EDWARDSVILLE – Madison County veteran services superintendent Brad Lavite must stay out of the county administration building, circuit judge Stephen Stobbs ruled on Sept. 1.
Stobbs denied a writ of mandamus that would have allowed Lavite to resume working in his office on the building’s ground floor.
County administrator Joseph Parente ordered Lavite to stay away in March, after he allegedly damaged windows and a door of a Wood River police patrol car.
Lavite pleaded guilty of disorderly conduct in June, and agreed to pay Wood River $1,600 in restitution.
He then sued the county, claiming the Military Veterans Assistance Act required him to maintain an office.
The county moved to dismiss his suit in July, pleading that he lacked standing.
Stobbs agreed, finding public officials “made discretionary judgments regarding the security of county facilities, employees and members of the public.”
He wrote that Lavite continues to receive full payment for his services.
He wrote that Lavite failed to name the county’s veterans assistance commission as a necessary plaintiff.
The commission retained Thomas Burkart of Hamel to represent Lavite.