Crime & Safety
Coroner, Deputies Fight Lawsuit Claiming They Tried to 'Compel' Whistleblower to Resign
Chief Deputy Loren Carrera's civil lawsuit claims retaliation included the coroner urinating on her office chair; hearing on criminal misconduct charges set for Aug. 22.
Coroner Chuck West and two of his deputy coroners claim the lawsuit against them by Chief Deputy Loren Carrera fails in several areas and want a judge to dismiss the case.
Carrera sued her boss and co-workers earlier this year on the grounds she they retaliated against her for tipping off investigators to a wide range of problems in the office, including the handling of personal property in the death of a Carpentersville man.
That situation is the basis for official misconduct charges in West's ongoing criminal case.
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West and deputy coroners Eric West and Lisa Gilbert filed a motion to dismiss last week that suggests several of Carrera's claims fail to hold water. Among their contentions is that Carrera cannot claim retaliation, because she was not fired, denied a pay raise or demoted after reporting what she considered misconduct in the office, court records show.
"Mere assertions she was 'compelled' to resign are insufficient ... ," the motion states, also noting Carrera is still employed by the coroner's office.
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Carrera doesn't show proof Chuck West did anything intentional or malicious when she alleges he urinated on her office chair. Instead, the trio's attorney states West suffers incontinence tied to a diabetic condition, records show.
The motion also argues Carrera has not shown evidence of emotional distress she has suffered as a result of the trio's actions. Carrera's attorney has until September to file a response to the dismissal motion. The case is scheduled for another hearing in October.
On Thursday, attorneys in West's criminal case appeared for a brief hearing on his move to have the official misconduct charges against him thrown out on the grounds the law is unconstitutionally vague. Judge Bruce Lester scheduled a formal hearing on the issue for Aug. 22.
The Illinois Attorney General's Office, which was notified of the challenge to the law, has declined to intervene in the motion, attorneys told Lester.
