Judge to rule this week in Markham mayor case

April 24--A Cook County Circuit Court judge expects to rule by week's end on a state's attorney request for a temporary restraining order against the apparent winner of Markham's mayoral race.

If Judge David Atkins approves the request, Roger Agpawa wouldn't be able to take the oath of office, which he's scheduled to do May 3, while a separate lawsuit challenging his ability to hold office proceeds.

Dozens of Agpawa's supporters filled the courtroom for Monday's initial hearing before Atkins on the state's attorney's lawsuit, filed April 12, which contends state election law prohibits Agpawa from taking office due to a 1999 felony conviction.

Unofficial vote totals show Agpawa, who is fire chief in Country Club Hills, receiving 42 percent of votes cast for mayor, compared with 16 percent for candidate Perry Browley. Two other candidates -- Kenneth "Mojo" Muldrow Jr. and Errol Powell -- ran as write-in candidates for mayor, and the county clerk is expected to certify election results by Tuesday.

The state's attorney's complaint notes that any person convicted of an "infamous crime" is not eligible to hold any office of "honor, trust or profit." In Illinois, an infamous crime is one that "violates commonly accepted principles of honesty and decency," and mail fraud "has historically been deemed an infamous crime," the state's attorney argues.

Three school buses and a smaller coach bus, meanwhile, brought more than 100 of Agpawa's supporters from his Markham campaign offices to the Daley Center for the hearing. Some wore T-shirts that read "Roger Agpawa for Mayor" while others said "Markham Votes Matter."

Before they left for Chicago toting doughnuts, cups of coffee and bottles of orange juice, Agpawa's backers got a quick refresher from him on courtroom decorum and were told that what they were involved in "is not about one person (referring to himself), this is about a community."

In August 1999, Agpawa pleaded guilty to mail fraud as part of a federal medical insurance fraud case. With that conviction on his record, Agpawa, by law, would not be eligible to take the oath of office, and the state's attorney had, prior to the election, threatened legal action if Agpawa was declared the winner and tried to claim his seat.

As part of a federal court conviction, Agpawa avoided jail time but was ordered to pay restitution, serve three years of probation and perform 200 hours of community service work. He would need a presidential pardon in order to hold municipal office.

His attorney, Burt Odelson, described Agpawa in court as "a man of redemption," and "someone who came back from a mistake to serve his community," noting Agpawa had previously served as Markham's deputy fire chief.

The attorney also pointed out the peculiarities of state law that, for his client, denies a convicted felon from holding elected municipal office, while someone with a similar criminal history could serve as a state representative or governor.

Odelson said that 771 residents had voted for Agpawa, and that barring him from taking the oath of office "would negate their votes." He said Agpawa's opponents in the race concentrated on the conviction in their own campaign materials, and that voters "fully knew this man's past" in deciding to elect him.

If Agpawa is barred from taking office, Markham aldermen could declare a vacancy in the position and name one of the council members to serve as interim mayor until the next election in 2019, according to the state elections board.

There were 786 write-in votes cast in the April 4 mayor's race, according to the Cook County clerk, but which way those votes were divided won't be revealed until the results are certified.

The second-highest vote-getter can't be appointed to the job, and election law doesn't provide for a special election to fill a vacant municipal elected post, according to the elections board.

After the hearing, Agpawa's supporters expressed confidence that he would prevail in the case.

"We should be able to have our mayor" serve, Wanda McDowell, a Markham Park District commissioner who attended Monday's hearing said. "He won fair and square. Things you do in the past are in the past."

R. Andrew Tolbert, a pastor in Evanston who grew up in Markham and currently lives in Country Club Hills, called Agpawa "the best example of someone who's made a mistake" and then "continued to serve the whole community."

He said he has known Agpawa since they both attended Thornwood High School.

"He's always been a good guy," Tolbert said. "He's very qualified."

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