Monticello's Mayor Jenkins in no rush to fill Hutchins' seat

If necessary, he'll wait for elections

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By Leonard Sparks

Published: 2:00 AM - 07/13/13

MONTICELLO ? Village of Monticello Mayor Gordon Jenkins said he is prepared to wait until March elections to fill the trustee seat opened up by T.C. Hutchins' felony conviction if he finds no candidate worthy of appointment to the seat.

About 15 people have called about the open seat, Jenkins said Thursday. The ideal candidate would be someone who has a "commitment to the village" and is "willing to put in a lot of time," he said.

"It's not just coming to a village meeting. I expect more than that," Jenkins said. "I want someone to do the job."

Hutchins, whose term expires in 2014, was found guilty Monday of two counts of first-degree coercion, a felony; and two counts of official misconduct, a misdemeanor, for pressuring police and village officials to hire his friend Kariem McCline as a village police officer.

Hutchins was found guilty of coercing former police Chief Doug Solomon into ending a background investigation into McCline, who had been arrested for drug dealing and burglary as a juvenile and failed a psychological evaluation.

Hutchins had also been accused of using former Village Manager John LiGreci to order former acting police Chief Mark Johnstone to answer questions about the department's investigation into McCline's background.

Under state law, Hutchins must resign his seat at sentencing, which is set for Oct. 1 before Judge Frank LaBuda.

On May 8, LiGreci pleaded guilty to three counts of official misconduct, a misdemeanor. Nine days later, a jury convicted McCline on a felony charge of offering a false instrument for filing.

Jenkins said he expects to appoint someone after conducting interviews, but is willing to wait until March if necessary.

"I'm waiting for everything to settle down, and then I'll go forward with this," he said.

lsparks@th-record.com

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