MORTON — The Village of Morton held a public hearing on an appeal of a denied sewer contractor license after the Greater Peoria Sanitary District revoked a contractor's license, attorney Jim Ratchford told trustees.

Ratchford, representing the contractor and identified in the application materials as Walters Water Works LLC and Joe Walters, asked the village to delay or overturn the denial while a pending lawsuit against the sanitary district proceeds. “There has been no ruling by any court at all on this,” Ratchford said, describing the legal challenge to the sanitary district’s decision as “arbitrary and capricious.”

The appeal concerns a denial made under section 8-34.1(c)(6) of the Morton village code, which allows the director of public works to deny a sewer contractor's license if the applicant has had a license suspended, revoked or denied by another municipality in Illinois. Village counsel told the trustees the board’s role on appeal is to decide whether to overturn the director’s decision and that the village code requires a written decision to be rendered within 10 days of the hearing.

Why this matters: The hearing pits local licensing authority against an administrative action by the Greater Peoria Sanitary District (GPSD). The contractor’s attorney told trustees his client has performed work in the Morton area and elsewhere in central Illinois and that GPSD’s administrative revocation covers 13 jobs identified in the district’s decision; Ratchford said many other jobs (he cited “over 45” jobs in Morton-area work for the company) had no complaints raised directly to the contractor.

During the hearing, trustees asked factual and procedural questions about the revocation and the separate lawsuit. Trustee Jim McHugh asked whether the contractor held an East Peoria license; Ratchford said the company worked in Bloomington, Champaign and the Quad Cities and had not been turned down elsewhere to his knowledge. Ratchford also said the sanitary district had filed a motion to remove the contractor’s suit to federal court but that both sides agreed to keep it in state court.

Board deliberations reflected concern about the basis for denial and about local precedent. One trustee said they would prefer to deny the license; another suggested allowing the applicant to reapply if the sanitary district or a court were to reverse its decision. Counsel read a draft set of findings prepared for the board that recites: the contractor performs sewer work requiring a license; the contractor’s GPSD license was revoked; GPSD is an Illinois municipal corporation; and GPSD’s decision denying the contractor’s license was issued on June 20, 2025. Counsel then described a draft determination denying or cancelling the contractor’s Morton license, but the transcript does not record a final motion vote on that draft.

Discussion versus decision: The record shows testimony from the appellant’s attorney, questions from trustees and staff and counsel’s reading of draft findings. The hearing record shows trustees expressing a majority preference to deny, but the transcript stops short of recording a final, formal vote on the draft determination. Counsel reminded the board that, as the appellate body, they must adopt a written decision within 10 days.

Next steps: Counsel said he had prepared draft findings and a determination that the board could adopt; if the board takes formal action, the transcript indicates the village would prepare a written decision within the code-required period. Ratchford said if Morton “puts [its] eggs in that basket” by relying on the sanitary district’s revocation, his client would pursue the court process and seek to overturn GPSD’s administrative decision.

No final outcome was recorded in the available transcript.