With a Jan. 21 trial date approaching, prosecutors and the defense for Robert Kiely, a longtime former Lake Forest city manager charged with official misconduct, are negotiating a potential resolution to the case prior to trial.
Kiely, 62, was indicted on one felony count of official misconduct on Oct. 23, with the date of offense listed in court records as Jan. 1, 2016. He has pleaded not guilty to the charge.
According to authorities, the charge is the result of the former administrator exceeding his authority in paying a lobbying firm without City Council approval.
Kiely retired last January after three decades as city manager in Lake Forest.
He became the focus of a Lake County State’s Attorney’s Office investigation after the city concluded its own special investigation into payments made to a lobbying firm while Lake Forest was working to secure funds for a controversial Amtrak stop and pedestrian underpass at the city’s Telegraph Road train stop, officials said.
On Monday, Assistant State’s Attorney Fred Day told Lake County Circuit Judge Victoria Rossetti that the state was continuing to negotiate with Kiely and his defense attorney Albert Wysocki.
Day said after the hearing it is hoped the case can be resolved without a trial, which could occur through a negotiated agreement to decide the outcome of his case. Kiely’s next case management appearance in court is scheduled for next Tuesday, Jan. 14.
It is possible the trial date could be extended, Day said, depending on the status of negotiations and other pretrial issues.
Kiely was indicted by a Lake County grand jury on one count of official misconduct, a Class 3 felony. If convicted of the charge, he could face up to five years in prison, but he is also eligible for a sentence of probation rather than incarceration.
The count filed against Kieley alleges that he exceeded his $20,000 purchasing authority on multiple occasions without council approval between Jan. 1, 2016, and March 1, 2017, when several payments were sent to the lobbying firm.
A special counsel hired by Lake Forest concluded in February 2018 that nearly $200,000 in city funds was paid to a lobbying firm during that span.
The special counsel, Leigh Jeter, detailed the findings in a report that was presented to the City Council, criticizing Kiely’s and other city officials’ conduct in paying the lobbying firm.
At the time, Kiely apologized tocouncil members, calling the matter an oversight.
After his indictment, he issued a statement any denying personal gain related to the payments.
“I believe that the action has no merit and is not based on the facts of the situation or the law,” Kiely said. “I have no additional information other than to underscore that there never has been, nor is there now, any allegation of personal gain in this matter.”
The city released a separate statement that said city officials were cooperating with “all parties” related to the ongoing case, and remain committed to serving as stewards of taxpayers’ dollars.
The statement added the city would have no further comment as the case moved forward.
The lobbying effort first was exposed publicly after a number of residents expressed concern over the possibility of construction of a “third track” in the area — a project that officials said would have allowed cars to pass slow-moving freight trains.
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