Joliet Councilman Juan Moreno and the mother of their four children, in court documents filed this week, outlined separate living arrangements in which Moreno says he established legal residency to run for City Council.

The affidavits bear details of their relationship, while Moreno, a first-time candidate for public office, said outside the courtroom that the case attempting to remove him from office was an example of “why sometimes people don’t want to run (for elected office). They’re afraid of having their family dragged through the mud.”

Moreno’s legitimacy as a councilman has been challenged by the Will County State’s Attorney’s Office, which contends he did not live in the city of Joliet for a required one year before running for office earlier this year. He was elected in April.

A Will County judge on Friday denied a temporary restraining order sought by the state’s attorney’s office to remove Moreno from office until the matter is settled in court.

A hearing on the matter was scheduled for Nov. 13, meaning Moreno will remain a council member at least until then as the case is battled in court.

Court affidavits filed by both Moreno and fiancee Jessica Sanchez, state that he moved to a house in the city of Joliet in 2022 amid “relationship troubles.”

“Ms. Sanchez and I have discussed marriage many times, but we have never married,” Moreno said in his affidavit.

“Ms. Sanchez is a loving and very devoted mother,” Moreno continued. “Due to being teenage parents, our relationship has not always been perfect, and we have lived separately for long periods of time.”

One of those periods, according to the affidavits, involved Moreno’s moving out of the house they owned at 819 Baskin Drive, which has a Joliet address but actually is outside the city limits and in Troy Township.

That house was referred to as “mom’s house,” Moreno said in his affidavit.

They both said that Moreno moved to 3916 Jonathan Simpson Drive, which is inside Joliet city limits and would meet the residency requirement for Moreno to run for office.

Assistant State’s Attorney Scott Pyles attempted to challenge Moreno’s residency at the Jonathan Simpson Drive address at the hearing on Friday.

“To take those affidavits at face value, I think, would not be in the best interest of all the parties here,” Pyles said.

Pyles wanted to put Moreno, Sanchez, and the owner of the house on Jonathan Simpson Drive on the witness stand.

The rent Moreno was paying “would not even cover the property taxes at 3916 Jonathan Simpson Drive,” Pyles said.

But Will County Judge Jessica Lynch stopped Pyles from proceeding, saying that the hearing for a temporary restraining order did not allow testimony or evidence to be presented.

Lynch ruled that the state’s attorney’s office failed to provide the legal documentation to support its request for a temporary restraining order and denied it.

Pyles suggested that the state’s attorney’s office may return with another request for a temporary restraining order to pull Moreno off the council. But he told The Herald-News after the hearing that such a request would be discussed before a decision was made.

“I’m obviously happy with today’s decision,” Moreno said after the hearing. I look forward to keep working for the people of Joliet,” he said. “I was duly elected.”

“I’m not happy with what’s going on,” he said. “I think it’s a smear campaign.”

Asked whom he thinks is involved in a smear campaign, Moreno said, “I don’t know who’s behind it and what’s the motive.”

Moreno’s lawyers have issued news releases contending political motives behind the questions of his legitimacy as a candidate.

Will County State’s Attorney James Glasgow endorsed and provided funding to Damon Zdunich, another candidate for City Council in the April election. Zdunich finished fourth in the race for three council members.

Moreno, a first-time candidate, was the top vote-getter.

Moreno’s lawyers wanted a special prosecutor assigned to the case, contending that the state’s attorney’s office had a conflict of interest due to Glasgow’s involvement in the campaign.

Chief Judge Dan Kennedy stepped in to rule on the request for a special prosecutor and decided against it.

Kennedy said the allegations of a conflict of interest were based on speculation, which did not meet the legal requirement. He also commented on the interconnections of Joliet civic life.

“I know all the parties involved here,” Kennedy said. “Joliet is a small big town.”

Kennedy noted that his family, like those of two of Moreno’s attorneys, Frank Andreano and Anna Bertani, have been in Joliet since the 1800s.