An Evanston firefighter has been placed on administrative leave after a 26-year-old woman claimed he coerced her to engage in a sex act at Fire Station #1 early Saturday morning.
The Sun-Times reports police are conducting a criminal investigation of the incident. The woman told police she met the firefighter through a dating website.
The incident allegedly took place about 1 a.m. Saturday while other firefighters slept in the station.
Police Cmdr. Jay Parrott says that once detectives complete their investigation, the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office Felony Review Unit will be consulted to determine whether any criminal charges will be filed.
Department rules prohibit visitors at stations after 8 p.m. without supervision. The accused firefighter’s name has not been released.
Top: Evanston’s Fire Station #1 at 1332 Emerson St., the scene of the alleged incident. (Image from Google Maps.)
Close one of the Central Street fire stations
Evanston firefighters sleeping or having sex in the fire station? Looks like these firefighters have a lot of idle time.
It's time to layoff some of the bloated Evanston Fire Department staff and close one of the two fire stations on Central Street.
A woman who goes to a fire
A woman who goes to a fire station at 1am who met the accused from a dating site and has what kind of expectations? Before we start boiling the tar and getting the feathers ready lets review the transcripts of any texts or emails between her and him. My guess is something didn't go her way so she cries foul and now this firefighters name and career hang in the balance. I notice the story says "sex act" and not rape. I'll bet theres a reason too. As if it were the first time a scorned woman saught revenge.
blame?
Great work blaming the victim, here.
Just as you advised others to look at the transcripts, I advise you to review the facts before you speculate, as well. It should not matter what time it was, where it was, or how they met. If it was unwanted, it shouldn't have happened.
Disappointing, for sure.
Why did the firefighter invite her at 1 am?
Not only did Mark blame the victim but he and David seem oblvious to the fact a civilian was on a date with a presumably on duty fire fighter at the Emerson Street fire station where apparently a sex act was involved.
Do Evanston fire fighters have enough time on their hands to bring their dates or girlfriends to the fire station for a little fun while on duty at 1 a.m.?
Fire Chief Kleiber declined to comment on this fire fighter's apparent violation of bringing his date to the fire station 5 hours after the visitation rule.
How much you wanna bet the Evanston Fire Union will back this fire fighter all the way. Remember, the Evanston Fire Union sued the city after it tried to layoff two fire fighters during the recession. It won that battle and since 2008 not one Evanston fire fighter was laid off. But our taxes keep rising and the government union pension is bankrupting the city and state.
To blame the victim
To blame the victim, one has to determine that the subject is a victim, first
Evanston firefighter
and what happens when the dept is cut and you have an emergency? firefighters sleep at the fire station so they can respond to save lives and property. obviously you are not familiar with codes that require appropriate emergency personnel staffing.
Apparently, not all of them
Apparently, not all of them are sleeping.
Thank God for our Firefighter/Paramedics
I hope Anonmyous Al doesn't need the bloated EFD staff to respond to a 911 call at his home or place of business. But if he does, they will be there within 4 minutes and he will be very grateful. Furthermore, I hope to goodness these men and women get some sleep during their strait 24 hour shift. I want them to be as rested as possible when they pull up in front of my house.
Hold off on the pension-bashing…
I'm not sure how this thread jumped to a firefighter's pension tirade, but you may not have a complete understanding of how these pensions work.
It's trendy to bash goverment employee pensions, I know, but bear with me…
For starters, firefighters (and other civil servants ) pay into their pension funds, some as much as 16%, depending on the municipality. So it's not "free money," it's money paid in by the employees that's intended to be invested wisely so that it can grow over time and provide a retirement income. Does the city owe a reciprocal amount to contribute to the pension fund? Yes, much in the same way that employers match funds within their employee's 401k or retirement funds.
What's more, firefighters do not receive social security income upon retirement. Net, they pay into a retirement plan that is far more narrow than most everyone else in the country and simply expect it to be there when they've completed the terms of their agreed-upon service to the community. Does that seem so unreasonable?
Government unions deserve a good bashing
Funny how you don't mention that government union employees can retire in their 50s with an annual pension of 50-75 percent of their final salary with an annual guaranteed 3 percent increase for life! This is not to mention the double dipping and spiking that goes unchecked in the system
Evanston's former fire and police chiefs both retired in their early 50s with a six figure pension and both are now working in the same capacity for nearby towns, earning another pension (double dipping). No one in the private sector except top executives get that kind of deal.
Also, try firing or laying off a governement union employee such as a firefighter. Evanston tried and got sued by the Evanston fire union. In the end, Evanston rehired the two firefighters they tried to layoff. The unions run the city and the state. To this day, not one state union employee has been laid off.
Government unions deserve bashing because the rest of us in the private sector are losing jobs or experiencing pay raise freezes all the while the cost of living and taxes keep rising as the quality of public service declines. In 2010 during the height of the recession where millions were losing jobs and their homes, the Democrats in Illinois raised our income taxes 67 percent after government unions marched on Springfield, demanding a tax hike. About 90 percent of all union campaign donations go to Democrats. Gee, I wonder why?
Government unions deserve ZERO sympathy.
You seem to think retirement
You seem to think retirement pay is the same at all municipalities and you also seem to forget that individual municipalities approve their individual contracts. While you seem to realize how those pesky union workers can retire in their 50s I wonder if you'd be one of those upset residents when Evanston has poorly staffed police and fire crews because they have 50 and 60 year old guys getting banged up fighting suspects and falling off ladders etc.
For some reason you don't remember how much quicker your body healed and repaired itself when you were younger but you would prefer these guys not retiring and living "the good life." Great move Sherlock. Don't forget they have more vacation time to use. They will more than likely have greater, and more easily sustained injuries, with more time away from core duties. And this one is my favorite…."You can't hire new and younger personnel for a physical job without increasing personnel unless they leave."
Somehow in your anger and fear with the union monster you forget some very practical things.
As far as the double dipping…cry to your state legislators and local elected officials about this. You're whining about the union but — newsflash — the double dipping chiefs you referred to aren't union. They're exempt.
Double dipping opportunities are usually reserved for connected and high rnaking people, not the rank and file union members scrambling for overtime to make a living. I guess it would be too much to actually hold your elected representatives accountable so you blame the people they made deals with instead of them for making the deal. Atta boy crybaby.