The former Fire Commissioner of the Chicago Fire Department has filed suit against Mayor Richard Daley claiming the mayor and his chief of staff forced him to resign over false sexual harassment allegations.
Chief John Brooks resigned on May 7, 2010 amidst allegations that he had sexually harassed a fire department payroll auditor. Brook’s lawsuit claims he was wrongfully forced to retire, and threatened with a termination proceeding that would ruin his reputation if he refused to step down. A subsequent investigation conducted by a former judge hired to review the sexual harassment allegations, found them to be baseless.
Chief Brooks’ suit was filed yesterday, April 29, 2011, in Federal Court against both Mayor Daley and former Fire Commissioner Raymond Orozco, who was the mayor’s chief of staff at the time.
Perhaps you recall the ill advised public remark Chief Brooks made when asked about the allegations when they first surfaced in March of 2010: “I do not proposition women. I don’t have to. Women usually proposition me. God has blessed me like that.”
It will be interesting to see if the claim of being forced to resign, as opposed to resisting the pressue and fighting back, will carry the day.