Fred Honaker v. Gary Smith, Mayor, Individually and as Mayor of the Village of Lovington and as Fire Chief of the Lovington Fire Department

RIPPLE, Circuit Judge.

Fred Honaker filed a complaint against Gary Smith, the Mayor and Fire Chief of the Village of Lovington, Illinois (“the Village”), regarding the events surrounding a fire that consumed Mr. Honaker’s house in Lovington. Two counts of the complaint, as amended, are before us on this appeal. In Count I, the complaint maintained that Mr. Smith, in his official capacity and under color of state law, had violated Mr. Honaker’s rights under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 (“Section 1983”) by causing the fire that burned down Mr. Honaker’s house. Count I also alleged that Mr. Smith, in his…