Former mayor admits porn possession

Former Green Oaks mayor Thomas Adams pleaded guilty to possession of child pornography Thursday in Lake County Circuit Court.

Adams, 70, will face up to five years in prison when he is sentenced June 10, but will also be eligible for probation.

Although he pleaded guilty as a result of a negotiation with prosecutors, there is no limit on the sentence Kane County Associate Judge Patricia Piper-Golden can impose other than the five-year maximum.

Adams was arrested July 24, 2006 after Lake County sheriff's police and state's attorney's office investigators raided his house in the 800 block of Anderson drive.

Officials in Florida had traced an image of child pornography that had been e-mailed to an undercover police officer to a computer in the house.

Adams admitted he had sent the image, police said, and also confirmed he had downloaded the dozens of images of child pornography found inside his computer.

As part of the plea negotiation, Assistant State's Attorney Patricia Fix agreed to drop the more serious charge of dissemination of child pornography.

A conviction on that charge would have carried a mandatory prison sentence of four to 15 years.

Piper-Golden was assigned to hear the case last year after Lake County judges removed themselves to avoid the appearance of conflict.

Adams, who served as Green Oaks mayor from 1993 until his resignation shortly after his arrest, also was chairman of the county's Republican party from 2002 until 2004.