Former Hanover Park employee sues over firing

When Hanover Park Mayor Rod Craig finally found some political allies after the April 2009 election, he orchestrated a number of changes that included cutting positions he deemed "excessive."

Now one of the targeted staff members is fighting back, suing the policymakers who approved her ousting.

Kimberly Benedix, who worked as executive coordinator to the village manager from December 1994 to May 2009, sued the village, Craig and trustees Bill Cannon, Rick Roberts and Ed Zimel in federal court Wednesday, claiming her dismissal was politically motivated.

The lawsuit seeks unspecified monetary damages, including lost pay and benefits and attorney's fees.

In her complaint, Benedix states she was dismissed in retaliation for her political affiliation and association former Village Manager Marc Hummel, who also was fired last May.

The complaint outlines the political feud between Craig and Hummel, who "disagreed on a variety of policy issues." Craig rarely won those disputes because trustees with the rival CommUnity Party most often aligned with Hummel.

The dynamic changed when the Progress Party slate of Craig, Cannon, Roberts and Zimel won a board majority in last year's election. The new board upheld Craig's veto of $550,000 in personnel expenditures in the budget, thus eliminating Benedix's position along with that of the assistant manager and village attorney.

According to the suit, Craig cited financial concerns for eliminating Benedix's position, though a balanced budget already had been submitted and approved.

Craig then brought back the village collector position previously held by his wife, the suit states. Village Clerk Eira Corral, a Progress Party member, now serves as collector, performing many of Benedix's previous duties, according to the complaint.

The suit claims that before the new board was sworn in, Craig said, "We have staff choosing sides and you just can't have that. When staff starts taking political sides or offering political advice, they've got to go."

Benedix's suit alleges the defendants have an unlawful practice of basing employment decisions on the political affiliation, association or support of its non-policymaking employees.

In addition to monetary losses, Benedix claims she experienced emotional distress and suffering, humiliation and diminished reputation in the community.

Craig, who hasn't been served with the complaint yet, said the budget cuts were necessary to hire more police officers, and services to residents haven't been adversely impacted by the changes.

He denied Benedix's firing was politically motivated.

"We made tough decisions that weren't always pretty," Craig said. "We've been running lean and mean here, and it's been nice and quiet compared to last year, which is a testament to our better staffed police department."