Chicago State’s Fired General Counsel Loses Retaliation Lawsuit

Trustees of Chicago State University defeated a lawsuit by a former general counsel who alleged that he was fired in retaliation for speaking out about a possible conflict of interest in the school’s search for a new president, because the Seventh Circuit said his speech lacked protection under the First Amendment.

When Chicago State was looking for a new president, one member of its board of trustees was interested in the job. But general counsel Patrick Cage told the board that allowing a sitting member to seek the position would violate the board’s bylaws.

The member resigned from the board ...