failing at a high rate.
• Concrete walkways - Despite multiple citations from the village, Sher still hasn't performed any repairs to our concrete sidewalks and walkways

Conclusion: The “savings” that Robert Sher claims would more appropriately be called the deferred maintenance fund. This represents money paid by Cedar Run homeowners for repairs, maintenance and services which this board has apparently decided are unnecessary.

The Annual Election

Despite all of Robert Sher’s claims to the contrary, our bylaws clearly state that there must be an annual election. This board’s refusal to hold elections is a clear violation of our rights as homeowners.

Sher seems to think he has a three year 'honeymoon' before democracy can return to Cedar Run.  Don't let him fool you!  Annual elections are required by law! Isn't it ironic that he still refers to the old board as a dictatorship, but he refuses to hold elections?!?  Sounds a bit shady, doesn't it??

It is critical that the homeowners of Cedar Run be allowed to choose who should represent us. We need to be united. We cannot allow Robert Sher to pit homeowner against homeowner.

It’s time for the homeowners of Cedar Run to be represented.

It’s time for Robert Sher to go!!

Please voice your opposition to Robert Sher by signing and returning the Petition for Special Election. <Here’s how>.

 

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Please don't forget to subscribe to this blog by entering your email address in the 'follow by email' form at the upper-right of your screen.  Please do feel free to email us at restoreCR@gmail.com.  You can also call or text us at (224) 544-9058.  We'd love to hear from you!

Thank You Cedar Run Homeowners!!

On Wednesday, March 19th, we began circulating our petition to force Robert Sher to hold an election.  We want to thank all the Concerned Homeowners who came out to the meeting to sign our petition and show their support.

This was the first time we actively pursued signatures, and we collected more than expected.  We are very much on-track to meet our goal!!

Please stay tuned for a more detailed recap and responses to the propaganda, lies, and inflammatory accusations that Sher presented in his meeting on March 19th.

For now, please feel free to email us at restoreCR@gmail.com.  You can also call or text us at (224) 544-9058.  We'd love to hear from you.  For a copy of the petition, click HERE or visit our 'How to Take Action' page.

The Time to Act is NOW!!

Cedar Run homeowners are owed an election!!

Come to the meeting at the clubhouse on Wednesday (3/19 @ 8PM) to join us in demanding one!!  Concerned homeowners will be there before, during, and after the meeting with petitions to call for a special election.

*To clarify, Sher's meeting starts at 8PM.  We will be there with petitions starting at 7:30 PM*

In the summer of 2012, Cedar Run homeowners took a chance by signing their voting rights over to Robert Sher and (unknowingly) giving him the unchecked power he enjoys today.  Most had no idea what Sher planned to do after taking control. They just wanted a change, and they were willing to take a chance with Sher.

This 'Robert Sher Experiment' has been a miserable failure!!!

• Sher's irresponsible decision to collect the phase associations' assessments spurred endless lawsuits and created utter confusion among the homeowners about where to send their assessment checks.
• Sher and his board have brought us an unprecedented lack of transparency - illegal closed-door meetings, not a single budget or treasurer's report.
• They refused to admit that Sher/Shaw were on the payroll.  If it wasn't for this blog and a court-ordered subpoena, they would still be dodging questions on these matters.
• The board still refuses to disclose what type of contractual agreement they have with Sher/Shaw.  We have a general idea, based on the bogus, illegal bylaws that they follow, but we have no idea of what other types of agreements have been made with Sher/Shaw.
• 8 of the 11 directors on Sher's board (who were once his greatest supporters) have resigned since Sher took over.

The property is in a state of disarray!

• Lousy, 'semi-pro' landscaping & snow removal
• Piece-of-junk cars (on jack stands) parked in the clubhouse lot with the board's consent while cars on the street are ticketed and fined $50.
• Trees were never trimmed last year, resulting in roofing and siding damage to buildings
• The board refuses to take responsibility for the sewer drain lines (despite multiple citations from the village).
• The 'semi-pro' pothole repairs from last summer have broken again into even larger potholes.

Why No 2013 Annual Meeting (Election)?!?
Our Bylaws require an annual meeting to elect directors.  Even Sher's bogus Bylaws require this.

Annual

adjective \ˈan-yə(-wə)l, -yü-əl\
: happening once a year

When pressed on the question of elections, Sher and his board have given the same reply they gave when questioned about who was on the payroll......simply saying "We will let you know".

Why is Sher so afraid of an election???  Because the $4500+ per month that we now pay Sher/Shaw would be in jeopardy if the election did not go his way.  No matter how many parties or game nights Sher hosts at the clubhouse, his irresponsible decisions and his failure to maintain the property have made him extremely unpopular.

It's time for Cedar Run homeowners to let Robert Sher know that we demand our election!!


So come to the meeting.  Come early; bring a neighbor.  Join countless other concerned homeowners and sign our petition so we can force the election that Sher refused to give us.

Only the homeowners have the true power to Restore Cedar Run!

As always, feel free to email us at restoreCR@gmail.com with questions or comments or leave us a message at our new Concerned Homeowners' Hotline at (224) 544-9058.

If you can't make the meeting Wednesday or if you don't want to be seen signing our petition for fear of retaliation from Sher, call or email us and we will come to you!!

Robert Sher's Fantasy World

For those who read the most recent 'newsletter' from Robert Sher, please read further for our responses to his usual propaganda.  For those who did not read this mailing, we'll summarize it for you in two sentences.

According to Sher, Cedar Run is so much better off now than it was two years ago, all thanks to him and his (well-paid) oversight committee.......Ohhhh and anything that hasn't gone well is someone else's fault.

That pretty much sums it up.

And now for the longer version.....

This most recent newsletter, like the last, is trying to portray Sher as someone destined for sainthood.  Sher continues to remind us of the $10/month he cut from the Master HOA assessment.  Then he points to Phases 5 & 10 as examples of Utopian living.

Things to understand about Phases 5 & 10

• They have not had an election, budget, or board meeting in two years (just like the Master Board...surprised?)
• They have no emergency number to call if there is an issue with their building. Apparently they are expected to call Robert Sher, leave a message, and wait 24-48 hours for a call back during an emergency.
• We have reason to believe that these phases are drastically under-insured and that the Sher group gave false square footage information to their insurance agent in order to get lower premiums for these phases. This could cause serious legal problems if there is a claim.
• Phases 5 & 10 are having their costs subsidized by the Master Board.  This means that the roughly 325 Cedar Run homeowners who don't live in these two phases are paying to help these phases keep their costs down. Whether it's water bills, oversight committee fees, or insurance, it's called commingling of funds, and it's illegal.  See the check images below.

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Snow Removal

Notice no more bragging about how wonderful our snow removal service has been this year.  Apparently Robert Sher even knows we won't buy it.  Instead, he points to the large snowfalls we've had this year as a random 'trivia fact', but really he is just making an excuse for being ill-prepared. He also points out that de-icing salt prices are high, apparently to explain why our streets, driveways, & walkways are almost never salted.

Admittedly, the snow removal this winter is nowhere nearly as reprehensible as it was last year.  But look at the courts of Cedar Run hours and days after a snowfall, and compare them to the courts of nearby Lexington Commons.  You'll see the difference between a well-prepared and an ill-prepared snow removal service; a professional versus a semi-pro.  Do notice that only in Cedar Run do we have snowbanks on top of storm drains, giving melted snow no place to drain--thus bringing us large patches of ice when the temperature drops again.

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Sher Fantasies - Phase edition

Sher's letter also contains a great deal of false information about the responsibilities of your Phase association.

Which brings us to a special edition of our 'Sher Fantasies' segment.....

Fantasy #1 Sewer pipes
Sher states that your phase is responsible for all drain pipes that run from your building to the sewer.  WRONG.  Your phase is responsible for the common drain lines up until they exit the building.  As soon as they are outside, the Master Board is responsible for their upkeep/repair. Sher even tried to challenge this in court by fighting the Village of Wheeling over an ordinance violation.  Like usual, he lost!  This issue will become more and more important because these sewer drain lines are 40 years old and made from clay (like flower pot) material.  Tree roots and the weight of the soil on top of these pipes is causing them to break and become plugged because they are simply past their useable life.  It is no wonder that Sher wants to pass the inevitable replacement cost onto the phases.

Fantasy #2 Windows
In this newsletter, Sher states that your phase association is responsible for the upkeep of your windows. WRONG again!  All windows, screens, and doors (including storm doors, sliding doors, and garage doors) are the responsibility of the HOMEOWNER, not the (phase) association.  It's all spelled out in your phase's declarations.

Fantasy #3 'Everything' (?!?) inside the walls
Sher states that your phase is responsible for everything inside the walls of your building. WRONG again! If this were true, your phase would be responsible for your furnace ductwork, electrical wiring.......etc. The one item your phase might be responsible is certain types of plumbing which is explained below.

Phase responsibilities summarized
The most important thing to understand is a term called 'common element'.  Common element is something that is common to multiple homeowners' units in a given building or throughout the entire property.  If something is specifically part of your unit, it is not common element.

Examples of common element that the Master Board maintains are trees, streets, grass, and concrete walkways.  Examples for the phase would be roofing, siding, & gutters.

When it comes to plumbing, it gets complicated.  But understand one thing, if it's not part of the common element, it's the responsibility of the individual homeowner.  If a pipe in your wall is one that serves more than one unit in your building, your phase association is responsible for its upkeep.  If it serves only your unit, it is your property and your responsibility.  If a water line leaks or ruptures, where it happens with respect to the main feed and the lines serving only your unit is critical in deciding who pays the plumbing bill.  The same applies to drains.  If a drain line backs up....the location of that restriction determines who is responsible.

Click HERE for a thorough, simplified list of Master Board, Phase, and homeowner responsibilities. 

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 The Pool

After the immense political backlash that Sher experienced by keeping our pool closed for almost two straight summers, he is finally opening the pool for 2014.  Apparently, the enormous, cost prohibitive water leak that allegedly prevented him from opening the pool last year (for which he naturally blamed the old board) has fixed itself.

Apparently Sher's plans of converting the pool to a year-round, indoor pool are on hold too ;-)

Ohh....and the lifeguards that have worked the Cedar Run pool for decades were nothing more than glorified babysitters, according to Robert Sher.

Teenagers will now be hired to check pool passes and to prevent residents from leaving their children unattended at the pool.  Apparently they will call DCFS on any parents who don't stay with their children.  Why not hire teenagers who are certified lifeguards and alleviate this entire mess???

Cedar Run's Homeowner's Handbook, which Sher refuses to recognize, had a very sensible pool policy that included lifeguards.  There were plenty of restrictions on who could swim alone or who must be accompanied.  This was based not only on age, but on swimming ability (which only a certified lifeguard can determine) and location within the pool area (kiddie pool, shallow end, deep end, etc). See the entire policy HERE.

History has shown that the Sher group is probably not prepared for the complications that will arise from this new pool policy.  One can only hope that nobody is hurt or drowned while the Sher group learns by way of hard knocks.

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Delinquencies

Sher made a point in this letter to mention the unusually high delinquency rate in Cedar Run.   (delinquency, meaning homeowners who are not paying their assessments).  For once, we actually agree with Robert Sher that delinquencies are a major problem.

When some homeowners do not pay, the association has the same expenses but less income.  This puts a financial drain on an associations funds and can often lead to assessment increases (or worse yet, a special assessment).

The entire concept of association living falls apart unless everyone pays their share.  So remember that when your neighbors don't pay, it's you that is being punished.  We all must pay our share.

However.........that said, we find it very ironic that Sher is now complaining about delinquencies when he had (arguably) the largest role in creating them.  Before Sher came along, delinquencies were not ideal, but most of them were vacant units that were in foreclosure.  Since Sher took over delinquencies have skyrocketed and spread to occupied units.  Why is this?

• Sher initially encouraged delinquencies - often telling homeowners not to pay during his campaign.  He promised many homeowners that he'd forgive their debt once he took over - that never happened!
• Sher created mass confusion regarding who to pay causing many homeowners to pay nobody.  Letters telling people to tear up the payment coupons from their management company, cease & desist form letters with Anne Shaw's name on them, car-booting threats...the list goes on forever.
• Sher created a legal and logistical nightmare, making it difficult for everyone to collect.  Temporary court orders preventing everyone from collecting, sloppy accounting records turned over to the phase associations, Sher falsely claiming control over certain phase boards (and suing).  For most of 2013, neither the phases nor the Master board could collect without risking a violation of the Fair Debt Collection laws.

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What Sher conveniently didn't write about

No more talk about Itasca or Barrington banks 'enslaving' you.  No more talk about cutting your assessment to half of what it was in 2012.  But this is old news...

Conspicuously absent from Sher's letter was the mention of how he was fighting to recover 'your money'.  He's always boasted about this, but he always stopped short of telling us what money he will recover and how.  Now, he has conveniently stopped mentioning it....just like how he no longer talks about cutting our assessment in half or making our construction loans go away.

This is something we feel Cedar Run homeowners deserve to know, so we will decipher the Sher code for you.  When Sher talks about recovering your money, what he really means is that he is suing the old master board members.  Sher has always claimed that Alma and the old board were guilty of every financial crime in the book and that he has irrefutable evidence to prove it. Apparently this evidence must not be very convincing, because Judge Rudy Garcia has thrown out Sher's case not once, but twice!!  The first time wasn't enough for Robert.  Sher filed an amended complaint to keep the case alive. As of about one week before the writing of this blog entry, Sher's amended complaint (2nd attempt) was also thrown out.  Will he file another amended complaint? Or will he finally admit he has lost and move on?

Why is this important, you ask? Because Sher is fighting this frivolous lawsuit on your dime (hiring his sister-in-law to argue it of course).  Not only that, but the people Sher is suing are being defended by the insurance company (under something called a D & O policy).  The more money the insurance company must pay out for the defense, the more our premiums can go up.  You might also find it interesting that we are paying Sher to show up to these court hearings (along with every hearing for every other lawsuit he has spurred).  See check image below.

In Sher's efforts to recover our money, in reality he is just spending it!!  Pretty irresponsible, don't you think??

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Did you know....
That back in the summer of 2012, all of the propaganda mailings, meetings at the library, hot dogs & ice cream....everything that Sher did to convince Cedar Run homeowners to vote him into power (which we were told was out of the kindness of his heart) was paid for by guess who???  YOU!!!  That's right, not only did Sher secretly put himself (and his family) immediately on the payroll when he took over, but he also paid himself back for all campaign expenses that put him in that position.  Think about it...  Imagine if a newly elected congressman paid himself back for campaign expenses with our tax money!!  Same thing here, folks!!  See the check image below.

Did you know....
That Robert Sher and Jack Shaw obtained Community Association Manager Licenses, a credential now required by state law for all property managers.  Again, this was paid for by homeowner funds (surprised?).  In a previous newsletter, Sher finally (kind of) admitted  that he obtained this license on our dime.  But then he stated that he obtained this license strictly so he could manage Cedar Run and not for any other purpose.  This is an outright lie.  See what the Shaw Real Estate's groups website says about their property management services.  It is not coincidental that this property management page went live just a few months after Sher/Shaw got their licenses.  Cedar Run homeowners' money once again being used to provide business opportunities for the Sher/Shaw family.  See check images below.

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 Bottom Line

According to the latest records we have, Sher is getting paid at least $2,500 per month of our money.  That doesn't include the perks he gets or any other form of compensation that he hides in various reimbursement payments (where's our audit?).  His father-in-law, Jack Shaw, gets over $2,000 per month of our money, to sit in his lovely home in Glenview and occasionally advise his protege, Robert Sher.  Anne Shaw is raking in tens of thousands of Cedar Run dollars in legal fees, not including what she gets by soliciting homeowners via her connection to the board.  Directors and/or their family members are on they payroll too.  Our assessments have gone up and not down. We're stuck in endless lawsuits at our expense. We can't see a budget.  We can't attend board meetings.  There are no elections or any form or democratic process.  Where is the transparency and checks & balances we were promised?

The Robert Sher experiment has failed, and it is time to move on.  Join us in demanding our right to self-determination and getting Sher out of his position of power.  It's time for the homeowners to RESTORE CEDAR RUN!

restoreCR@gmail.com

Sher's Parking Program

We have received some emails about homeowners getting $50 parking tickets on while parking Cedar Run streets.

So.....apparently after nearly two years of doing absolutely nothing to enforce parking rules and bringing us parking Anarchy, Sher has gone right to ticketing cars that don't have the latest parking permit.

Gee, maybe after establishing a precedent of doing nothing for so long, you might think about issuing a warning before fining people $50 with these parking tickets.  Just sayin'.......

We've also heard from homeowners and renters who say that they paid and submitted all their paperwork months ago, but still have not received their parking permits.  Will these people be ticketed??

This ticketing program begs some additional questions....

What happens to a car that does not have a permit but was never registered with the master board?  How do they know which owner to fine?  Only the police can run someone's license plate, so how does Sher enforce this $50 fine??  We have no towing company, so that option is out.

It's almost as if Cedar Run homeowners have an incentive to NOT register their vehicle with the board.....

Bylaws, The Untold Story

We heard a fair amount of discussion about Cedar Run's Bylaws early on when Robert Sher took control of Cedar Run.  We didn't hear much about them after that, except for one of Sher's letters where he claims that there 'were no bylaws' before he came along.....He goes on to say that, thanks to him, we do now have Bylaws and everything is now legal and proper.  The main purpose of this blog entry is to educate homeowners about Bylaws....What are they?? What are they for???  Why the heck should we care?!?!  The other purpose is to provide you with the facts and details surrounding Robert Sher's statements (and more so his silence) about our bylaws.  As the saying goes...'The devil is in the details'.

Bylaws defined
Bylaws, along with Declarations and Articles of Incorporation are an association's 'governing documents'.  They establish how the association and board are organized as well as set rules for homeowners, directors, property managers, developers, or anyone involved with that association.  They explain both the rights and responsibilities of the above parties.

Anything that State law doesn't address, the governing docs typically cover.  If there is a conflict between the governing docs and the State law, State law always prevails. For example, if the bylaws say that the association must give five days of notice to call a Special Meeting of the members, but the State Laws says you must give a minimum of ten days notice, ten it is!

The governing docs, specifically the Bylaws, are also important because they place limits on the power of a board, officer, property manager, etc.  They specify how a director can be removed, how elections are handled, and set terms for directors.  They state how often meetings must be held, when budgets must be established, how many directors must be present to vote on certain items (aka 'quorum'). They also explain how the Bylaws themselves can be amended if enough homeowners want a change to the rules.  Just like amendments to government constitutions, a super-majority is usually required to amend Bylaws.

One final general note about governing documents, they must be recorded at a County Recorder of Deeds in order to be legal (this is important later)

Cedar Run's Bylaws
To clarify, we are talking about the Master Board, aka Cedar Run Homeowners' Corporation whenever we mention Bylaws in the rest of this blog post.  Phase Bylaws are important, but we will specifically refer to them as phase bylaws when we bring them up.

Cedar Run Homeowner's Corp was established in 1972 by the developer, Tekton Corp.  All of Cedar Run's governing docs were written by Tekton's attorneys and recorded at the county.  Tekton's offices were located somewhere in Dupage County.  Although Cedar Run is located in Cook County, Tekton recorded these initial governing docs for the Master Board and Phase 1 in Dupage County.  This was still legal, but it has made it that much more difficult for anyone to locate these governing docs over the years.  After that, all subsequent phases had their governing docs recorded in Cook County.

Despite all this confusion, the bottom line is that we have Bylaws.  We've had them since 1972, and those same Bylaws are still legally binding.

Why the heck should we care?!?
The real question we should ask is 'Why would Robert Sher care?'  Sher initially pointed to these same Bylaws when he campaigned to take over the board.  He pointed to an article that forbids any director from being paid for his/her services.  John Zink was being paid to do groundskeeping & maintenance, and Sheri Greenberg received a small amount of money for managing clubhouse rental, and they were both directors.  Sher claimed that they violated the Bylaws, and that they were acting illegally.  (The counter-argument is that they were not paid for their director duties but paid for other services they provided....the courts agreed, but that's a subject for another blog entry)

Ironically, it's the part that forbids payment of directors that Sher wanted to eliminate first as part of his plan for the new board.  He figured he could pay himself and Jack Shaw a healthy salary to manage Cedar Run and trickle some money down to the board so they would support him forever.  To do this, the Bylaws had to go.  Sher made multiple attempts to legally justify invalidating our Bylaws.

Attempt #1:
Sher writes a letter to the Secretary of HUD, asking if the Bylaws could be changed to allow the payment of directors.  He states that these directors will be paid based on how much they 'save' for the community.  To clarify, the letter to HUD was made to appear that is was from Denny Alfaro, but it was Sher that wrote it and Alfaro just signed it at Sher's request.

Result:
Absolutely nothing!!  The Secretary of HUD cannot grant you permission to amend your bylaws without following the rules within your bylaws or following applicable state law.

Attempt #2:
Sher claims that the Bylaws were never recorded at the county, and therefore are not legal.

Result:
Wrong again...they were recorded in Dupage County....annoying and confusing, but still legal.

Attempt #3:
The Dupage document is just the Articles of Incorporation.  No Bylaws were ever recorded.

Result:
Wrong again....The Bylaws are an 'Exhibit' within the Articles of Incorporation.  Some associations record their Bylaws as a separate document from their other governing docs, but it is not required.

Attempt #4
Blame it on Bloomberg!!!!  Sher points to the fact that attorney Steven Bloomberg registered a new corporation for the Master Board with the Secretary of State in 2002 instead of renewing the old corporation that dissolved in 1999. He didn't record NEW Bylaws for this NEW Corporation, and therefore Cedar Run has no Bylaws.

Result:
(in Sher's mind, but not legally speaking) Bingo!!!  Bylaws don't exist, and Sher can write new ones any way he wants them!!!

The truth about the new entity registered in 2002 is that it was the wrong thing to do.  The Cedar Run Concerned Homeowners have criticized Mr. Bloomberg for making this error, as it simply adds complication to an already complicated situation.  However, this event has nothing to do with our Bylaws.  Because of Bloomberg's action in 2002, Cedar Run had operated as an 'Unicorporated Association' from 1999-2012.  But the Bylaws were always in effect all along.

So what happened next?
Now that Sher felt he successfully justified throwing out the Bylaws, it was time to write new ones.  Forget about sending copies to every homeowner and calling a special meeting where they can vote to ratify new bylaws.....why not just have the faithful directors sign them?? On December 5th, 2012 with only five directors' signatures, (one Sher's wife, two others on the payroll) , the new Bylaws were signed into 'law', and they've been in full effect ever since (again in Sher's mind, but not legally speaking).

What's in these 'new' Bylaws?

Have a look for yourself.  Feel free to compare them to our real Bylaws. We realize that reading through each document would put anyone to sleep. So our volunteers have reviewed both documents and created list of some of the drastic, outlandish rules in Sher's Bylaws.

1. Master board reduced to seven directors (from eleven).  Why? Because by December 2012, four of Sher's hand-picked directors had already resigned. Why hold an election to replace them when you could just eliminate their position in the Bylaws? Plus, it's a heck of a lot easier to manipulate seven people as opposed to eleven, is it not ?
2. 40% of homeowners needed to call a special election.  Our real bylaws say 25%. Sher didn't want his board removed using the same process that got them elected....a tad hypocritical, isn't it?
3. All proxy ballots must be certified by a CPA and turned in for review one week prior to an election. Sher wants to make it virtually impossible for anyone to collect votes by proxy. Not only is it hypocritical, but it's against the law to put such ridiculous conditions on proxy voting.
4. ....and if a director is removed by a homeowner vote, the BOARD chooses their replacement.....NOT THE HOMEOWNERS!!
5. All officers have a five year term, and the board can appoint a replacement if someone resigns. State law and our real bylaws require that anyone appointed to fill a vacancy on the board must be up for re-election at the next annual meeting. Sher's bylaws say the replacement will serve the unexpired term. So if someone resigns, Sher will just hand pick a replacement.
6. Any director can be paid if a majority of the board approves.  The Treasurer IS A PAID POSITION, and the treasurer can bill up to 20 hours per week.  Once again, remember that our TRUE Bylaws forbids paying any director for their services.
7. The Board can use homeowners' funds to purchase Heath Insurance for themselves!!  Isn't it ironic that Sher dropped the umbrella policy that included Fire Insurance for our buildings, but he sees no problem spending our money to buy Health Insurance for his wife and blindly faithful directors???
8. Renters are officially referred to as 'Transient Occupants'.  Investor owners must have their tenants screened by the oversight committee, and allow the oversight committee inspect their unit every two years.  Investor owner must also PAY FOR SECURITY DEVICES for neighboring homeowners (to allegedly protect the neighbors from their tenants?).
9. Oversight committee is paid (big surprise!) and can hire a staff that will also be paid with homeowner funds.  Board can't hire a contractor unless the oversight committee approves of the contractor (shouldn't it be the other way around?).  Oversight comittee members must have certain credentials (which incidentally are credentials that Shaw and Sher have).  Anyone without these credentials can only serve for one year unless Sher agrees to renew them.
10. Oversight Committee cannot be abolished....EVER!.  Members of the committee can only be removed if the budget is exceeded (pretty tough when you don't have a budget) AND the directors unanimously vote to remove.....Yep, Sher is virtually un-fireable according to these bylaws. (so much for checks & balances).

So to answer the question many homeowners have asked about the management contract term that the board has with with Sher/Shaw (aka the oversight committee)..... It's as long as Robert and Jack want it to be, according to these Bylaws.  Sher and Shaw plan to sit back and collect our money until they are simply tired of doing so......pretty sweet deal for them, isn't it??

Case & point...With all the unchecked power Sher has via this created oversight committee, plus the secret meetings, disenfranchising of voters (homeowners), failure to hold elections, failure to provide a budget.....etc. etc. etc.........These bogus Bylaws prove that Sher's board is nothing more than a Dictatorship, masquerading as a Democracy.

But the good news is.....
None of the above is legal!!! Zip, Zero, Zilch!!  While State law trumps almost all of it, the simple fact that our real Bylaws (from 1972) are still in effect is a double slam-dunk.  (The bogus Bylaws were also never recorded, making it a triple slam-dunk!) To amend our bylaws, Sher would have needed to call a special election to vote on any proposed changes, and a 2/3 majority would be required.

Instead, Robert Sher chose to invent new bylaws and sign them into effect without any homeowner involvement whatsoever......Transparency??? Checks & balances???  Judge for yourself.

Even Anne Shaw, who's name is shown as the author (see image below) of this Bylaw document, knows they are not legal.  More than a month after this document was signed, Ms. Shaw filed a lawsuit against the phases, referring to our real bylaws (from 1972) as evidence.  Why would she refer to 'non-existent' Bylaws??  If Sher's bylaws are legal and proper, why not use them to bolster your lawsuit???

So the next time Sher to rants about recovering your 'lost shares' in the corporation or making us legal by giving us bylaws we never had.....You'll know that it's all smoke & mirrors.

As always, your questions & comments are welcome at restoreCR@gmail.com. We greatly appreciate the outpouring of support we've received so far!