The former human resources director for St. Clair County has filed a federal lawsuit alleging he was fired as retaliation for investigating allegations against the relative of a county official.
Frank Bergman, the for 12 years until his termination in 2023, states in the lawsuit and other court filings that an investigation he was conducting into several employees鈥� allegations in the fall of 2022 revealed 鈥渋nappropriate actions鈥� by Jordin Simmons, who is St. Clair County Emergency Management Agency Director Herb Simmons鈥� grandson.
As human resources director, Bergman states that he also investigated inappropriate actions by Austin Thomas, who the complaint identifies as Jordin Simmons鈥� friend. Both men were , according to county salary information compiled by the Illinois Answers Project.
Bergman filed the lawsuit late last year in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Illinois against the county, Herb Simmons, County Board Chairman Mark Kern and Bob Jones, an attorney who represented Jordin Simmons and Thomas during Bergman鈥檚 investigation.
Bergman alleges that after he reported his findings to them. They then fired him while he was taking sick leave for health issues and a surgery and damaged his reputation by falsely telling other employees that he had had a mental breakdown, according to the lawsuit.
In their answer to the lawsuit, the county, Kern and Simmons stated that officials actually instructed Bergman to complete the investigation and provide them a final report with supporting documentation, but he never did. They are arguing that officials fired Bergman because his job performance did not meet their expectations.
The officials state in the court filing that Bergman did not file the required paperwork from a doctor or a so he incurred unexcused absences and other unspecified 鈥減erformance deficiencies.鈥�
Bergman鈥檚 complaint states that he did submit the time off request and medical paperwork. Nicole Matlock, one of Bergman鈥檚 attorneys, said in an interview that officials did not mention anything to him about a performance issue before firing him in July 2023.
Attorney Garrett Hoerner, who is representing the county defendants and attorney A.J. Bronsky, who is representing Jones, did not respond to a request for comment.
The lawsuit does not include specific details of the employee allegations Bergman investigated. The Belleville News-Democrat has asked the county to provide documentation of any allegations involving Jordin Simmons and Thomas through a public records request.
Jordin Simmons and Thomas could not immediately be reached for comment. Herb Simmons declined to comment on ongoing litigation.
Bergman is seeking lost wages and other damages in the case. Both sides have requested a jury trial.
Earlier this month, Nancy Rosenstengel, the chief U.S. District judge for the Southern District of Illinois, ordered them to complete a mandatory mediation session.
Political allies turned adversaries in legal dispute
Bergman鈥檚 legal dispute with Kern comes after the chairman handpicked him as human resources director in 2011, despite the objections of some members of the .
A few board members questioned Bergman鈥檚 qualifications and complained that politics played a major role in his hiring, according to past BND reporting.
Bergman served as the Democratic mayor of Cahokia from 2003 to 2011. , told the BND at the time that he became interested in hiring Bergman after learning he was not running for re-election. The county did not advertise the position.
Kern cited Bergman鈥檚 master鈥檚 degree in public administration from Southern Illinois University Edwardsville as one of his qualifications for the job, the BND reported.
The County Board approved Bergman鈥檚 appointment by a vote of 18-10, with one board member voting present. Two Democratic board members were among those opposed to his appointment.
Editor's note: This story was originally published by the . Lexi Cortes is a reporter for the , a news partner of 漏 2024 外网天堂.
