Judge temporarily blocks law barring workers from office

CROWN POINT, Ind. (AP) - A judge in northwestern Indiana has temporarily blocked a state law that bars five municipal employees from holding elected office in the same city or town.

Lake County Judge George Paras issued a temporary restraining order Wednesday barring Indiana from enforcing the law against the plaintiffs until a special judge can be appointed to oversee the case.

All five won election in November to city council terms in the Lake County communities of Hammond, East Chicago, Hobart and New Chicago. They argue the 2012 law - set to go into effect Friday with the start of new municipal office terms - violates their free speech and equal privileges rights under the state constitution.

Supporters of the law say it was meant as a way to prevent politicians from voting on their own salaries and benefits.

Hobart City Councilman Matthew Claussen, who is also a city police officer, said he believed the law unfairly treats him as a second-class citizen. He called the judge's action "somewhat of a victory."

"It's baby steps, one at a time, but I don't want to assume anything," Claussen told the (Merrillville) Post-Tribune (http://trib.in/1JLxmY5 ).

The Indiana attorney general's office is defending the law and maintains that state legislators acted properly.

"The Legislature in its policymaking authority decided it created too much potential for conflict and harmed public trust if elected municipal council members also serve as municipal employees," Attorney General Greg Zoeller said in a statement.

A federal judge ruled against the five in early December in a separate lawsuit, saying the state "has an important and compelling interest in avoiding corruption or the appearance of corruption."

The employees had asked for the law to be put on hold, arguing that they would be irreparably harmed if they lost either their elected positions or their jobs because they would have no right to be reinstated should they later win the lawsuit.

Adam Sedia, attorney for the five officials, said the judge's action was a relief.

"It removes that pressure off of the elected officials to choose one or the other," he said. "The case can now proceed in an orderly fashion."

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Information from: Post-Tribune, http://posttrib.chicagotribune.com/