Former Madison County State’s Attorney’s office employee Andrew Kane is asking the county board to investigate the use of the county’s email system for political purposes by “high-ranking officials” and employees.
“Through the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) I have obtained and uncovered several hundred e-mails involving high-ranking county officials and numerous county employees using their county email, while at work and on their county computers, for political purposes,” Kane wrote to board chairman Kurt Prenzler, asking that a sample of emails be entered into the record as public comment for Wednesday’s county board meeting.
Prenzler said Wednesday afternoon that he would enter Kane's submission into the record.
Kane had worked for Gibbons’ office beginning in 2011. He was supervised by former chief investigator Kevin Hendricks, who initiated disciplinary proceedings against Kane which lead to his termination in 2012.
Hendricks later lost his job at the state’s attorney’s office in 2018, due to a sexual harassment complaint. The accuser reached a settlement with the state’s attorney’s office, under which she received a promotion and a $12,000 raise. She also received $5,000 for attorney costs.
Ever since his firing, Kane has battled Gibbons in court and by seeking internal documents available under the Freedom of Information Act
After he was terminated, Kane’s union filed suit in Madison County court to get his job back, and former judge Barbara Crowder ordered Gibbons to reinstate him.
In 2013, Kane filed harassment complaints against Hendricks with the state human rights department and the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
Gibbons reinstated Kane months after Crowder ordered it, and Hendricks assigned Kane to a remote location with chores Kane found demeaning.
Kane found another job in 2014.
He sued the county and Gibbons’s office in 2016, alleging sex discrimination and retaliation under U.S. civil rights law and Illinois human rights law. His case settled last year.
Kane’s letter says that Gibbons was quoted in a news article last year that political emails to county recipients was “unlawful and prohibited political activity," when Gibbons accused Republican candidate for State’s Attorney Tom Haine of sending improper fundraising emails to attorneys working at the county.
“Because the State's Attorney has stated that these emails rise to the level of being ‘unlawful and prohibited,’ it would be prudent for the board to demand a formal investigation to the (sic) determine the full extent and scope of the activity,” Kane wrote.
He cited the Madison County Personnel Policy Handbook section 40.20 and 40.21, which defines prohibited political activity.
“While some of the officials and employees involved are no longer employed by the county, their behavior has only emboldened others to continue the prohibited conduct,” he wrote. “For those officials and employees still employed, there should be swift and immediate action taken to enforce all applicable laws and pertinent policies as defined by the Madison County Personnel Policy Handbook or department policies.”
The emails that Kane submitted to Prenzler can be found here.