Arbitrator sides with county over fired planning director

An arbitrator ruled Monday that McHenry County acted appropriately in firing longtime planning and development Director Suzanne Ehardt earlier this year for what administrators termed unprofessional conduct.

The decision by Naperville-based attorney John Kelly clears the way for the county board to hold a special session this morning to hire Ehardt's replacement.

It also is likely to lead to litigation from Ehardt, who was dismissed by County Administrator Peter Austin in June after 10 years as the county's chief planner.

"Obviously we're disappointed with the decision," Ehardt attorney Mark Gummerson said. "We will look at all our options, but I anticipate that we will be filing a lawsuit."

County Board Chairman Ken Koehler said he is happy the decision allows the board to move forward with a replacement for Ehardt.

"This just shows that Peter Austin had the ability to do what he did," Koehler said.

County officials never commented publicly on the reasons behind Ehardt's firing, and two days of triallike hearings on the decision in September and October were closed to the public.

However, Kelly's seven-page decision indicates that the central issue behind Ehardt's termination was her behavior during a May 8 meeting of the Regional Planning Commission, a volunteer group preparing the county's 2030 land-use plan.

Residents who attended the meeting complained that Ehardt bullied and verbally attacked some of the commission's members, a claim she and her staff has denied.

However, in a written closing argument to the hearing, Gummerson noted that Austin was not present at the May 8 meeting and consulted with just one person who was there before firing Ehardt. Audio recording of the meeting, Gummerson said, proved Ehardt never acted discourteously or unprofessionally.