[Southsider2k12]

http://thenewsdispatch.com/articles/2010/0...fa935194708.txt

Jankowski’s feud with Walus dates back years

Matt Field/The News-Dispatch Phil Jankowski (center) consults with city council attorney Jim Meyer (standing) and Councilman Jim Doyle.
By Matt Field
Staff Writer
Published: Sunday, April 11, 2010 4:13 AM CDT
MICHIGAN CITY — Ever since Ron Meer was demoted at the Sanitary District in February — starting a chain of events that ended with his termination April 1 — Sanitary District General Manager Al Walus has faced criticism from angry residents at public meetings, protesters gathered outside his office and online comments and letters to the editor.

Among those who have sided with Meer are a handful of Meer’s colleagues on the city council, and none has had harsher words for Walus than Councilman Phil Jankowski.

Documents obtained by The News-Dispatch through an open-records request from the Sanitary District show the councilman’s antagonism goes back to 2000, when the district terminated Jankowski’s ex-wife, Sharon, when she failed to return to work after a leave.

The records show that on her behalf, Jankowski filed a complaint in March 2001 with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission alleging sexual discrimination and wrongful firing on the job, but that was dropped.

Records also show that Sharon Jankowski, through a lawyer, filed notice of a claim against the city on her behalf, alleging wrongful firing and sexual harassment, but a lawsuit was never filed.

And when Sharon Jankowski’s unemployment insurance claims were denied in January 2001, Phil Jankowski represented her at an unsuccessful appeals hearing in March, records show.

Jankowski declined to be interviewed for this story.

According to the records, beginning in mid-August 2000, Sharon Jankowski, using a combination of sick days, vacation days and sick leave, to remain away from her clerk job at the Sanitary District for about 2 1/2 months. She was scheduled to return to work on Nov. 1.

In a letter dated Oct. 27, in advance of her Nov. 1 start-date, she asked for an additional six months of leave.

“As you are aware, since my reassignment to the treatment plant approximately two years ago, I have been subjected to a hostile work environment,” she said. “The working conditions have had a negative impact on my health.”

Sanitary District records show that the Walus didn’t receive the letter until Nov. 3, after Jankowski had been absent from work without an excuse for three consecutive days, and had been officially terminated.

Within days of her termination at the district, Sharon Jankowski rented a U-Haul and went to Bakersfield, Calif. On Nov. 10, the District received a letter from her from Bakersfield containing her keys.

But before she left, she gave power of attorney to Phil Jankowski. The couple had been divorced since the fall of 1997, but Sharon Jankowski still received mail at Phil Jankowski’s address.

Soon after Sharon Jankowski left, Phil Jankowski sent Sheila Brillson, then the mayor of Michigan City, a letter seeking information about Walus. Jankowski wanted Walus’ job description, resume and salary information. He wanted a Sanitary District budget, the minutes of Sanitary Board meetings that had occurred, and he asked in advance for minutes of future meetings. He also wanted copies of audits of the district and the city.

Jankowski’s efforts bore some fruit. He wrote to a former Sanitary Board president in January 2001 informing him of Walus’ bankruptcy filing from 1993. But Jankowski wasn’t done. In the letter he requested information on where Walus went to college and what aliases the general manager used.

Jankowski was elected to the council in 2003, and in 2007, after Walus hired his brother-in-law Ed Gonzalez at the district, introduced a resolution of no-confidence in Walus. It was approved by the council.

Now in his second term as a city councilman still, he still has plenty of criticism for the man he once investigated and hasn’t forgotten about what happened to his ex-wife.

At a recent city council meeting, Jankowski likened her to Meer.

“He (Meer) is a victim of Mr. Walus and the Sanitary District,” Jankowski said. “Unfortunately he is not the first, Ron and I are aware of several others, including my former wife.”

Sharon Jankowski couldn’t not be reached for comment, but she did leave a voice mail message at The News-Dispatch saying that she was not fired. “I worked there over 29-and-a-half years and it was just time for me to go,” she said. “So that’s totally wrong and you better not put anything in the paper that I got fired because there is no way that they fired me. I quit on my own accord.”

The public records, however, indicate that her lawyers threatened a lawsuit which alleged wrongful termination.

Asked about Jankowski’s criticism of him, Walus said he can’t control what other people say. He acknowledged filing for bankruptcy. He did graduate from college and did not use any aliases, he said.

But Jankowski remains critical.

He recently introduced an ordinance that called for the creation of an anonymous reporting program, in part because of what happened to Meer at the Sanitary District. Meer reported safety violations to state regulators, but not to his bosses, according to a Sanitary District investigation that led to Meer’s firing.

“There has been a total breakdown in management,” Jankowski said after Meer was stripped of lucrative assistant duties at the district. When the Sanitary District began an investigation into Meer, Jankowski was at the front-lines of Meer’s defense, attending an anti-Walus protest outside of the Sanitary District offices and carrying a sign.

“Keep Meer, Lose Walus,” read Jankowski’s sign

[Southsider2k12]

http://thenewsdispatch.com/articles/2010/0...cd578954244.txt

Inquiries into Walus are valid

Published: Friday, April 16, 2010 4:15 AM CDT
Regarding the story “Jankowski’s feud with Walus dates back years” [Sunday], The New-Dispatch chose to victimize an innocent party, my former wife, in its attack on me. Out of respect for her privacy I will respond by asking two questions:

1. Was my former wife’s failure to request a leave of absence on a timely basis due to her negligence, or to Al Walus’ failure to accept a certified letter in a timely manner?

2. Did Al Walus give her job to one of his friends?

I declined to comment for the article until I received the same information from the Sanitary District the reporter received. I have made two requests for the information. The first response included no relevant information. The second response indicated the information was with their attorney who was on vacation.

I have never attempted to conceal my opinion of Al Walus. It has been documented in press releases.

The reporter questioned my inquiries into Walus’ background. It is not wrong for any citizen to question a political appointee’s qualifications, especially for the highest paid job in city government. It is not wrong for any citizen to question the propriety of entrusting the city’s largest budgets to a person with a history of personal bankruptcy.

While my comments may not be popular with some, they are factual. Should the chairman of the Council’s Utility Committee be expected to?

• Ignore multiple unreported sewer overflows.

• Ignore multiple IDEM violations.

• Ignore multiple IOSHA violations.

• Ignore made-up information on a flood plain project.

• Ignore the use of my constituents’ money for the benefit of out-of-town property owners.

• Ignore the failure to provide the council with capital plans, budgets, rate studies, and financing plans when promised.

• Ignore the creation of a job for Walus’ brother-in-law using the public’s money.

• Ignore the termination of Ron Meer for protecting the public’s interests.

There will be another IOSHA violation brought to the public’s attention in the next few days that may result in a penalty that my constituents will be expected to pay. Should I ignore that to make The News-Dispatch, the Sanitary District Board of Commissioners and Al Walus happy?

Phil Jankowski

6th Ward Councilperson