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Consuelo Bedoya-Witt, Glenview’s First Administrative Law Judge, Honored On Retirement


Glenview Village President Jim Paterson (left) presents a small statue of the Jackman Park Bear to the village’s first administrative law judge Consuelo Bedoya-Witt (right) on her retirement from the Glenview bench, at village board meeting Aug. 21. (Journal photo)

Village President Jim Patterson honored Glenview’s first administrative law judge on her retirement at the Aug. 21 village board meeting.

In 2011, Glenview began a program to adjudicate building code violations, minor police violations and a few other types of cases before an administrative law judge at village hall, rather than bringing those cases to be heard at the Cook County Courthouse in Skokie.

Consuelo Bedoya-Witt, a Glenview resident since 1987 and a retired Cook County Circuit Court judge, was the first to preside over those hearings at Glenview Village Hall. She heard her last Glenview case in November 2017.

In her years in Glenview, Patterson said Bedoya-Witt heard more than 350 property cases and ruled on more than 1,000 minor police citations. Patterson said Bedoya-Witt balanced the rights of respondents and the law.

Before Glenview, Bedoya-Witt heard cases in the law division of the Cook County Circuit Court, including “hundreds of property cases brought by Glenview,” village officials said. She was also the first Hispanic woman to serve as a judge when she was appointed to the county court in 1987.

Bedoya-Witt said it was a great honor to serve the village. “I couldn’t have done it without my friend (village attorney) Eric Patt, he is a heck of a litigator and enforcer.” She also credited code enforcement, police, other village staff and trustees, “Who had the foresight to create the administrative law judge position.” She said her rulings were never about money, but compliance and the health and safety of the community.

Patt said Bedoya-Witt was a “perfect fit” to serve as the village’s administrative law judge due to her experience, investment in the village as a resident, and with the right temperament.

At the Tuesday, Aug. 21 village board meeting, Patterson recalled a case which took years to adjudicate, which saw developers of a project at Milwaukee Avenue and Central Road come before Bedoya-Witt 11 times in five years.

Patt said the development at Milwaukee and Central stalled at about 30 percent complete with the economic downturn, and began in Cook County court in 2010 before the Glenview court was created. Once the case was moved to Bedoya-Witt’s court, Patt said the development moved forward while Bedoya-Witt issued fines and used a “carrot and stick” approach to motivate developers to comply with her orders.

Patt said county property court judges sometimes rotate in and out of court and often hear thousands of cases. Moving those cases to the local court provides the judge with a more personal investment and familiarity with proceedings than are often available in county court.

Administrative law Judge David Eterno served as Bedoya-Witt’s “back up” when she was unavailable. Eterno took over as the primary administrative law judge for Glenview with the January 2018 docket. There was no court session in December.

Bedoya-Witt also served as administrative law judge for the villages of Golf and Northfield.

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