Warrenville alderman arrested on charges of theft - again
For the second time in recent months, an embattled Warrenville alderman is behind bars, accused of swindling money with failed promises of sporting event tickets and photo ops with former President George Bush.
Alderman Christopher S. Halley is slated to appear this morning in bond court, where prosecutors are expected to seek a high bond on allegations he tried to flee instead of turning himself in to police as promised.
Halley, 27, was arrested Tuesday on a $75,000 warrant on charges alleging theft by deception and deceptive practices. DuPage County State's Attorney Joe Birkett said Halley took money from acquaintances promising them tickets to Chicago Blackhawks and Bears games but never delivered the tickets or refunds. Halley also took $500 from another person after promising a "meet and greet" with the former president.
Finally, he's accused of writing bad checks to a local business.
Prosecutors also will ask a DuPage County judge to bar Halley - as a condition of bail - from entering city property or using its computers. He is accused of using the public property in his official capacity as an alderman to carry out his schemes.
"If these allegations are proven true, Mr. Halley attempted to swindle his unsuspecting victims out of hundreds of dollars knowing full well he would not deliver on his promises of tickets to events," Birkett said.
Halley was arrested in March on similar charges alleging he wrote a $1,500 check on a closed account in fall 2009. He has pleaded not guilty. After his first arrest, Halley said he believed he was being "harassed" because of his plans to sue the city over his January 2009 city council ethics censure.
Halley was censured for alleged ethics violations related to two incidents. In one, he was accused by fellow aldermen of attempting to intimidate a Warrenville police officer who pulled him over on suspicion of drunken driving. A dashboard-mounted video camera showed Halley repeatedly asking the officer and a commanding officer if they "know I'm an alderman in this town," according to minutes from the January council meeting.
Police said Halley displayed his aldermanic badge when the officer approached Halley's car. Halley said he placed the badge on his lap as a means to identify himself to the officer. The city has since ceased issuing badges to aldermen and ordered current council members to turn in their badges.
In another instance, Halley was accused of asking Police Chief Ray Turano and the city prosecutor for help getting family and friends out of traffic tickets. Halley denied all the accusations during the censure debate.
His father, Edward Halley, is a former alderman and the only other alderman in the city's history to also be censured by his council colleagues. That occurred in 1991.
Shortly after his 2007 election, Christopher Halley became embroiled in controversy. He accused unknown political enemies of creating a page on a popular social networking site aimed at discrediting him. The website showed his picture along with a statement that read, "Yes I'm the Alderman, favors don't come cheap." Halley disavowed the page and claimed he hired a private investigator to find out who created it. The city offered to perform the investigation, but Halley declined the offer.
As far as Halley's future as an aldermen, Warrenville City Administrator John Coakley said, "I am not aware of any ability of the city council to remove him from office, but a felony conviction does carry a removal from office."