Corporation Counsel Nicholas Cummings withdrew himself from consideration to become general counsel of the Chicago Park District on Tuesday, days before he will resign from his current position in Evanston.
Cummings informed the Park District of his withdrawal in a letter to CEO Rosa Escareño and Board President Myetie Hamilton, which he provided to the RoundTable via email.
He wrote that a federal lawsuit filed against him, former Interim City Manager Kelley Gandurski and the City of Evanston by former Deputy City Attorney Michelle Ozuruigbo “could make it difficult for me to be effective” as General Counsel, and criticized unnamed media outlets for what he described as “stories highlighting sensational and unproven allegations against me.”
“These facts and the allegations lodged against me were shared with the Chicago Park District team during a thorough process that consisted of four formal interviews and several informal phone discussions with various members of the Park District team,” Cummings wrote. “I respect the need for a free press, but such an implied conviction before judicial resolution is damaging to not only me but also to the Chicago Park District.”
In an immediate response letter sent to Cummings the same day, Escareño wrote that she and the district’s Board of Commissioners had “mutually agreed” with Cummings that he “will not be able to effectively serve” as general counsel. She wrote that they accept his withdrawal from consideration “without comment on any other statements” in his letter.
Cummings also noted in his letter that after Ozuruigbo filed a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in July 2022, the city placed him on administrative leave and hired law firm Hinshaw & Culbertson to conduct an independent investigation. He wrote that the investigation “found the claims regarding discrimination, retaliation and hostile work environment to be unfounded.”
City Council executive session minutes confirm lawyer Vincent Rizzo from Hinshaw & Culbertson briefed council members on the investigation’s findings on Aug. 10. The full investigation report, obtained and published online by WBEZ Chicago, is dated Aug. 29, 2022, three days before Cummings was reinstated.
The investigation report, authored by Rizzo, analyzes allegations from Ozuruigbo’s July 2022 EEOC complaint alongside statements from interviews of city employees. These interviews notably did not include Ozuruigbo, as the report notes that her attorney told investigators she would not meet with them until “after the EEOC and/or IDHR [Illinois Department of Human Resources] processes are complete.”
Rizzo ultimately concludes that “Ms. Ozuruigbo’s complaints of discrimination, retaliation, and harassment are not substantiated,” relative to her July 2022 complaint. However, the report does not cover several allegations Ozuruigbo made in her current lawsuit, including that she was required to host a baby shower and that she was prohibited from delegating tasks to law clerks. It is unknown whether these allegations were included in the complaint Hinshaw & Culbertson investigated in July 2022.
The RoundTable first reported on Ozuruigbo’s lawsuit on July 27, detailing her allegations that Cummings and Gandurski created a racist and sexist work environment during her tenure as deputy city attorney. Cummings’ withdrawal from the Park District position was first reported by WBEZ Chicago late Tuesday evening, where a Park District spokesperson said the district’s leaders were “not aware of the lawsuit at the time they offered him the job.”
The city first announced Cummings would resign effective Aug. 11 to take the position at the Park District in a July 25 news release. This release stated current Deputy City Attorney Alex Ruggie will become interim corporation counsel on Aug. 12 ahead of the position being externally posted in late August.
Interim Communications Manager Jessie Mayo confirmed via email that Cummings will still resign and Ruggie will take the interim position on the announced dates, and declined to comment further for the city. Ozuruigbo and Cummings also declined written requests for comment.
The full investigation report from Hinshaw & Culbertson can be read on WBEZ Chicago’s Document Cloud.
Cummings’ full withdrawal letter to the Chicago Park District can be read below.
The following two statements, the first from Cummings and the second from the Chicago Park District are contradictory:
1) “ ‘These facts and the allegations lodged against me were shared with the Chicago Park District team during a thorough process that consisted of four formal interviews and several informal phone discussions with various members of the Park District team,’ Cummings wrote. “
2. “Cummings’ withdrawal from the Park District position was first reported by WBEZ Chicago late Tuesday evening, where a Park District spokesperson said the district’s leaders were ‘not aware of the lawsuit at the time they offered him the job.’ “