Naperville manager blasts councilman in long memo
With just days left in his tenure, outgoing Naperville City Manager Peter Burchard fired off a scathing missive Friday outlining a history of grievances with Councilman Richard Furstenau.
The letter comes on the heels of a federal civil rights lawsuit Furstenau filed in late October against the city and several police officials stemming from his arrest on battery charges against a city police officer in 2006. He was acquitted of that charge in May.
Burchard's five-page letter accuses Furstenau of threats, intimidation, abuse and other misdeeds that border on abuse of power.
"For many years, Naperville Councilman Dick Furstenau has demonstrated a pattern of verbal attacks against employees of the city of Naperville," Burchard wrote. "This pattern of attacks has included accusations that city employees are taking bribes, that employees intentionally subvert council direction, that our purchasing team steers contracts and that we intentionally delay or reject civil engineering plans in order to prevent someone from developing his property."
More Coverage Text of Burchard's memo
Furstenau offered little comment after receiving word of the letter late Friday.
"I thought Peter and I have had a pretty decent working relationship over the last few years and I'm saddened to read his memo," he said.
The letter goes on to detail specific occasions over the councilman's three terms where Burchard suggests Furstenau crossed ethical boundaries or created a hostile work environment.
Burchard did not return calls seeking further comment on his letter, but concluded the dispatch with an explanation of his intentions. The entire letter can be read at dailyherald.com.
"All prior attempts to correct Councilman Furstenau's behavior have failed," he wrote. "Therefore, I wrote this memo as a final effort to support Naperville employees and ask Mayor (George) Pradel, other councilmen, and all directors to continue to do the same."
Burchard's letter comes almost a month after Furstenau filed a federal civil rights suit claiming his Jan. 1, 2006, arrest on charges of battery against a police officer was retaliation for years of closely monitoring the police department's expenses and practices.
He was acquitted after a bench trial in May and sued the city in October.
He blames the arrest for his defeat in a 2006 state Senate race. Before filing the suit, he demanded in an August letter that the city pay $130,000 to cover the cost of the failed campaign, legal fees and personal damages. The city refused.
Burchard abruptly resigned before the Nov. 6 city council meeting. He was recuperating from his second back surgery in as many years at the time of the announcement.
He said he has an opportunity in the health industry when asked if he had a job lined up. His last day is Dec. 7.
Some councilmen said they believe Furstenau's federal lawsuit aided Burchard's decision to resign.
"This speaks to why one of the finest city managers the city has ever had is leaving," Councilman Grant Wehrli said.
Most councilmen were gun-shy speaking about the specifics of Burchard's letter. They said they had some concerns about the impact it might have on finding a replacement for the manager.
"This is the conduct of one individual and it certainly is not representative of the council and the working relationship we have with the city manager," Councilman James Boyajian said. "I hope this won't be a distraction for our new city manager or a deterrent to hiring one."
Wehrli said it was best to have the information out there for potential candidates to see what they're getting into.
"I think anyone coming in should have full disclosure of what is transpiring at city hall," he said. "The pattern needs to be shown. This man needs to be accountable for his actions."
The council's newest member, Bob Fieseler, said he has never witnessed any inappropriate behavior in Furstenau.
"To my experience with Dick, I can see where some people might misinterpret his passion for aggressiveness," Fieseler said, "but I've never been intimidated by Dick and I've not been witness firsthand anyone being intimidated."
In his letter, Burchard said there had been one occasion where Furstenau met "with a group of employees and he attempted to express some remorse" after a complaint from city employees about his behavior. Councilmen said that incident led to Furstenau being forbidden from talking directly with certain staff members without going through department heads first.
"But that's what I figured was a restriction on me, too, and that other councilmen should go down chain of command," Fieseler said.
In September, the council passed new rules regarding conduct of its members. There is a new section that calls for censuring members who violate conduct codes. Only Furstenau voted against the updated code.
"The rules are fairly clear about what can or can't be done with elected officials. My advice and suggestions for anyone with issues with council or a councilman is that it's high time the public stand up and let their opinions be known," Boyajian said. "If you don't like what is being done by the council, either as individuals or in total, the whole purpose of public forum is to provide people the opportunity to come forward and express those opinions."
Burchard sent his letter the same day the city announced it was hiring outside counsel to handle the Furstenau lawsuit. City Attorney Margo Ely said an amended budget item for the coming fiscal year calls for an additional $400,000 specifically for the case.
The city hired one set of attorneys and hired a second set for police Chief David Dial, detective Mike Cross and officer Mike Hull, who are specifically named in Furstenau's lawsuit. Ely said the police officials requested a separate attorney because punitive damages are being sought and the city can't cover those.
Ely said the legal firms were chosen from a batch of 15 or 16, which was narrowed to four finalists that were interviewed by the council. Naperville will be represented by the Chicago firm of Freeborn Peters, while the police officials will be represented by James G. Sotos.
Sotos called Furstenau's lawsuit "utter nonsense" in a city news release. He challenged Furstenau's contention that the arrest cost him one election but didn't affect a city council race he won a year later.
"It is unfortunate the councilman would embroil the city of Naperville and its taxpayers in extremely costly and labor-intensive litigation borne out of his own frustration over his personal political failings," Sotos said.
City legal staffers said the firms will bill the city hourly. The rates for the city's firm are $300 an hour for a partner's time and $200 an hour for an associate. Sotos charges $200 an hour for partners and $165 an hour for associates.
No court date has been set yet, city officials said.
Furstenau timeline
Jan. 1, 2006: Naperville City Councilman and state Senate candidate Richard Furstenau is accused of shoving Naperville police officer Mike Hull as cars are towed off Chicago Avenue in preparation for Naperville's 175th Anniversary parade.
Jan. 18, 2006: Furstenau is booked on one count of misdemeanor battery. Posts bail the same day and is released.
Feb. 8, 2006: Furstenau pleads not guilty to the battery charge.
March 21, 2006: Randy Hultgren soundly defeats Furstenau in the Republican primary for the 48th District state Senate seat. Hultgren runs unopposed in November and is elected to the office.
April 17, 2007: Furstenau wins re-election to city council for third term.
May 21, 2007: Furstenau wins acquittal of battery charge. Judge rules in his favor after a brief stipulated bench trial, saying the incident was "embarrassing and inappropriate," but "any contact was incidental and non-provoking."
Aug. 24, 2007: Furstenau sends letter to city demanding $130,000 to cover the costs of failed Senate campaign, legal fees from battery accusation and personal damages. If a settlement cannot be reached, he threatens to sue city.
Sept. 14, 2007: City releases Furstenau's letter to the public and announces it will not pay him anything.
Oct. 30, 2007: Furstenau's lawyers file federal lawsuit claiming his civil rights were violated. The suit claims his arrest is retaliation for his consistent questioning of police department expenses and practices.
Nov. 6, 2007: City Manager Peter Burchard resigns, citing a job offer in the health industry.
Nov. 30, 2007: Naperville hires outside legal counsel to handle Furstenau's lawsuit. City officials estimate the cost to be more than $400,000.
Source: Daily Herald news reports