McIlvaine will be sentenced in June for contempt of court
A St. Charles man, who city officials say has had an unfinished home construction project lingering since 1975, has been found in contempt of court for failing to meet numerous deadlines on a schedule he and city officials agreed upon.
Clifford McIlvaine faces fines and possible jail time when sentenced June 22 by Judge Robert Mueller.
City officials sued McIlvaine in late 2010, charging he had refused to allow city inspectors to look at a construction project he began in 1975 at his home in the 600 block of Prairie Street.
The city argued it was a public safety issue and a blight on the neighborhood.
McIlvaine eventually hired a private construction company, and he and the city signed an agreement to have the project completed by Sept. 29, 2012.
But after McIlvaine missed numerous deadlines for six portions of the work to be completed between August 2011 and February 15, 2012, city attorneys brought him forward on the contempt charges, according to court documents.
"The fact that defendant never sought to justify his failures to this court belies his lack of respect for the judiciary's authority," read part of a court motion filed by the city this month.
Phil Luetkehans, attorney for the city, said any sentence would be at Mueller's discretion and that the city would not be asking for jail time.
"He has missed most of the deadlines, almost all of them," Luetkehans said. "This is our No. 1 concern, to get the project done on time, and sometimes you have to use other methods to make people understand they have to get stuff done. We're not trying to take a pound of flesh from Mr. McIlvaine."
McIlvaine represented himself during the two-day hearing. He could not be reached for comment Tuesday.
Also in June, McIlvaine is supposed to update Mueller on what, if any, additional progress has been made on the addition to the home.