The mayor of Springfield, Ill., was found dead in his home on Tuesday after failing to show up for a court-ordered appearance in a pending estate case.
Tim Davlin was found dead about 9:10 a.m. local time, the State Journal-Register reported police as saying.
Police would not confirm a report that Davlin died of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound.
The Illinois State Police is handling the investigation.
Davlin, who was the trustee for a late cousin's $845,000 estate, was supposed to have appeared at a court-ordered meeting on Tuesday after failing to earlier provide a financial accounting.
In October, the State Journal-Register reported that Davlin owed the federal government nearly $90,000 in unpaid income taxes and liens had been filed against his home.
The mayor then blamed the problem on a dispute with the IRS over taxes owed on investments he cashed in to buy the home.