Hurst v. Board of the Fire and Police Commission

State: Illinois

Court: 4th District Appellate

Docket No: 4-10-0964 Official Reports

Case Date: 07/12/2011

Preview:ILLINOIS OFFICIAL REPORTS
Appellate Court

Hurst v. Board of the Fire & Police Comm'n , 2011 IL App (4th) 100964

Appellate Court Caption

BILLY HURST, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. THE BOARD OF THE FIRE AND POLICE COMMISSION for the City of Clinton, an Administrative Agency; and MICHAEL REIDY, Chief of Police for the City of Clinton, Illinois, Defendants-Appellees.

District & No.

Fourth District Docket No. 4-10-0964 June 7, 2011 July 12, 2011 August 8, 2011 An order of defendant Board of Fire and Police Commission discharging plaintiff from his employment as a police officer for violating department rules and regulations by viewing pornography on an employer-owned mobile data terminal while on duty was affirmed over plaintiff's contention that the eavesdropping statute was violated when the chief of police monitored the pornography viewed by plaintiff, since the department's manual dictated that the data terminals were to be used for law-enforcement purposes only and that they were not to be used in any manner that would tend to discredit the department and plaintiff had no reasonable expectation of privacy or confidentiality with regard to his use of the terminals. Appeal from the Circuit Court of De Witt County, No. 09-MR-28; the Hon. Chris E. Freese, Judge, presiding.

Argued Filed Rehearing denied Held
(Note: This syllabus constitutes no part of the opinion of the court but has been prepared by the Reporter of Decisions for the convenience of the reader.)

Decision Under Review

Judgment Counsel on Appeal

Affirmed. Shane M. Voyles (argued), of Police Benevolent Labor Committee, of Springfield, for appellant. Stephen R. Myers (argued), of Clinton, for appellee Board of Fire and Police Commission. Nick A. Cetwinski (argued), of Woodridge, for appellee Michael Reidy.

Panel

JUSTICE POPE delivered the judgment of the court, with opinion. Justices Turner and Steigmann concurred in the judgment and opinion.

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