CONFLICTING CLAIMS - Illinois millionaire Bill Foster claims on his campaign website that he and his ex-wife stayed on "good terms." Court records show that while they were married, she accused him of abuse, and held her "hostage" after their divorce.“Bill and Ann are both very proud of remaining on good terms and making things as easy as possible for their kids,” Foster wrote on his candidate biography.
But according to Illinois court records obtained by the Majority Accountability Project (www.majorityap.com), the Foster’s were far from being “on good terms” during their testy divorce proceedings.
In fact, in a motion filed in Circuit Court in Kane County, his then-wife Ann claimed Foster “pushed, shoved and caused physical abuse and emotional harm…putting her in fear for herself (and the couple’s) minor children.” Ann Foster asked the court to remove her husband from the home they shared, and that the court “issue a temporary restraining order against (Bill Foster) from calling, harassing or touching (Ann Foster).”
Equally troubling is Foster’s claim that “Bill and Ann agreed to live within a few blocks of each other in Batavia.” Court records indicate Ann Foster’s decision to live near her soon-to-be ex-husband was not voluntary.
A provision of the couple’s divorce settlement stipulated that if Ann Foster moved outside of the Batavia School district prior to their daughter’s eighteenth birthday, “wife shall pay to husband the sum of Fifty Thousand Dollars ($50,000).” Circuit Court Judge Keith Brown, who presided over the couple’s divorce, seemed stunned.
“I have never seen a provision as this, such as $50,000 payment if someone moves out of the school district,” he said in a transcript obtained by majorityap.com. “I’m not sure if that’s – let’s say when that day comes, the enforceability of that provision would be an issue.”
The judge said of Bill Foster that “it almost sounds, on the initial surface, as if you are holding someone hostage to stay within any school district, which is not in the law of the State of Illinois.”
There is some evidence the Foster's once acrimonious relationship has improved.
Ann Foster has since moved from the Batavia School district, and now draws a paycheck from her ex-husband. According to Foster’s campaign website, she “works as a software engineer for Bill's company in Wisconsin.”
If Bill Foster and his
If Bill Foster and his ex-wife are not on good terms, why in the world would she max out her contributions to Foster's campaign 4 times over? That makes absolutely no sense.