Timothy D. O’Neil - Attorney

When it comes to seeing municipal law from multiple angles, attorney Timothy D. O’Neil can claim a deep, knowledgeable background during his quarter-century of legal work.

Tim has served as city attorney in communities such as St. Charles and Batavia, working to protect their interests in areas ranging from prosecuting ordinance violations to rewriting complicated impact fee rules. He spent five years as an Assistant State’s Attorney in Kane County, and acted as a special prosecutor for the Kane County Sheriff’s Merit Commission. He takes the most pride, however,  in his “labor of love” - representing union law enforcement officers in contract negotiations and defending them against grievances.

“They are treasured and valued employees, and I like to think of myself as protecting the protectors,” O’Neil said. “We want to make sure that management doesn’t govern with a heavy hand.”

Born in Aurora in 1956, Tim has spent his entire life and legal career based within Kane County’s borders.  The benefit of that history is an endless list of people he knows and an ability to use those contacts in a variety of ways beneficial to his clients. Understanding the political landscape that can creep into the legal arena gives O’Neil an added edge only found among county natives.

He gravitated toward working with police unions because of what he learned as a prosecutor, and counts his work with the Aurora police union as one his most satisfying experiences. “That was a very difficult time in Aurora. Ultimately, we prevailed on both the contract and the individual disciplinary issues,” he said.

The governmental work grew out his contacts within the area and “a general interest in how government works.” His time in St. Charles included a strengthening of land-cash and impact fee rules during a period of huge residential growth.

Asked about his personal philosophy, O’Neil stresses the need for honesty with his clients. “You’ve got to be frank with them and say ‘these are the risks,’” said O‘Neil, who joined Foote-Meyers in 2000.

Tim earned his undergraduate degree from St. Norbert College in 1978 and his law degree from Northern Illinois University in 1985, the same year he was admitted to the Illinois bar. In 1991, he was also authorized to practice in the Northern District of Illinois in the U.S. District Court.

He is a member of the Kane County Bar Association and the Illinois Trial Lawyers Association. Within the community, Tim has worked with the Boy Scouts of America, Geneva Library Foundation, Geneva Mental Health Board and the Kane County Community Opera organization.