Hain settles lawsuit with former campaign manager for $6,403

GENEVA – Kane County Sheriff Ron Hain and his former campaign manager Jeff Ward have settled Ward's lawsuit that claimed Hain still owed him $12,000.

Hain said he settled with Ward for $6,403 Aug. 15.

Ward had been paid $3,000, which is what Hain said Ward’s work on his campaign for sheriff was worth.

“The … $6,000 was for him and the $403 was for court costs,” Hain said. “We met in the middle of his original position of $12,000. I accepted this because it would have cost $20,000 to litigate it. That’s a quote from my attorney.”

The May 6 filing by Ward, a Geneva resident, doing business as Forward Communication, asserted that Hain breached his contract, which was for campaign services from June 1, 2017 through Oct. 1, 2018.

Ward resigned from the campaign after he was charged June 2, 2018 with domestic battery. A jury later convicted Ward, but he said he is appealing the conviction.

Hain was elected sheriff in 2018.

Ward said it would have cost both of them to have litigated it.

“Bottom line, Ron and I were friends throughout the whole thing,” Ward said. “We had a dispute, we took it through channels and we resolved it. That is the way it should work. … This was not a death match. This was a means of resolving a dispute and we did it.”