Plainfield Mayor's Company Fined $45K In Legal Battle With Village

PLAINFIELD, IL — A five-year legal battle between the Village of Plainfield and its current first-term mayor has culminated in a $45,000 fine issued by a Will County judge June 12.

John Argoudelis, a lawyer by trade, was elected mayor in 2021 after beating out opponent Margie Bonuchi in a hotly contested race.

Three years before he was elected, his limited liability company, Ionia Real Properties, was sued by the Village of Plainfield for breaching an agreement.

Ionia is the owner of Argoudelis's law office at 15124 S. Route 59.

"[The lawsuit] is a horrible misuse of the taxpayer’s dollars and shows the political motivations and vindictiveness of this entire lawsuit because that’s what it’s always been: it’s been a vindictive, political move at the taxpayers' expense," Argoudelis told Patch.

The case stems back to 2018 when the village staff and Plainfield Fire Protection District personnel informed Ionia of various fire and safety issues at the downtown property, including a fire alarm system not up to code, according to the lawsuit.

What ensued was a back-and-forth process of reopening the commercial change of occupancy permit procedure and it being invalidated after Ionia's "repeated failures to comply." Documents show this began in January 2018 and continued monthly through at least April.

The village and fire department continued to demand compliance "on various dates thereafter," all the while tenants continued to occupy the property, according to the lawsuit.

By late August 2018, no fire alarm system — the safety measure repeatedly mentioned in the lawsuit — was installed, prompting the village to enter into a memorandum of agreement with Ionia. It required the company to deposit $15,000 into a joint escrow account and accrue a $500-per-day fine until the system was installed, according to documents.

The agreement noted the escrowed funds would be forfeited if Ionia failed to "timely install" the fire alarm system.

The system was installed and approved in November 2018, but since the village deemed it not timely fashion, the action against the company remained.

Arougdelis said the reason for the delay was the fire department continued to make changes to what equipment Ionia was required to install.

"In fact, they asked me to install more equipment than we agreed to do in writing," Argoudelis said. "We didn't agree to get the green light to start installing the system until the end of the original 60-day period."

He continued: "By the terms of the agreement, if there were circumstances beyond my control, then the timeline would be extended, and certainly, I could not control the fact that the fire department would not give me the green light to install the system."

Within the next few months, the lawsuit alleges Argoudelis directed a title company to disburse the escrowed funds without authorization from the village. The Village of Plainfield sued Argoudelis's company in June 2020 for the breach of contract and fiduciary duty and constructive fraud.

Argoudelis was also individually sued for breach of fiduciary duty, constructive fraud and unjust enrichment.

Judge John C. Anderson said in November 2022 that the fine against Argoudelis's company was unenforceable, but he recused himself in April 2023 from the case over ex parte communications he received, Argoudelis said.

Will County Circuit Court Judge Roger Rickmon picked up the case and in his June 12 ruling also ordered no personal judgment against Argoudelis, only Ionia.

"For the last five years, certain elements in politics, people who aren’t happy with me being elected mayor, have persisted to spend $100,000 on attorney fees to fine me for, in their opinion, being two weeks too late with the installation," the mayor said.

Argoudelis plans to appeal the fine before an appellate court.

"I have been in compliance since November of 2018, that's an indisputable fact," he said.