Former Fire District HR Director Refiles Lawsuit for Firing Reasons

Legal action following the firing of former human resources director Joanne Chavez-Buchanan will continue in Cook County Circuit Court.

Earlier this week, attorney Martin Dolan filed a suit focusing on a claim of retaliatory discharge from the fire district, saying her termination happened because she questioned politically motivated hiring.

According to Dolan’s office the original federal suit was thrown out because it described Chavez-Buchanan’s case in terms of a First Amendment violation. The judge ruled it wasn’t a First Amendment issue because she spoke out as an HR director, not as a private citizen, but the judge did not object to the retaliatory firing aspects of the suit, according to Dolan Law.

Chavez-Buchanan’s new suit claims, as the former one did, that she was told to hire interns and a receptionist who did not meet certain job requirements. Among the interns are two of Cook County Commissioner Liz Gorman’s children. Shortly after she was fired, Orland Fire Protection District Board President James Hickey had said it was for financial reasons, making room to hire .

Differing tales about her firing and subsequent legal action followed.

In December, attorney James Roche said her firing involved performance issues when two requests for personnel records weren’t filled in accordance with state guidelines. Roche also said Chavez-Buchanan had filed and lost a previous suit on grounds that .

Dolan countered that she did not file such a suit. Rather, she went to the .

Dolan also said that her performance was not brought up as a reason for the firing at the time, nor was her performance an issue during her three years with the district.

Gorman countered Chavez-Buchanan’s latest suit by saying it will just cost more taxpayer money, and that her children were accepted last summer for the internship along with all others who applied.

“Having been unsuccessful at the federal level, she has now filed her suit in Cook County Circuit court which will again cost taxpayers thousands more,” Gorman said. “Throughout this ordeal, she has despicably used my children as pawns to politicize her frivolous lawsuits. She has purposefully misrepresented district policy to cast the appearance of impropriety on my part and the part of the fire district.”

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