Two top county officials, embroiled in a public spat over legal representation, have quietly made peace.
Officials from the office of Cook County Sheriff Michael Sheahan said Wednesday they have withdrawn their petition to remove State’s Atty. Richard Devine as their attorney in a controversial federal lawsuit against the sheriff’s office.
William Cunningham, a spokesman for Sheahan, said the two offices had held “a number of meetings” in recent days and “were able to resolve our disagreement.”
Cunningham said that representatives from Devine’s office had addressed “all the concerns” that the sheriff had raised.
“We look forward to moving forward with the state’s attorney as our lawyer,” Cunningham said.
Bob Benjamin, a spokesman for Devine, said his boss was also happy the dispute had ended.
“We’re glad to resolve this matter and to continue representing the sheriff’s office in this case, as in some 300 other cases we have represented the sheriff on,” Benjamin said.
The fight stems from a controversial federal lawsuit brought against Sheahan’s office involving strip searches at Cook County Jail.
Last month, Sheahan went to court seeking to remove Devine’s office from the case, characterizing the representation by the state’s attorney as “marred by indecision and inconsistency.”
The rhetoric of the dispute escalated, with Devine’s office filing a sharply worded rebuttal last week, accusing Sheahan of using irrelevant arguments and Joseph McCarthy-like tactics in his effort to hire private legal representation in the class-action lawsuit.
“Not having the legal basis for appointment of a special state’s attorney, the petitioner’s staff counsel attempts to overwhelm the statutory inquiry with sensational attacks,” Devine charged in the petition filed in Cook County Circuit Court.
