Kendall County judge to hear oral arguments in suit against County Board over term lengths

YORKVILLE – Todd Milliron will get his day in court.

Kendall County Associate Judge Joseph Voiland set a Feb. 8 date for hearing oral arguments in Milliron’s lawsuit challenging the new system the Kendall County Board has assigned term lengths for its members.

Every 10 years, the entire County Board is up for election to allow for redistricting after the decennial census. Terms of office are staggered so that half the board seats are up for election every two years.

The county has in the past used a lottery system in which the county clerk draws numbered pingpong balls to determine the five board members who will start with four-year terms and who will be up for reelection in two years.

However, the board decided ahead of the Nov. 8, 2022, election to change the way in which the staggered terms of office are determined.

Under the new system, the top five vote-getters start with four-year terms of office while the next five begin with two-year terms on the board.

Milliron is charging that the new arrangement violates state elections law, which he contends requires the assignment of term lengths to be left to chance.

The Yorkville man was a candidate for the County Board under the independent Kendall County Party banner when he filed the lawsuit in Kendall County Circuit Court on Sept. 19, 2022.

Subsequently, Milliron failed to win a seat in the election and the new County Board was invested in December using the new method for determining term lengths.

The Kendall County State’s Attorney’s Office has filed a motion to dismiss the case on the grounds that Milliron was not elected and therefore has no legal standing to challenge the new system.

Milliron said that whether or not he is a board member is irrelevant and that his lawsuit should be allowed to proceed.