A former village official’s claim that his firing violated First Amendment guarantees of free speech has been rejected by a federal judge.
bnd.com
By George Pawlaczyk
July 26, 2010
CASEYVILLE — Former Tax Increment Financing Director Rick Casey filed suit last year in federal court in East St. Louis against Mayor George Chance and the village. Casey claimed that his removal by the village board in 2008 was connected to statements he made concerning public issues and his intent to run for mayor.
U.S. District Court Judge G. Patrick Murphy dismissed the lawsuit on July 15 and remanded the village’s counter-claim — which alleges that Casey improperly enriched himself through his position — to state court in St. Clair County.
On the day that Casey was fired, the village board also removed his daughter and son-in-law from village jobs. Also on the same day, Oct. 1, 2008, Casey’s son, Rick Casey, Jr., a member of the village board, was removed from the finance committee.
“There simply is nothing in the record to suggest that anything plaintiff said about possible future service or candidacy caused his termination,” Murphy wrote.
As a reason for his firing, a majority of the village board stated at the time that Casey should be removed because he processed economic grants for developers who then hired a paving company owned by Casey’s wife.
Casey said Monday that the board approved hiring his wife’s company for a number of village paving jobs.
In his decision, Murphy speculated that part of the reason for Casey’s termination could have been, “…that the village trustees, mindful of their position, decided that it was not good policy for the municipal government to act as plaintiff’s personal employment agency for his family and himself outside of his civil servant capacity.”
Casey said that the mayor and the village board approved hiring members of his family, and that some of them had relatives in village jobs as well.
“I wasn’t the only one with family members hired by the village,” Casey said.
Village attorney Duane Clark said that the village’s counter claim has been referred to St. Clair County Court but he wasn’t sure if it will be pursued.
As for whether he profited personally from his job as TIF director, Casey said, “That never happened.” In 2008, he answered the same question by stating, “I swear on my mother’s grave that I never stole so much as a dime from the village of Caseyville.”
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Read more: http://www.bnd.com/2010/07/26/1342176/federal-judge-rejects-caseyville.html#ixzz0upBByV7b