State dismisses complaint from former city attorney
(Published Friday, July 6, 2007 12:37:12 PM CST)
A d v e r t i s e m e n t
By Chris Schultz Gazette staff
LAKE GENEVA-Former City Attorney Michael Rielly said he won't appeal a state decision that Lake Geneva did not discriminated against him when he was removed from office last year.
The state Equal Rights Division recently dismissed Rielly's complaint against the city. An administrative law judge ruled there is no probable cause to support Rielly's claim that the city refused to reasonably accommodate a disability and terminated him because of a disability.
Rielly has 30 days from the June 12 decision to file a written appeal, but he told The Janesville Gazette he has no plans to challenge the ruling.
Rielly served as city attorney in Lake Geneva for nine years. Lake Geneva is one of the few cities left in the state with an elected city attorney, and Rielly was re-elected in April 2006.
Beginning in spring of 2006, Rielly began to engage in unusual behavior, generating complaints from coworkers and the public.
That same spring, he was diagnosed with bipolar disorder, a mental illness that requires medication.
In May 2006, his law license was suspended because of medical disability. Rielly was granted 30 days leave by the city council at Rielly's request.
The city later filed a petition to remove him as city attorney because he could no longer perform his duties. He was officially removed after a July 2006 hearing before the city council. Neither Rielly nor his counsel appeared at the hearing.
Rielly's law license was restored in November 2006.
Since Rielly's removal, Berwyn Braden has taken over city attorney duties. Voters last year rejected a referendum to make city attorney an appointed position, and the seat will be up for election in April.
Rielly moved to his home town in Iowa for several months but later returned to Lake Geneva and practicing general law, with a focus on real estate, business and wills. He rents office space at the Cheryl A. Mick law offices between Lake Geneva and Elkhorn.
