If This is Wednesday, Then It Must Be Another City Hall Scandal

If This is Wednesday, Then It Must Be Another City Hall Scandal On Tuesday, July 7th, I wrote a blog called, “If this is Tuesday, then it must be another City Hall scandal.” The story was about James Kendrick, a city plumbing inspector, who broke a water pipe while performing a side job at a private residence. According to the Sun Times that day, “Kendrick dialed 311 to report the break. When investigators arrived on the scene, he identified himself as a city inspector and asked for city-owned parts—lead packs and copper-to repair the broken pipe, sources said.” Kendrick also did not have the necessary city permits and licenses for the work he was performing off duty. At the time, the Buildings Department spokesperson would only say that the department “was conducting an investigation into a report of an employee completing work without a permit.” Kendrick subsequently was fired.

Today is Wednesday, and the scandal of the day is that the fired inspector has been re-hired.

According to the Sun Times, “The Human Resources Board, which is appointed by Mayor Daley, has overturned James Kendrick's firing and converted his punishment to a five-month suspension without pay, which he has already served. Kendrick returned to work Thursday for the first time since July 17. He refused to comment.”

Buildings Department spokesman Bill McCaffrey, said that Kendrick's behavior "warranted substantial discipline," but not the firing ordered by Buildings Commissioner Richard Monocchio.

It is ironic that a city inspector whose job is to report contractors and people who work without a permit commits the same violation and also requests city owned copper piping to repair a break he caused is back working as an inspector.

Now we can really understand why my blog last week, “$40,000 City of Chicago Employee Survey a Waste of Money,” was so “on the money.” The survey, conducted by the City’s Office of Compliance included a report where Mark Meaney, first deputy director of the Office of Compliance, said “Among those who did observe misconduct, 81 percent felt, if they did report what they observed, there would be no corrective action taken.”

In the “real world,” an employee fired for such blatant misconduct would not be re-hired. But we live on the “Daley Planet” of a “politically connected world” where conduct is judged on whom you know and not how you perform. In reply to Superman’s statement that he is “Here to fight for truth, justice, and the American way," Lois Lane replied, “You're gonna end up fighting every elected official in this country!" Well, I’m just taking on the City of Chicago and Cook County, so my crusade should be easy.