Facing Lawsuit, Evanston City Attorney Takes Chicago Park District Job

EVANSTON, IL — The head of the Evanston Law Department is set to resign next week to become the top lawyer at the Chicago Park District.

Corporation Counsel Nick Cummings is due to depart Aug. 11 after more than three and a half years working for the city, city staff announced.

Cummings joined the city as a deputy city attorney in January 2020, taking over as corporation counsel in April 2021 upon the promotion of predecessor Kelley Gandurski to become a second deputy for then-City Manager Erika Storlie.

Both Gandurski and Cummings, along with the city itself, are named as defendants in a federal civil rights lawsuit in which a former deputy city attorney alleges she faced pervasive racial and gender discrimination while working in the law department between the summers of 2021 and 2022.

Cummings' former deputy, Michelle Ozuruigbo, says he used the n-word in front of her, illegally told her not to complain of racial discrimination and retaliated against her when she did. According to Ozuruigbo's suit, she also faced backlash from Gandurski after changing her hair to a "more ethnic" hairstyle.

Ozuruigbo alleged that she reported to Cummings that she was facing "repeated racist and hostile conduct towards her," according to her complaint. In response, Cummings "notably, agreed and stated that he 'was always defending [Ozuruigbo]' against Gandurski's racial discrimination."

Cummings also allegedly informed Gandurski and Megan Fulara, the city's human resources director, who is not named as a defendant in the case, "that they both required racial bias training."

In June 2022, Ozuruigbo was made a probationary employee and placed on a performance improvement plan, or PIP, for, according to her suit, a series of false or pretextual reasons, including using the bathroom too much in the months after she had given birth and asking for routine extensions of time or agreeing to opposing attorneys requests for extensions of times, sometimes at Cummings' request.

"This PIP was not based on any actual misconduct by [Ozuruigbo], and was instead issued because [she] reported racial discrimination and harassment to Cummings, her direct supervisor in compliance with City policy and procedure and indicated to Defendant Cummings that she wanted to further report the City's unlawful and racist actions in a formal complaint to HR," the complaint alleges.

That same month, after it became clear that Gandurski would not be hired as permanent city manager, the then-interim city manager announced her own resignation from the city to take a job at Elrod Friedman, which currently serves as outside ethics counsel to the city.

Cummings was placed on administrative leave in July 2022, but returned to his duties about than two months later after being cleared of wrongdoing in an internal investigation.

Ozuruigbo's three-count lawsuit — accusing Cummings, Gandurski and the city of illegal gender discrimination, illegal race discrimination and unlawful retaliation in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act — was initially filed in Cook County Circuit Court in April before being moved to federal court at the defendants' request. Ozuruigbo and Cummings are Black. Gandurski is white.

This week, the attorney representing Cummings, Gandurski and the city filed a motion to dismiss the case. According to the memo in support of the motion, Ozuruigbo's complaint fails to state a claim and has to be dismissed.

"As Gandurski and Cummings were not Plaintiff’s employer, they cannot be liable for any claim under Title VII," defense attorney William Oberts said. "Second, Plaintiff’s allegations against the City are also insufficient to state a plausible hostile work environment claim and should be dismissed. Third, Plaintiff’s claim for punitive damages also fails as a matter of law."

Oberts argued that Ozuruigbo only alleges a few instances of purported gender discrimination and failed to allege that there was enough racial discrimination to make it a hostile work environment or have interfered with her work performance, as a result, her claims against the city should also be dismissed.

"Here, none of the incidents alleged in the Complaint come close to intimidation, ridicule or insult severe or pervasive enough to alter the conditions of Plaintiff’s employment," Oberts said.

"[Ozuruigbo] alleges Cummings, who is also African-American, used racial slurs in [her] presence on July 9, 2021, and July 30, 2021. In the first instance, he allegedly referred to [Ozuruigbo] as the “HNIC [Head N****r in Charge]” and in the second instance he allegedly used the term, not directed to [her], but in referencing himself as not being a sales n****r," the defense attorney noted.

"[She] also alleges that Cummings sent her a video entitled 'What It’s Like Being Black At Work' on January 15, 2022, which was not about [her]. As the Complaint alleges, Cummings also used the same racial slur in reference to himself," Oberts said. "Looking at the totality of the circumstances, the alleged harassment is not so severe or pervasive as to alter the conditions of Plaintiff’s employment and create an abusive working environment."

Ozuruigbo's suit was first reported last week by the Evanston RoundTable. Last month, Chicago Park District CEO Rosa Escareño told the Chicago Sun-Times that Cummings had been “certainly vetted” before his hiring, but a park district spokesperson declined to comment to WBEZ this week when asked if the agency had been aware of Ozuruigbo's allegations before hiring Cummings.

A status hearing on the case is scheduled for Aug. 25.