HUNTLEY – A $1,000 donation made in error to Grafton Township’s food pantry has turned controversial, causing Supervisor Linda Moore to claim that a public request for a refund may have been politically motivated.

The controversy erupted last week when Sun City resident Gerald LaBonte asked the township board during its monthly meeting to refund the $1,080 his neighborhood donated to the Grafton Township Food Pantry by mistake.

LaBonte, who was elected by his neighbors to represent his Sun City neighborhood, told the board that the donation was meant for the nonprofit Grafton Food Pantry because the organization has more purchasing power from its partnership with the Northern Illinois Food Bank.