LINCOLN - A Logan County judge accused of official misconduct submitted his resignation Friday.

Associate Circuit Judge Donald A. Behle sent a letter of resignation on Friday to the Illinois Supreme Court and the Administrative Office of the Illinois Courts, according to a statement released by 11th Judicial Circuit Chief Judge Elizabeth Robb.

"We appreciate Judge Behle's service to the citizens of Logan County and to the entire 11th Judicial Circuit for the past nine years and wish him well in his future endeavors," she said in her statement.

In a complaint filed in December by the Judicial Inquiry Board, Behle was accused of dating a woman while he presided over her divorce and child custody case in 2003. He also was accused of having personal contact with another woman before she was a witness in his courtroom in her sister's 2005 child custody case.

He had filed a petition with the Illinois Courts Commission asking that the complaints be dismissed.

Behle, who has been an associate judge since 1999, did not return calls for comment Friday.

Jean Maclean Snyder, Behle's Chicago attorney, declined to comment on the judge's decision to leave office.

After the complaint was leveled against Behle in December, other judges in the 11th Circuit were assigned to cover his divorce, traffic and civil court cases. Behle was assigned to other non-court duties.

The 11th Circuit covers McLean, Ford, Livingston, Logan and Woodford counties.