State Rep. Marty Moylan to resign from Illinois House Dec. 16

Democratic state Rep. Marty Moylan of Des Plaines has followed up his decision not to seek an eighth term by submitting his resignation this week to take effect Dec. 16.

His resignation letter is dated Dec. 1 and marked as received by the clerk of the Illinois House of Representatives on Dec. 4.

“It has been my greatest honor and privilege to serve my district and my state as a member of the Illinois House of Representatives and the Illinois General Assembly,” Moylan wrote. “I extend my deepest regards and gratitude to you and your staff for their diligence and hard work as we served together to improve the lives and futures of the people of the state of Illinois.”

Moylan last month cited a recent series of significant health battles as the reason behind his late decision to withdraw from the Democratic primary in favor of his chief of staff, Justin Cochran.

At that time, the former Des Plaines mayor and alderman said that while he considered himself to be in recovery mode, he was still weighing his ability to complete his current term.

The Republican candidate for the 55th District, Joseph Johnson of Glenview, criticized the timing of Moylan’s resignation just as he had the sudden change of heart over running again.

“Marty Moylan has already disenfranchised the voters of the 55th District once by quietly refusing to run for reelection and then having his chief of staff, Justin Cochran, file petitions at the last possible moment,” Johnson said in a statement. “Now, with Rep. Moylan resigning early, the people of this district deserve a fair, open, and transparent appointment process, not another behind-closed-doors political maneuver.”

Cochran said he is affected by the resignation insofar that he is specifically Moylan’s chief of staff.

By law, a vacancy in the Illinois House must be filled within 30 days by an appointment committee made up of local committee people of the incumbent’s political party. The process must be publicly noticed with information on how to apply for the seat and who is on the committee.

Moylan could not be immediately reached for comment about his resignation Friday, but last month shared his outlook on his past and future in the aftermath of his decision to withdraw from the race.

“There was nothing underhanded,” he said of that election-related decision. “Anyone who wants to run can get their petitions together and run. I wanted to see the transit bill done and move on. I’ll be 75 in a month. It’s time to move on.”