Gov't employees & political activities

If you are an employee of a governmental entity in McHenry County (let's say, for example, the McHenry County Sheriff's Department), should you attend Monday evening's discussion on political rights of governmental employees?

Someone said to me years ago, "If you don't know your rights, you don't have any." I believed it then, and I believe it now.

How real is your fear of retaliation and retribution? I think your fears and suspicions will reduce, if you know more about your rights.

Are your fears real? Of course. Deputies have watched what has happened to fellow employees in other situations, such as when they went public with whistle-blowing, testifying under oath in depositions. They know that attending a political function sponsored by a challenger for their boss's job could possibly work against them.

But what if 75-100 deputies and corrections officers (or more) showed up Monday night at Jim Harrison's political event and educational program? It's Monday, December 17, 7:00PM, at Offsides in Woodstock.

The best way to know whether you want to support someone for an office is to get to know that person and hear first-hand what they have to say. This is much better than getting it second- or third-hand or, worse, not getting it at all.

The following is from Jim.

"The Local Governmental Employees Political Rights Act protects employees in their free exercise of protected political activities.  One variation of a cause of action under the statute is established by proving that the defendant used his official position of employment to coerce or inhibit others in the free exercise of their political rights.  (The prohibited conduct under this variation can take many forms, including an adverse employment action or the threat of an adverse employment action).

"If an employee was photographed at a political fundraiser for an opposition candidate, that photograph would establish that the employee engaged in political activities.  If the photograph was published on a blog, or some other news media, it would become more widely known, and of course the photograph could later be used as evidence to invoke the protections of the Political Rights Act, should an unjustified adverse employment action later befall the employee.

"With these thoughts in mind, I invite you, once again, to attend my get together on the 17th and to bring your camera along.  Thank you for thinking to limit publication to consensual photos of attendees, and I suggest that you to wait until after the Political Rights Act discussion to break out your camera and to ask the attendees whether they would like their picture taken.  By then they will be clear that the more open, outward, and public their political rights are displayed, the easier it is for them to invoke the protections of the Political Rights Act."