An Illinois appellate court has ruled a former Chicago State University administrator should be paid more than $3 million after he was fired for reporting improprieties to the state attorney general.
The Chicago Tribune reports a three-judge panel of the court ruled yesterday the university launched “a campaign designed to both economically harm ... and inflict psychological distress upon'' former university attorney and administrator James Crowley.
The university allegedly acted after Crowley refused to withhold documents about university President Wayne Watson's employment that a faculty member had requested under the state's open records law.
Crowley also claimed he was retaliated against after reporting questionable university contracts to the attorney general's office.
The court called the university's behavior “thoroughly reprehensible.''
University attorneys claimed Crowley was fired for misusing university resources.