Timothy Davlin, Springfield, Ill. Mayor, Found Dead; Reportedly Had Tax, Estate Woes
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (CBS/AP) Illinois State Police are investigating the death of Springfield Mayor Timothy Davlin, whose body was found in his home Tuesday after he failed to show up for a court hearing in a probate case involving his late cousin's estate.
Police Chief Robert Williams said officers responded to a 911 call shortly before 9 a.m. and found the 53-year-old Democratic mayor dead.
Williams declined to immediately offer details about how Davlin died, saying the investigation was in its infancy and has been turned over to state police, which also deferred on specifics about the matter.
The State Journal-Register in Springfield reported Tuesday that Davlin - mayor of Illinois' 120,000-resident capital city since April 2003 - failed to appear in court that morning as ordered in a probate case involving the estate of one of his cousins, Margaret Ettelbrick, who died in 2003. After Davlin's no-show, Circuit Judge Pete Cavanagh removed him as the estate's administrator.
The newspaper reported that Davlin failed to meet a court deadline for a financial accounting of the estate. Patrick "Tim" Timoney withdrew as lawyer for the estate in October, saying he could not come up with a final accounting because Davlin had not provided documentation. Timoney last week submitted a claim against the estate for more than $19,000 in legal fees.
Cavanagh ordered Davlin and Bradley Huff, an attorney for Catholic Charities of Springfield, to appear for Tuesday's hearing to discuss the accounting and the status of attorneys in the estate case.
In October, the newspaper reported that Davlin owed the federal government nearly $90,000 in unpaid income taxes, and that liens had been filed against his home. The lien notice filed in the Sangamon County recorder's office showed that Davlin owed income taxes for the years 2003, 2005 and 2006.
At the time, the mayor blamed the problem on a dispute with the IRS over taxes owed on investments he cashed in to buy the home.
Sangamon County property records have shown that Davlin bought the home for $237,500 in 2004. He earned more than $119,000 a year, according to city payroll records from earlier in 2010.