Hoyne moved to Chicago in 1837, where he turned his back on the mercantile life he had been leading and studied law, being admitted to the bar in 1839.

In Boston, he met with Alvan Clark and purchased an 18½-inch lens and mounting for the Dearborn Observatory, at the time, the largest refracting telescope ever built.

Harvey Doolittle Colvin, the current mayor, was informed by his attorneys that his term should be considered extended to the new elections.

While the charter did not explicitly extend his term, it also failed to include the office of mayor in a call for special elections to fill the period from November to May.

Although Hoyne presided over council meetings and gave an inaugural address, the Circuit Court declared his election null and void.