Defendant seeks penalties against ex-Joliet mayor who lost conspiracy lawsuit case

An attorney is seeking to have his client’s legal fees paid by a former Joliet mayor whose conspiracy lawsuit was dismissed in federal court in February.

On Wednesday, John Schrock, attorney for Jim McFarland, a former Joliet City Council member, filed a motion for sanctions against former Mayor Bob O’Dekirk.

Motions for sanctions are filed when the winning party believes the losing party violated the federal rules of procedure in civil cases.

If a judge grants the motion, they can lead to the losing party paying the other side’s legal fees and other expenses.

Schrock’s motion follows the dismissal of O’Dekirk’s lawsuit on Feb. 18.

O’Dekirk’s lawsuit accused McFarland and several other defendants of conspiring to subject him to criminal charges in 2020.

The lawsuit was filed by O’Dekirk several months after he lost the election to Joliet Mayor Terry D’Arcy in 2023.

Other defendants in the case include retired Joliet Police Chief Al Roechner and former Herald-News Editor Joseph Hosey, who is executive editor of Shaw Media.

Schrock’s motion argued O’Dekirk’s attorneys failed to make “reasonable inquiry” into the facts and law of their case, failed to make their case in good faith, failed to produce a legal theory supported by law and failed to file a lawsuit “well grounded in fact.”

Schrock is asking a federal judge to find O’Dekirk’s attorneys violated federal rules for civil lawsuit cases and allow McFarland to file an affidavit about his legal fees.

In 2023, attorneys for Schrock and Hosey had sent letters to O’Dekirk’s attorneys requesting they drop their case or face a motion for sanctions.