In the Appellate Court of Illinois, First District, R. Scott Alsterda, in his capacity as Bankruptcy Trustee for the estate of Jaime Mireles, filed a lawsuit against Thomas J. Dart and the Cook County Sheriff’s Merit Board. The case was registered under court case ID No. 15 CH 03489 and was heard on March 11, 2024.
The plaintiff's complaint sought to invalidate Mireles' termination by the Sheriff's Merit Board due to alleged defects in the appointments of board members. However, this attack on the validity of the board was dismissed as it was barred by res judicata in light of plaintiff’s prior administrative review action and related appeal. Additionally, it was found that the de facto officer doctrine precluded his untimely challenge to the validity of the board.
The background of this case dates back to July 22, 2014 when Thomas J. Dart, in his capacity as Cook County Sheriff filed a complaint against Mireles with the Cook County Sheriff’s Merit Board. The complaint alleged that Mireles used excessive force when he struck a detainee’s face with his hand and failed to submit an incident report documenting this use or force or present himself for an interview about the incident.
The plaintiff is seeking judgment for what they believe is an invalid termination based on defects in board member appointments. They are challenging the dismissal of their second amended complaint which sought to invalidate Mireles' termination.