Excerpts from MyFoxChicago.com:
Derek Hogg, 32, walked out of the Kankakee Public Safety building for the last time Friday. His six and a half year career as a firefighter was cut short by ALS.
“I like putting on the uniform. I like going to work. I like the way my boy looks at me when he sees the badge on,” Derek said.
Derek, his wife Holly and their two young boys are now faced with trying to get by on a social security disability check of about a thousand dollars a month.
“Not only do I have to worry about losing my husband, the father of my kids, I have to somehow figure out how we’re going to support our children. I have no idea,” Holly said.
On June 1, Derek would have achieved seven years on the job and qualified for a disability pension of $3200 a month, which is money that would go to holly after his death.
However, Kankakee city officials say Derek has to leave now, because he can no longer perform his duties as a firefighter, and his time on light duty has run out.
Derek’s co-workers had volunteered to work his shift until he qualified for the pension, but Kankakee Mayor Nina Epstein refused to allow it, saying that would be bending the rules and set a dangerous precedent.
“Derek is a great firefighter. Outstanding firefighter,” said Kankakee Alderman James Stokes. Alderman Stokes, who’s also a firefighter, said many residents are angry the city has seemingly turned its back on Derek.
Derek and Holly are also hiring a lawyer to explore whether Kankakee violated the Americans with Disabilities Act, and they’ve filed a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
However, that could take months, even years to litigate, which is time Derek simply doesn’t have. He left work Friday for the final time, but is still hoping for a miracle. “I’m still optimistic that one day I’m going to be a fireman again,” Derek added.
thanks Dan
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#1 by Someone on February 16, 2015 - 11:18 PM
How can we preach to the elected officials that they robbed are pensions, when we want them to bend the rules here. What is there pension funded at? I bet low, and they are probably facing a financial cliff like every were else to fund a pension, that they screwed up. Now we ask them to deepen the hole. We are just as bad.
If I was them or the guy I would want the village to make an exception. But unfortunately they are right. Hopefully his brothers & Sisters in the fire service come together to make sure his family never needs anything ever.
#2 by Operator 57 on February 16, 2015 - 9:54 PM
It is terrible but MM has a point from a wimpy get out of it thru legal technicalities. Obvious the leaders in Kankakee are nothing but spineless hacks, and they can be easily disposed of at the next election including the mayor. But for the firefighter someone needs to go onto GoFundme.com and open and account and go national with full disclosure of what the political hacks did to him, write every state and federal organization that can offer assistance. Get TV and radio exposure for this everything.
#3 by MM on February 14, 2015 - 10:23 PM
As much as I hate to say it (and I’ll get flogged for it)….the Mayor does have a point. No matter how you slice it, unfortunately, the firefighter here does not qualify for that pension. I’m not at all saying he doesn’t deserve it…he certainly does….but this is a simple “if ________ then _________” contractual obligation. It’s awesome that his brothers are stepping up (I’d do the same thing in their situation), but this is putting the city on the hook for (eventually) hundreds of thousands of dollars. And, no matter how you slice it, he doesn’t qualify for those benefits. It’s no fault of the city and they shouldn’t be held liable for that amount of the money.