Will County Democrats launched an effort Thursday to oust a politically connected lawyer who has reaped more than $400,000 in legal fees from a land- acquisition program by the county Forest Preserve District.
”People on both sides of the aisle have been beaten to death by the press and the public,” said board member Richard Budde (D-Joliet) in calling for a change. ”Possibly the board (could) seek proposals from others.”
The target of the move is Richard J. Kavanagh, a Joliet lawyer whose legal fees inspired a bill last year in the General Assembly to shift such work into the offices of county state`s attorneys.
Kavanagh, who has been a Republican Party strategist and an officer in the county GOP for more than a decade, has weathered previous efforts to oust him, and it was not clear whether the votes are there this time.
However, Sharon Morrelli (D-Lockport) said Budde`s proposal has the backing of most Democrats and some Republicans.
Republicans will outnumber Democrats 16-11 when a new County Board is sworn in next month.
”Our legal advice has been questionable, to say the least,” Budde told the board in requesting a larger role for board members in selecting the district`s attorney next month.
Kerry Sheridan (R-Shorewood) who is seeking re-election as board president, said he will request a recommendation on the attorney`s job from the board`s operations committee.
”I think (Kavanagh) has done a good job for us, but (a reappointment)
will not be automatic,” said Sheridan, who as president picks the attorney without board approval.
”If I am the president (after a reorganization meeting next month), we are going to investigate all possibilities, including using the state`s attorney,” Sheridan said. ”We may look at several firms and several individuals, including Mr. Kavanagh.”
Sheridan said his only criticism of Kavanagh was that the lawyer kept for his own firm the lion`s share of legal work that the board thought would be divided among 14 Will County lawyers listed by Kavanagh shortly after the bonds were approved.
”I don`t think we were overbilled, but there was a matter of spreading the work out, which didn`t get done,” Sheridan said.
Kavanagh, who has held the post for the last 10 years, is paid a retainer of $33,000 to advise the Forest Preserve District Board.
He became the subject of controversy after he collected more than $400,000 in additional fees in connection with land purchases by the forest preserve under a $50 million bond issue approved in 1989.
The fees sparked a bill in Springfield last year that would have eliminated such fees for private lawyers. The bill, which grew out of infighting among Will County Republicans, was vetoed by Gov. Jim Edgar.
