Comment on Appellate Court affirms Ottawa High School teacher’s firing should be reversed

The Appellate Court in Ottawa on Thursday denied the Ottawa High School Board’s petition to rehear the Tim Burgess case. The Appellate Court issued an order in October to reverse his 2015 dismissal and send back the matter to the La Salle County Circuit Court. Appellate judges are standing by the ruling, releasing an identical judgment to the initial ruling in its Thursday confirmation. The school board fired Burgess, also a coach, for what a majority of board members termed “inappropriate and unprofessional conduct,” based on his conduct at a September 2014 union meeting, a November 2014 union meeting and a December 2014 investigatory meeting. The board is considering its next action, which may involve petitioning to the Illinois Supreme Court.