Webster Village Mayor resigns

Webster Village Mayor Jack Judge thought resigning would settle an ongoing dispute in the village. But today the surprise is on him. A lot of people don't want Judge to leave.

"I will not accept his resignation, I just will not," says Village Clerk Treasurer Kathy Vendel.

Judge's resignation comes after a year long dispute over missing personnel files. Those missing files led to an investigation and thousands of dollars in legal fees. In the end Judge unknowingly took the files home himself and the investigation found no wrongdoing.

The mayor tried to pay the legal fees out of his own pocket, but the law firm will only accept a check from the village.

Judge said he's faced personal attacks on his family and doesn't believe they will stop.

"This has been a complete misunderstanding and he's taking the brunt of this misunderstanding and it's not fair to him," says Vendel.

The mayor was hoping to bring to an end this year long dispute over those missing personnel files and the ensuing legal costs that came with the investigation, but Vendel says that his resignation doesn't solve anything, it only hurts the village.

"I just want him to know and everyone else to understand that he shouldn't go because he made a mistake, we all make mistakes and he doesn't seem to understand how much the village residents and the village employees and trustees want him there."

If Judge's resignation is accepted, a special election would be held to replace him. To see more of his comments from Thursday night's meeting, click on the Watch icon.