Patricia Hayes, a write-in candidate for the Sangamon County Board, lost her law license for more than 12 years after violating probation imposed following a drunken confrontation with Chicago police officers, according to records of the Illinois Attorney Registration and Disciplinary Commission.
Hayes, 67, is challenging incumbent Democrat Tony DelGiorno to represent District 23, which covers a portion of Springfield. Hayes was previously elected to the County Board for District 28 in 2020 but resigned after judges told her she could no longer represent criminal defendants while holding county office, due to a conflict with the Sangamon County State’s Attorney.
The Springfield attorney disputes some of the allegations that led to her professional discipline and maintains that judges were wrong to prohibit her from handling criminal cases while serving on the board.
Hayes acknowledged being intoxicated during a 2001 incident at Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport but denied allegations that she battered police officers.
“I was drunk, but I didn’t batter anyone,” Hayes said in an Oct. 29 interview with Illinois Times.
According to the ARDC, Hayes was disciplined after causing a public disturbance at O’Hare, where she “threatened and battered Chicago police officers who sought to prevent her from driving while intoxicated.”
Hayes disputes that account, saying she was not driving and has never been convicted of driving under the influence.
She said she was charged with disorderly conduct, but Cook County prosecutors voluntarily dismissed the charge. She said the criminal case was subsequently expunged.
“It was an incident that I’m embarrassed about,” she said, describing the confrontation as a one-time occurrence.
The disciplinary consequences, however, continued for years.
In September 2006, the Illinois Supreme Court suspended Hayes for 30 months and until further order of the court, but stayed the suspension and placed her on probation under specified conditions.
According to the ARDC, those conditions included a prohibition against consuming alcohol.
On May 31, 2007, the court revoked her probation and imposed the suspension after determining she had violated its conditions, most significantly the prohibition against drinking.
Hayes was subsequently denied reinstatement in September 2015.
Her license was finally restored Nov. 19, 2019, more than 12 years after the suspension took effect. The reinstatement carried conditions that remained in place until November 2024, when the ARDC reported that she had satisfied them.
Hayes, who was admitted to the Illinois bar in 1986, is currently listed by the ARDC as active and authorized to practice law.
She said the prolonged suspension devastated her financially and professionally.
“It cost me everything,” she said.
Hayes said she eventually found employment with the state of Illinois, using her bachelor’s degree in business administration. She graduated from Rollins College in Florida and earned her law degree from Wake Forest University.
She said she abstained from alcohol for more than a decade at one point but now occasionally drinks wine socially. She maintains she has experienced no subsequent alcohol-related encounters with police.
She also argues that the conduct leading to her suspension was unrelated to her work as an attorney.
“It had nothing to do with my practice of law,” Hayes said.
Hayes’ legal career became the subject of another controversy when she served on the Sangamon County Board.
Hayes said judges informed her that she could not continue representing criminal defendants while serving as an elected county official because of a perceived conflict of interest.
She disputed their position, saying she had obtained an opinion from an attorney disciplinary authority indicating there was no conflict.
“They told me that I could not represent people in criminal defense matters if I was on the County Board, which I don’t believe,” Hayes said.
She said the judges would not reconsider their position.
Faced with choosing between her law practice and public office, Hayes said she resigned from the board after serving about one year.
“That’s why I resigned from the County Board, because I had to make a living,” she said.
Hayes emphasized that the disagreement did not result in another suspension of her law license.
DelGiorno, also an attorney and leader of the County Board’s Democratic caucus, said he believes the potential conflict should have been obvious.
He recalled questioning Hayes about the matter when they served together.
“I said, ‘Why wouldn’t it be (a conflict)?'” DelGiorno said. “She didn’t seem to have a good answer and thought it was all political as to why she was being removed from those cases.”
DelGiorno said he avoids representing clients in Sangamon County zoning matters because such cases could conflict with his responsibilities as a board member.
He cited instances when he recused himself from board votes involving people with whom he had other professional dealings.
“You’ve got a duty to the county as much as you have a duty to the voters and the taxpayers,” he said.
DelGiorno said Hayes’ disciplinary record is something voters should consider when evaluating her candidacy.
“I think it should,” he said when asked whether the suspension should concern voters.
He described suspension until further order of the court as a particularly serious professional sanction.
DelGiorno said voters should consider a candidate’s “credibility and trustworthiness and character” when deciding whom to elect.
But he stopped short of saying Hayes’ disciplinary history should disqualify her from holding office.
“I trust the voters to decide how much weight they want to give that,” he said. “And if they ultimately decide … what she did or did not do is immaterial to their decision, that’s their prerogative.”
The disciplinary history has become an issue in the upcoming election. Illinois Times received an anonymous packet drawing attention to Hayes’ past and mailers were sent to potential voters noting her previous disbarment and resignation from the County Board due to conflicts with court cases.
Hayes said she suspects DelGiorno and local Democratic Party officials may have been involved in circulating the information, although she acknowledged having no evidence to substantiate that suspicion.
“I think that he and the Democratic Party may be behind it, but I don’t have any facts to back that up,” she said.
DelGiorno denied that he, his campaign or anyone he knew was responsible for sending the material.
Hayes, who describes herself as a lifelong Democrat, said she has been particularly hurt by what she views as attacks from members of her own political party.
“To be attacked by my own party is just something I did not anticipate,” she said.
Hayes previously told Illinois Times that the county’s lack of regulations surrounding the data center project approved in April is the reason she got into the race. Hayes said she didn’t challenge DelGiorno in the March primary because she didn’t expect him to be such a strong supporter of the project. DelGiorno has been heavily criticized for voting yes to approve the zoning for CyrusOne’s project, which would be the first data center built in Sangamon County.
A total of 17 County Board seats are up for reelection Nov. 3, but only four of the races are contested.
