Judge upholds charges against Kane County coroner

A judge Wednesday refused to throw out misconduct charges against Kane County Coroner Chuck West after his defense attorney argued prosecutors mislead the grand jury that ultimately indicted West.

West, 68, of Elgin, faces five felony charges — four of misconduct and one of theft — stemming from allegations he stole a 24-inch television from a dead man’s home.

Defense attorney Gary Johnson argued in February that Special Prosecutor Charles Colburn erred when he answered a grand juror’s question about what value the deceased man’s property had to have.

Kane County Judge T. Jordan Gallagher said he did not find that Colburn’s answer — “Any property that has any value to it at all” — was malicious or prejudiced the grand jury against West.

“In this case, I did not find any misconduct by the prosecutor,” Gallagher said, citing previous case law to support his ruling. “I don’t believe there was any prejudice shown by this statement.”

Johnson plans to argue on May 12 that the law describing what the coroner’s duties are — specifically that the coroner is responsible for appropriately disposing of “valuable” property is unconstitutionally vague.

“It doesn’t say what ‘valuable’ is,” Johnson said.

West has pleaded not guilty to the charges.

If convicted, he faces up to five years in prison or probation.

Colburn said four charges against West are for violating the coroner’s statutory duties and the fifth is for theft. The final charge would not have been tossed even if Gallagher agreed with Johnson’s argument.

“We have five counts that are still pending,” Colburn said. “We feel the judge made the right decision and we’re ready to move forward.”