Timothy Morgan resigned in May from the village board in Campton Hills.
Sandy Bressner/sbressner@shawmedia.com
A Kane County judge dismissed a civil action against former Campton Hills trustee Timothy Morgan after Morgan resigned his village board seat.
Morgan was elected to a village trustee seat in April 2023. But Kane County State’s Attorney Jamie Mosser filed a legal challenge claiming that Morgan was not qualified to serve because he had pleaded guilty to a felony drunken driving charge in Michigan in 2002.
Instead of continuing a legal fight to keep his seat, Morgan resigned on May 14.
Kane County Circuit Judge Kevin Busch ruled May 30 that both sides stipulated that Morgan “has tendered his unconditional resignation from office as a village trustee in Campton Hills … and that office is now vacant,” court records show.
“The court entertains the defendant’s oral motion to dismiss this matter as moot, and the court grants said motion over the plaintiff’s objection,” according to Busch’s order. “This matter is dismissed without prejudice and each party to pay its own costs.”
A case dismissed without prejudice means it can be brought back to court.
In a news release she also sent late Monday, Mosser said that she consistently maintained that state law prohibits felons from holding office unless they take action to restore their citizenship rights and that Morgan violated the law by taking the oath of office.
“It was commendable that Mr. Morgan ran for office to make the community better,” Mosser said in the release. “It is unfortunate that he was not aware at the time he was running that he could not take office due to his felony conviction. It was further disappointing that he chose to take office after having been told he was ineligible and having been given legal advice to the same.”
While she commended Morgan for “finally making the right decision and resigning from office,” Mosser said his original decision to take office resulted in unnecessary litigation.
Mosser thanked Assistant State’s Attorney Vincent Coyle for litigating the matter that resulted in Morgan’s resignation.
“We agree with the decision of the court to dismiss the matter,” Mosser said in the release.