Legal Battle Keeps Markham Mayor Roger Agpawa From Being Sworn In For Another Term -- Who Is Running The City?
MARKHAM, Ill. (CBS) -- Roger Agpawa, the mayor of south suburban Markham, was supposed to be sworn in for a second term on Thursday – but he was not.
A legal battle stopped it from happening.
So who is running the city?
Agpawa won reelection as Markham mayor. But the Illinois Appellate Court handed down a 2-1 decision ruling against Agpawa's eligibility to hold office.
The ruling reverses earlier decisions by a lower court and a local election board.
"Roger Agpawa, having been convicted of the infamous crime of mail fraud in 1999, was not a duly qualified candidate for any statutorily created municipal office in Illinois, including the office of Mayor of the City of Markham, and is, therefore, ineligible to hold or to take the oath of office as Mayor of the City of Markham," the appeals court ruling states.
Agpawa ran and won office in 2017 but spent half his time fighting to get sworn in. Then-Gov. Bruce Rauner stepped in and restored his citizen's rights.
However, the appeals court ruled while Rauner had the power to pardon Agpawa of any state crimes, he overstepped his authority when he restored Agpawa's right to hold public office, which he lost as the result of a conviction in federal court.
"The legislature has the constitutional authority to establish the qualifications and eligibility for municipal office, and because the Governor's pardon power does not extend to a federal offense, he cannot eliminate the collateral consequences that result from a disqualifying federal conviction," the court ruled.
Agpawa told CBS 2's Jermont Terry on Friday that he would not immediately step aside "because we still have the right to appeal that process."
The case is now playing out in the Illinois Supreme Court.
On Thursday night, a city attorney told us as far as the city is concerned, Agpawa will continue serving as a sort of "holdover" mayor until the case is officially resolved.
