Battalion chief demotes self to lieutenant over email. Attempt to rally troops about budget cuts causes problems in Des Plaines, Illinois.
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Art Zern from his page at Fire Engineering
This is quite an unusual story coming from Des Plaines, Illinois. Battalion Chief Art Zern saw the handwriting on the wall about the typewriting he did on his computer while on duty on the evening of August 23. Facing the possibility of more serious disciplinary action, Zern requested an immediate demotion to lieutenant.
Many, many people have gotten into trouble at work for emails. More often than not those messages involve inappropriate language and sexual content. That was not the case here.
Zern’s problems come from urging more than 20 people under his command to rally against potential budget cuts for the department. The controversy came to a head shortly after the details of the email were made public in a column on Wednesday posted at JOURNALOnline by editor Todd Wessell. Here are some excerpts:
In his email, written at 9:27 p.m. while he was on duty, Zern describes a plan of action he believes members of the department should take in order to protect “items that are fundamental to our operational efficiency and safety.” He said that rather than create a list of all possible cuts, as the fire department has been asked to do, Zern says, “let’s make a list of things that should not be on the table, those things we are willing to fight to maintain, regardless.”
Zern, who is a top department supervisor, writes, “I do expect you to advocate for this fire department, your fire department. I do expect you to fight the good fight when it comes to our safety and the safety of our citizens because what is good for them is good for us.”
What has apparently angered many in the city with Zern is what he writes later in his email. He declares that whoever is appointed the new Des Plaines fire chief should be prepared to fight for certain issues or “he should be prepared to leave tomorrow.” And, writes Zern to those he manages, in trying to drum up support for his position, ” We will rally behind you and you will feel empowered by our support and admiration. On the other hand, if you turn your back on this and other issues that should not be on the table, if you refuse to even acknowledge the fact that these are the issues of our time, and you refuse to fight the good fight, we will know who you are and you will know the cold reality of disappointment and respect lost.”
This last comment is being translated by some as a threat that if any firefighter/paramedic does not agree with him and is not willing to fight for those beliefs, they face some type of punishment.
“Can’t we agree that this is a hill to die on?” asked Zern. He later adds, “Now is not the time to give up and roll over.” He also refers to those who feel differently as “the enemy” by writing, “I believe that it can happen today and I cannot remain silent while the enemy works to convince us that we don’t fight fires any more, we are really an EMS department, it’s just another false alarm, 3 on a company is more than enough and so on and so on.”
Zern’s email ends, “Be prepared to leave tomorrow. If you are not, you are beholden to the elected and appointed officials. I understand, but I am not out of touch. I sympathize, but I am not delusional. I want you to lead, but I can’t make you. You may win today, but I will not be silent. Be prepared to leave tomorrow, be prepared to fight the good fight and we will do everything within our power to make sure that doesn’t happen. We will stay with you.”
Chief Randy Jaeger, who is about to retire, recommended a 10-day suspension for Zern. Highland Park Chief Alan Wax was appointed this week as Jaeger’s replacement.
In a story in the Daily Herald, City Manager Jason Bajor said he thought the actions merited an immediate demotion. According to the article, Bajor had written to Chief Jaeger that Zern’s actions were “improper, unacceptable, and rebellious in nature. – His actions go beyond a matter of mere negligence and into the realm of intentional malice.”
In Wessell’s article yesterday about the latest developments, he had this quote from City Manager Bajor: “My overriding emotion on this is one of disappointment. I’ve known Art Zern for a long time and still have a great deal of respect for him. These are unfortunate circumstances.”
In 2007 Art Zern was acting fire chief as Randy Jaeger underwent brain surgery shortly after his appointment to the top post.
