Robert Bless has filed an appeal against the Cook County Sheriff’s Office and the Cook County Sheriff's Merit Board in the Appellate Court of Illinois, First Judicial District. The case, identified as 2021CH05831, was originally presided over by Honorable Michael T. Mullen in the Circuit Court of Cook County. The original lawsuit centers around Bless's termination from his position as a police officer for dishonesty with the Sheriff's Office in 2011 and subsequent claims for back pay and benefits.
Bless, who served as a third watch patrol officer in Rolling Meadows, Illinois from 1996 until his termination in 2013, was involved in a head on collision while on duty in September 2008. His injuries required surgery as well as a restriction on driving an automobile.
In December 2008 was sworn in as a member of the McHenry County Board serving as their commissioner after his injury.
In January 2009, during a 2 separate medical evaluations he reported his injuries had worsened, including neck pain and stiffness. During this same time, Mr. Bless was allegedly driving 100s of miles for his employment on the county board.
Bless' employer questioned whether or not he was following the restrictions and began to surveil the plaintiff which revealed his other employment which had been failed to be authorized by the Cook County supervisors. The Cook County Sheriff's Office of Professional Review (OPR) completed an investigation and determined that Mr. Bless was engaged in unapproved secondary employment as well as lying to the investigators.
The plaintiff contends that he is owed $1.04 million in back pay and benefits accrued during federal proceedings that began after his firing. His secondary employment as a private attorney and county commissioner without proper authorization from his supervisors was a key factor leading to his dismissal.
The plaintiff’s legal representation is provided by Jeffrey R. Kulwin of Kulwin, Masciopinto & Kulwin, L.L.P., while Kimberly M. Foxx serves as the State’s Attorney for the defendants with Cathy McNeil Stein, Jonathon D. Byrer, and William Yung acting as Assistant State’s Attorneys. Bless's claims were previously rejected by both federal and state courts which upheld the board's decision to terminate him based on findings of unauthorized secondary employment and false statements to investigators.
In this appeal, Bless seeks reinstatement along with back pay and benefits under the Wage Payment and Collection Act (820 ILCS 115/14(a)). He argues that previous court rulings effectively reinstated him temporarily during litigation periods, entitling him to wages lost during those times.
Justices McBride, Ellis and Cobbs all concur that the circuit court did not err in its original judgment of this case and that Mr. Bless was correctly terminated for his actions. The case is affirmed.