The sudden resignation of Timothy Morgan from his position on the Campton Hills Village Board of Trustees has led to the dismissal of a quo warranto action to remove him from office. His resignation, the day before he was scheduled to sit for a sworn deposition in the action, caused Judge Kevin Busch to rule that the case had become moot, with the State’s Attorney having achieved the relief sought.
After the election, but prior to Mr. Morgan’s taking office, the Village of Campton Hills asked State’s attorney Jaime L. Mosser to file a legal action to remove Mr. Morgan from office should he take his oath of office. Prior to doing that, State’s ttorney Mosser reached out to Mr. Morgan to advise him that he was legally unable to take office based upon a felony conviction. Initially and with the advice of counsel, Mr. Morgan indicated that he would not take his oath of office and failed to appear at the Campton Hills Board Meeting where he would have been sworn in with the other newly elected officials. At some point later, Mr. Morgan changed his mind, signed his oath of office, and took his seat on the Village Board. Based on the request of the Village of Campton Hills, State’s attorney Mosser filed the quo warranto action against Mr. Morgan.
Illinois law states that a person cannot take a municipal office if they are a convicted felon. Mr. Morgan has a 2002 felony conviction for DUI (due to prior offenses) from Michigan. This was confirmed by State’s Attorney Mosser prior to filing the quo warranto action.
State’s attorney Mosser has consistently maintained that Illinois law prohibits felons from holding office unless they take action to restore their citizenship rights. She also contended that Mr. Morgan violated the Illinois Municipal Code by taking the oath of office, leading to the vacancy of the position at the time of his swearing in.
Mr. Morgan tendered his immediate and unconditional resignation as Village Trustee of Campton Hills Tuesday, May 7, 2024. In light of this development, Kane County State’s Attorney Jamie L. Mosser was informed that Mr. Morgan would not be appearing for his scheduled discovery deposition.
Judge Busch ruled in dismissing the case that the matter to remove Mr. Morgan from office was moot because he had resigned permanently from the position.
SA Mosser said: “It is my job as the State’s Attorney to enforce the laws of the State of Illinois.
It was commendable that Mr. Morgan ran for office to make the community better. 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. We have spent months in court to uphold our law as our legislature intended, which was to not allow felons to be responsible for important decisions in our municipalities. While I commend Mr. Morgan for finally making the right decision and resigning from office, it has resulted in unnecessary litigation and now an opening for a trustee that Campton Hills will have to fill in the middle of a term.”
— Office of the Kane County State’s Attorney, Jamie L. Mosser, State’s Attorney