Kane County State's Attorney Won't Represent Coroner In Suit
ST. CHARLES, Ill. (WBBM/CBS) -- The Kane County State's Attorney's office will not represent Coroner Chuck West in the civil suit filed against him Monday by his chief deputy.
As WBBM Newsradio 780's Bob Roberts reports, county State's Attorney Joe McMahon said he is concerned about the cost of using outside counsel, but said Tuesday that he faces conflicts on two levels.
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Normally, McMahon's civil division would represent West, but it has been involved in the investigation into the criminal case against West, who is charged with official misconduct that Chief Deputy Loren Carrera reported.
The state's attorney also must represent Carrera, who is accusing West, West's son Eric and deputy coroner Lisa Gilbert with harassment.
West is charged in the criminal case with official misconduct stemming from a 2007 incident in which two coroner's office employees took a television set from the home of a dead Carpentersville man. He has entered a not guilty plea.
<a href="http://chicago.cbslocal.com/2011/03/31/suit-kane-coroner-harassed-deputy-urinated-on-chair/"In the civil suit, Carrera contends that since she reported the alleged theft a year ago, West has excluded her from office decisions.
She also alleges that West has threatened her, frequently dozed in her office, and even urinated on her office chair.
The suit claims West "deliberately retaliated against the plaintiff for her having reported the illegal action regarding the television set."
Carrera said in the suit that in May 2007 she saw Eric West and Gilbert take the TV from a coroner's vehicle and carry it to Gilbert's personal car.
Eric West is also a deputy coroner. The civil suit seeks in excess of $50,000 in damages.
The Sun-Times Media Wire contributed to this report.
