Five Barrington trustees have refused to vote on Village President Marshall Reagle’s third candidate for village attorney, saying Reagle has not taken their advice on the appointment.
On Monday, Reagle nominated John Pieper, a Wheaton lawyer and former village attorney for Villa Park.
This month Reagle announced he would appoint Pieper, but trustees recommended James Bateman, a lawyer doing some business for the village. In August trustees rejected Reagle’s second choice, saying they wanted to choose from a pool of candidates.
Reagle has sued the trustees over who has the power to appoint the village attorney. He won a victory in June when a Cook County circuit judge determined that the former village attorney had not been properly appointed. The settlement gave Reagle the power to nominate an attorney, with the advice and consent of the Village Board.
Reagle has said he will continue to bring new names to the board until a candidate is approved, but he expects the trustees to continue to reject or postpone decisions on his appointments until his term as village president ends in 7 months.
Meanwhile, a lawsuit Reagle filed Sept. 3 argues that the village’s other attorneys, including Bateman, also were improperly hired because the village president had no input. Reagle is seeking termination of those contracts.