Story posted Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Elsner's Future With Fire Dept. Still Up In Air
By RICHARD MAYER Assistant Managing Editor
Prospect Hts. Fire District commissioners will begin discussion tomorrow (Thursday) in closed session to determine whether or not they will reinstate former Fire District Captain Paul Elsner after he was fired in April 2008.
The Fire District fired Elsner for allegedly making false statements on an employment application. Elsner's attorney Chris Shepherd said his client never lied on his application; and that he was not fired from the Prospect Hts. Public Works Dept. in 1999 over alleged sexual harassment.
According to Shepherd, when Elsner was asked why he left Public Works, he stated he resigned because of a "hostile environment due to results from a mayoral election."
A letter dated Jan. 10, 2000 stated that Elsner and the city agreed that he would be able to resign from his Public Works job instead of being terminated. The Fire District board ruled that the contents of the letter were not considered as substantive evidence because the letter was not in Elsner's personnel file.
Not long after Elsner left Public Works, he was hired as a full-time firefighter with the Prospect Hts. Fire District. He had previously served the department in a part-time capacity beginning in 1995.
A Cook County judge ordered the Fire District on Jan. 5 to consider the letter between Elsner and the city and reconsider the decision of termination.
"Hopefully they (commissioners) will make the right decision and bring him (Elsner) back on to the department," said Shepherd.
Shepherd said Elsner is currently working as a mechanic.
According to Shepherd, this is the first of a two-part lawsuit. The first part has to do with him "unjustly fired," he said, while the second deals with monetary damages and lost wages.
"If they don't reinstate him, we will move forward on the money damages, which is still a long ways away from being finalized," said Shepherd. "If they (commissioners) don't reinstate him, it will go back before the same judge to determine if their decision was correct or not."
This issue will be heard again in a Cook County courtroom on Tuesday, Mar. 2 in Chicago.
"Our group would probably go to appeal on that issue," said Fire Chief Donald Gould.
Gould said there are three captains currently employed with the Fire District. Gould said if Elsner was reinstated, someone would have to be laid off from the Fire District.
The fire board of commissioners is comprised of Bob McLoughlin, Joanne Twomey and Marty Kennelly. A majority decision must be made to reinstate Elsner.
Numerous attempts by the Journal to contact Fire District attorney Steve Daday were unsuccessful.
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