J.D., Chicago-Kent College of Law (1998), Valedictorian and Order of the Coif

B.A., Northwestern University, With Distinction (1992)

Admitted to the practice of law in Illinois

• Illinois State Bar Association
• Phi Beta Kappa

The Supreme Court of Illinois does not recognize certifications of specialties in the practice of law and no certificate, award or recognition is a requirement to practice law in Illinois.

• U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit
• U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois (Trial Bar)
• U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Illinois
• U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Indiana

• Collective Bargaining
• Arbitration (Interest & Grievance)
• Discipline/Due Process
• Constitutional Free Speech/Privacy
• Higher Education
• Appellate Litigation
• Public Safety Disability Issues

Publications

Ronald J. Kramer, James J. Powers & Kelly A. Coyle, Municipal Personnel Practices, in IICLE Municipal Law: Organization, Operation, and Governance (2023)

Thomas J. Piskorski, Robert C. Long & James J. Powers, Employment Discrimination Law in the Public Sector, in IICLE Employment Discrimination (2018)

James J. Powers, Police Body Cameras: Do Illinois Public Employers have a Duty of Bargain over Their Use?, Ill. Pub. Emp. Rel. Rep. (Summer 2016)

James J. Powers, A New Look at “Supervisors:” Is Illinois Following the National Trend?, Ill. Pub. Emp. Rel. Rep. (Fall 2011)

Mark A. Lies II & James J. Powers, Employer Liability for Workplace Violence, in Preventing & Managing Workplace Violence 138 (2008)

R. Theodore Clark, Jr. & James J. Powers, Constitutional & Practical Pitfalls of a Federally-Mandated Public Sector Collective Bargaining System, 24 J. of Lab. Res. 621 (2003)

James P. Hanlon & James J. Powers, States as Defendants in Employment Litigation: Beyond Alden v. Maine, 88 Ill. B.J. 280 (2000)

James J. Powers, Note, “Partnership Buster” in the Federal Government: The Relationship Between 5 U.S.C. § 7106 (a) and (b)(1), 72 Chi.-Kent L. Rev. 837 (1997)

Engagements

Cora v. Tootsie Roll Indus., LLC, 2024 WL 1363537 (N.D. Ill. 2024) (granting summary judgment on plaintiff's eleven-count complaint for sex and race discrimination, hostile work environment, retaliation, and intentional infliction of emotional distress)  

Policemen's Benevolent & Protective Ass'n of Ill., Unit 54 v. City of Elgin, Case No. 2023 CH 99 (Kane Cnty. Cir. Ct. 2024) (granting defendants' motion for summary judgment on union's motion to compel arbitration under the Uniform Arbitration Act)

Vill. of S. Holland, Case No. S-CA-24-034 (ILRB Ex. Dir. 2024) (dismissing without a hearing union discrimination charge alleging constructive discharge)  

Vill. of Burr Ridge, Case No. S-CA-23-037 (ILRB Ex. Dir. 2023) (dismissing without a hearing bad faith bargaining charge regarding retro pay arising from contract settlement)

City of Elgin, 39 PERI ¶ 76 (ILRB 2022) (dismissing bad faith bargaining charge without a hearing based on the employer's alleged refusal to arbitrate a grievance and alleged unilateral modification of police promotional procedures) 

Masterton v. Vill. of Glenview Police Pension Bd., 2022 IL App (1st) 220307 (affirming pension board's denial of a child's request for a line-of-duty survivor pension, because only a spouse is statutorily entitled to such benefits) 

Sanchez v. Tootsie Roll Indus., LLC, 2022 WL 2818712 (N.D. Ill. 2022) (granting summary judgment on employee's eight-count complaint claiming discriminatory and retaliatory layoff based on various protected categories)

Allen v. Benton, 2022 WL 18147674 (N.D. Ill. Feb. 25, 2022) (granting summary judgment on former employee's discriminatory and retaliatory work assignment, 15-day suspension and constructive discharge claims)

County of Winnebago, 37 PERI ¶ 111 (ILRB ALJ 2021) (dismissing petition for 10 sergeants based on supervisory and confidential employee status)      

Vill. of Barrington Hills, Case No. S-CA-21-010 (ILRB Ex. Dir. 2021) (dismissing bad faith bargaining charge without a hearing, wherein the employer allegedly modified the status quo by choosing not to provide FFCRA benefits to law enforcement personnel)

Bd. of Trustees of the Univ. of Ill., Springfield, 34 PERI ¶ 171 (IELRB 2018) (dismissing bad faith bargaining unfair labor practice charge relating to alleged changes to the way faculty tenure grievances are processed)

Bd. of Trustees of Univ. of Ill. v. Ill. Educ. Labor Relations Bd., 2018 IL App (4th) 170059 (reversing decision by Illinois Educational Labor Relations Board and finding that over 30 department chairs were managerial employees who lacked collective bargaining rights under the Educational Labor Relations Act)

IAFF Local 439 v. City of Elgin, Case No. 17 CH 1119 (Kane Cty. Cir. Ct. 2018) (dismissing union’s complaint for injunctive relief in aid of arbitration with respect to employer’s decision to reduce daily shift manning) 

Potnick v. Vill. of Glenview, 2018 WL 1064589 (N.D. Ill. 2018) (court entered summary judgment in favor of employer in response to ADEA discrimination and FMLA retaliation claims)

Carlson v. City of DeKalb, Case No. 2015 L 65 (DeKalb Cnty. Cir. Ct. 2017) (court dismissed complaint for declaratory judgment seeking to invalidate previously executed settlement and resignation agreements as violative of public policy)

Bd. of Trustees of the Univ. of Ill., 33 PERI ¶ 93 (IELRB 2017) (dismissing bad faith bargaining unfair labor practice charge relating to transfer of work from bargaining unit personnel to non-bargaining unit employees)

Mitchell v. Vill. of Barrington, Case No. 12 CH 34218 (Cook Cty. Chancery 2015) (granting employer’s motion for summary judgment on plaintiff’s PSEBA and constitutional equal protection claims), aff’d, 2016 IL App (1st) 153094 (affirming dismissal of PSEBA claim because plaintiff was not a sworn firefighter)

Bd. of Trustees of the Univ. of Ill., 32 PERI ¶ 34 (IELRB 2015) (dismissing unfair labor practice charge that alleged the University inappropriately withheld salary increase from approximately 473 newly certified non-tenured faculty members), reconsideration denied, 32 PERI ¶ 77 (IELRB 2015)

Int’l Ass’n of Firefighters Local 49 v. City of Bloomington, Case No. 14-MR-111 (McLean Cty. 2015) (granting employers’ motion for summary judgment and dismissing union challenge to interest arbitration award), aff’d, 2016 IL App (4th) 150573 (affirming dismissal of union challenge to favorable interest arbitration award)

Vill. of Lombard, 31 PERI ¶ 123 (ILRB 2015) (dismissing union unit clarification petition, finding that customer service supervisor and management analyst qualified as supervisory and/or confidential employees within the meaning of the Illinois Public Labor Relations Act)

Northeastern Ill. Univ., 30 PERI ¶ 34 (IELRB ALJ 2013) (finding that four police sergeants are supervisory employees under the Illinois Public Labor Relations Act)   

City of Rockford, 13-2 Lab. Arb. Awards (CCH) ¶ 5994 (2013) (Kossoff, Arb.) (denying firefighter minimum manning grievance)

City of Elgin, 30 PERI ¶ 8 (ILRB 2013) (dismissing and/or deferring to arbitration 5 of 6 ULP allegations)

Northeastern Ill. Univ., 30 PERI ¶ 4 (IELRB 2013) (dismissing charge filed by four faculty members without a fact-finding hearing, alleging that various adverse actions were motivated by protected concerted activities)

Northeastern Ill. Univ., Case No. 2013-CA-0043-C (IELRB 2013) (dismissing charge filed by individual faculty member without a fact-finding hearing, alleging that denial of tenure was motivated by protected concerted activities)

AFSCME Council 31 v. Ill. Educ. Labor Relations Bd. & Bd. of Trustees of Ill. State Univ., 2013 IL App (1st) 120487-U (affirming dismissal of representation petition for 10 building service foremen based on their supervisory status)

Northwest Central Dispatch System (2013) (Yaeger, Arb.) (employer substantively prevailed on six of seven issues voluntarily submitted to interest arbitration)

Vill. of Plainfield, 29 PERI ¶ 123 (ILRB 2013) (finding that nine police sergeants are supervisory employees under the Illinois Public Labor Relations Act)

Bd. of Trustees of Ill. Eastern Community Colleges, 29 PERI ¶ 136 (IELRB 2013) (Illinois Educational Labor Relations Board unanimously dismissed unfair labor practice allegations that five faculty members were laid off in retaliation for their union and protected concerted activities)

City of Elgin, 31 PERI ¶ 164 (ILRB General Counsel 2013) (finding all three IAFF bargaining proposals to be non-mandatory subjects of bargaining)

Chicago Mathematics & Science Academy Charter Sch. Inc., 359 N.L.R.B. No. 41 (2012) (holding that charter school employer was not a “political subdivision,” such that a secret ballot election should be offered to the charter school’s employees under the National Labor Relations Act as opposed to the card check process under the Illinois Educational Labor Relations Act)

Vill. of Woodridge, Case No. S-MA-11-388 (2012) (M. Camden, Arb.) (employer prevailed on 4 of 6 issues submitted to interest arbitration, including wages)

Weiss v. Vill. of Schaumburg, Case No. 11 CH 27629 (Cook Cty Cir. Ct. 2012) (denying former firefighter lieutenant’s claim for PSEBA benefits)

City of Rockford, 133 Lab. Arb. Rep. (BNA) 572 (2012) (E. Simon, Arb.) (procedural aspect of grievance denied, which alleged a contract provision that provided for competing employer and employee fitness-for-duty examinations without a third physician “tiebreaker” precluded the employer from terminating an officer for “just cause”)

Bd. of Trustees of the Univ. of Ill. v. Ill. Educ. Labor Relations Bd., 2012 IL App (4th) 110836 (reversing the Illinois Educational Labor Relations Board’s determination that a mixed unit of tenured and non-tenured faculty at the University of Illinois’ Chicago campus was appropriate for purposes of collective bargaining)

Bd. of Trustees of the Univ. of Ill., 31 PERI ¶ 115 (IELRB 2012) (finding that over 30 building service foremen are supervisory employees within the meaning of the Illinois Educational Labor Relations Act), aff’d, AFSCME Council 31 v. Ill. Educ. Labor Relations Bd., 2013 IL App (1st) 120487-U

Vill. of Western Springs, 27 PERI ¶ 4 (ILRB 2011) (dismissing bad faith bargaining charge without a hearing based on a waiver by inaction defense) 

City of E. Moline, 28 PERI ¶ 89 (ILRB 2011) (finding three newly created positions qualified as professional employees, which thereby necessitated the holding of a professional secret ballot vote to determine whether the three employees should combined with non-professional employees in the same unit)

City of Decatur, Case No. S-DR-12-002 (ILRB General Counsel 2011) (declaring union’s second proposal for layoff arbitration process a non-mandatory subject of bargaining)

City of Decatur, Case No. S-DR-11-010 (ILRB General Counsel 2011) (declaring union’s proposal for layoff arbitration process a non-mandatory subject of bargaining)

Vill. of Lake Zurich, 27 PERI ¶ 26 (ILRB 2011) (finding that police sergeants are supervisory employees within the meaning of the Illinois Public Labor Relations Act)

Gallivan v. Vill. of Skokie, Case No. 10 CH 23587 (Cook Cty Chancery 2010) (dismissing PSEBA claim based on statute of limitations defense)

Univ. of Ill. at Springfield, 27 PERI ¶ 1 (IELRB 2010) (dismissing bad faith bargaining charge, where university’s unilateral increase in housing fees for graduate teaching assistants was found to be a non-mandatory subject of bargaining)

Univ. of Ill. at Urbana-Champaign, 25 PERI ¶ 108 (IELRB 2009) (dismissing representation petition for building service foremen, where union failed to establish changed circumstances since the Board’s prior supervisory finding), aff’d, AFSCME Council 31 v. University of Ill. at Urbana Champaign, Case No. 1-09-1863 (1st Dist. 2010) (dismissing union appeal for lack of jurisdiction)

Akatobi v. Aldi, Inc., 2010 WL 1257614 (S.D. Ohio 2010) (granting 12(b)(6) motion to dismiss two public policy counts for failure to state a valid claim upon which relief could be granted)

Vill. of South Holland v. Ill. Labor Relations Bd., Case No. 1-08-0594 (1st Dist. 2009) (unpublished) (reversing decision of the Illinois Labor Relations Board, which had found that the Village’s police sergeants were not statutory supervisors within the meaning of the Illinois Public Labor Relations Act)

Vill. of Morton Grove v. Ill. Labor Relations Bd., Case No. 1-07-1498 (1st Dist. 2008) (unpublished) (reversing decision of the Illinois Labor Relations Board, which had found that the Village’s police sergeants were not statutory supervisors within the meaning of the Illinois Public Labor Relations Act)

Vill. of South Elgin v. Ill. Labor Relations Bd., Case No. 2-07-0423 (2d Dist. 2008) (unpublished) (reversing decision of the Illinois Labor Relations Board, which had found that the Village’s police sergeants were not statutory supervisors within the meaning of the Illinois Public Labor Relations Act)

Wood v. City of Elgin, 2008 WL 4545334 (N.D. Ill. 2008) (summary judgment awarded in a 100+ plaintiff lawsuit claiming that the City had failed to correctly pay overtime to police officers; successfully argued that City had adopted and complied with 29 U.S.C. § 207(k))

Bd. of Trustees of the Univ. of Ill. v. Ill. Educ. Labor Relations Bd., Case No. 4-05-0722 (4th Dist. 2006) (unpublished) (reversing decision of the Illinois Educational Labor Relations Board, which had found that disciplinary suspension was motivated by illegal animus)

Bd. of Trustees of the Univ. of Ill., 22 PERI ¶ 110 (IELRB ALJ 2006) (achieved dismissal of multi-count unfair labor practice complaint alleging discrimination and retaliation)

County of Du Page v. Ill. Labor Relations Bd., 358 Ill. App. 3d 174 (2nd Dist. 2005) (successfully argued that Labor Board’s emergency “card check” rules were invalidly promulgated)

County of Du Page v. Ill. Labor Relations Bd., 359 Ill. App. 3d 577 (2nd Dist. 2005) (successfully secured attorneys’ fee award of over $62,000 for invalidating Labor Board’s emergency “card check” rules)

City of Aurora, 20 PERI ¶ 77 (ILRB 2004) (dismissing Weingarten unfair labor practice charge)

AFSCME Council 31 v. Ill. State Labor Relations Bd., 333 Ill. App. 3d 177 (5th Dist. 2002) (affirming ILRB decision that assistant state appellate defenders were managerial employees within the meaning of the Illinois Public Labor Relations Act)

Villarreal v. Vill. of Schaumburg, 325 Ill. App. 3d 1157 (1st Dist. 2001) (successfully defended one of the first health insurance claims filed in Illinois under the Public Safety Employee Benefits Act (“PSEBA”))