City job headed down the tubes
Administration moves to fire inspector
The Daley administration moved Thursday to fire a $91,008-a-year plumbing inspector caught doing a side job with no permit, city license and without signing a secondary employment form allowing him to perform the work.
The Chicago Sun-Times reported earlier this week that James Kendrick was installing a flood-control system for a homeowner in the 3500 block of North Octavia when he inadvertently broke the water pipe leading to the home.
When Water Management investigators arrived, they found that the homeowner who hired Kendrick had not obtained a permit and that Kendrick did not have city licenses to perform the work.
The violations were particularly egregious because Kendrick was assigned to a task force that busts people for working without permits.
On Thursday, Kendrick was placed on administrative leave pending termination proceedings. The fact that he allegedly asked Water Management investigators for city-owned parts -- lead packs and copper -- to repair the broken pipe did not factor into the decision.
"It's not that we're making light of that. It's just that we have enough to fire him without delving into that," said Buildings Department spokesman Bill McCaffrey.
"This action is the result of Mr. Kendrick's dereliction of duty and betrayal of public trust in performing work without a permit, without the proper license and without a secondary employment form. It's the homeowner's responsibility to get a permit. But as a buildings inspector, Mr. Kendrick is expected to know you need a permit for that type of work."
Buildings Commissioner Richard Monocchio also moved to fire Richard Bivins, a $66,556-a-year project manager who reviews plans before permits are issued.
Bivins is accused of accepting a fee to provide expert testimony as part of a lawsuit between two outside parties, in violation of the city's ethics ordinance, which prohibits employees from soliciting and receiving money for their advice and assistance.
Bivins was fired in August 2005 for granting zoning approval to build a 44-unit condominium building where residential units are forbidden.
But the Personnel Board overturned the firing and reduced it to a one-year suspension, which Bivins served.