Simmons v. Gillespie, No. 12-3381 (7th Cir. 2013)
Annotate this CaseThe Pekin Board of Fire and Police Commissioners determined that Simmons, an officer of the city’s police department, had disobeyed an order. It suspended him without pay for 20 days. A state court of appeals reversed, concluding that the chief of police lacked authority to issue the order. Campion, a psychologist, had concluded that Simmons was unfit for duty. Simmons told the chief that he had been evaluated by other psychologists who thought him able to serve. The chief ordered Simmons to ensure that these other psychologists provided Campion with their conclusions, supported by evaluations and data. The appellate court held that the chief could require an officer to provide no more than a psychologist’s bottom line. Simmons then sued under 42 U.S.C.1983, contending that the due process clause requires the city to make up the pay he lost. The district court dismissed, holding that Illinois requires back pay only when the board rules in an officer’s favor, while here the favorable ruling came from a court. The Seventh Circuit affirmed, noting that the district judge should not have used a section 1983 suit to resolve a claim that rests entirely on a proposition of state substantive law.
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