BURR RIDGE, IL — A Burr Ridge trustee said Monday the hiring of a judge for the village's new court has a conflict of interest. In response, a police official said that was an initial concern.
At a Village Board meeting, trustees approved a one-year-contract for former Cook County Circuit Judge Denise Filan to serve as the village's hearing officer. She is set to make $225 an hour.
An official previously said Filan was the one who suggested the court's creation, but the official backtracked from that version of events at Monday's board meeting.
The board was asked to approve the contract for Filan, a Burr Ridge resident, as the adjudication hearing officer for a village court that is being organized to handle minor ordinance violations.
Trustee Zach Mottl called Filan's hiring "a bad optic, a conflict of interest." He noted Deputy Chief Marc Loftus stated at a meeting last month that Filan gave the village the idea for the court.
At the time, Loftus said, "She is a person who brought this to us a long time ago. Chief (John) Madden will tell you that she really put the bug in our ear that this is something we should be doing as a municipality."
Asked about that statement at Monday's meeting, Loftus said, "That was bad information on my part." He said the police chief had the creation of a local court in his goals and objectives for years.
Mottl questioned why Loftus communicated with Filan later than the others.
"She could have been fed special information to make sure she had an inside track," Mottl said.
Loftus said he waited to email Filan until the board indicated at a meeting that she was "an appropriate person to ask."
"It was mentioned there was a judge who was interested, but it was a resident and we didn't think the board would be interested in the resident because of things you brought up earlier about a conflict of interest," Loftus told Mottl.
Loftus said it was determined that a judge with a lot of experience should be given an opportunity.
During public input, Ellen Raymond, an attorney and a Burr Ridge resident, said she was a certified hearing officer.
"I never saw the job posting. How are these jobs posted?" Raymond said. While she said Filan was qualified for the position, "I would have liked to put my resume in."
Loftus explained how he reached out to hearing officers in nearby towns.
Raymond asked the board about whether any state or local laws set procedures for getting the word out about job openings.
"Not that the council is aware of," Grasso responded.
Mottl was the only trustee to vote against Filan's contract.
"Hopefully, in the future, we can have a more transparent process so that every resident like Ms. Raymond can participate," Mottl said.
Filan didn't immediately return a message for comment.
The new Burr Ridge court would be unable to handle vehicle code cases. But it is expected to address a number of other issues, including vehicle tows, impound fees, parking tickets, building and zoning, disorderly conduct, retail theft, offenses involving alcohol and minors, solicitors and the animal code.
Filan is the hearing officer for Alsip, Evergreen Park and Worth and the prosecutor for Chicago Ridge, Lyons and Lemont.
The Burr Ridge court is expected to start in January.
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