Village Of Salem Lakes Denies KCE Request For Firefighters’ Letters Of Resignation: We’re Going To Court

Copied!
Salem Lakes VIllage Attorney Rich Scholze
Law Firm of Wanasek, Scholze, Ludwig, Eles & Gorn, S.C.
(Photo by Kevin Mathewson, Kenosha County Eye)

Opinion by Kenosha County Eye Editor, Kevin Mathewson:

Paid Advertisement

Kenosha County Eye has been very interested in behavior from elected officials and other employees of the Village of Salem Lakes. Most of the tips we’ve received have proven to be true. One such tip, is that the embattled Fire Chief, Jim Lejcar has been such a terrible leader, that many quality firefighters have resigned in the last year. Of course, before reporting on this, we started a fact-finding investigation. On January 28, 2023, we asked the Village of Salem Lakes for the resignation and/or termination letters from the fire department for the last three years. After slow-playing the request for almost a month, Village Clerk Shannon Hahn denied our request today. She cited a statute that has nothing to do with our request.

Paid Advertisement

A Village Clerk like Shannon, likely consulted with the Village’s Attorney, Rich Scholze before making this determination, especially because we’ve never lost a public records lawsuit. In fact, we’ve won over eleven lawsuits and administrative appeals in Illinois and Wisconsin. This denial is especially laughable because the Village has provided KCE with a letter of resignation on January 20, 2023, just over a week before this request. Here is the resignation letter that Hahn provided to us:

Paid Advertisement
Resignation letter of Salem Lakes Zoning and Land Use Administrator

I called Rich Scholze at his law firm to try to talk some reason into him. He immediately hung up on me. This is not the type of behavior we should expect from a lawyer that represents government agencies.

Paid Advertisement
Salem Lakes Fire Chief James Lejcar
(Photo by Kevin Mathewson, Kenosha County Eye)

I emailed Schoze and all of his partners today. I told them what Rich was doing. I gave the village until Thursday night at 5pm to reconsider the denial. If not, I will be filing a lawsuit this Friday, February 24, 2023 in Kenosha County Circuit Court. I’ve won a lot of slam-dunk cases, and believe me when I say, this one is the biggest slam dunk. That leads me to be extremely suspicious about why the Village of Salem Lakes doesn’t want the public to know about the failed leadership of the new Fire Chief. Then I remembered, there is an election tomorrow. With a government agency that is as non-transparent as Salem Lakes, they likely know they will lose this lawsuit and the taxpayers will have to foot the bill for my attorneys’ fees and costs. They are willing to spend the hard-working tax-dollars of the Salem Lakes taxpayers for political gain.

Paid Advertisement

Author

Copied!
LATEST NEWS

Kenosha Man Accused of Strangling Girlfriend, Causing Severe Facial Injury

Kenosha, Wis. — A 56-year-old Kenosha man is facing multiple criminal charges after allegedly assaulting his live-in girlfriend, choking her and striking her in the face hard enough to require stitches and cause temporary vision loss. Allen S. Meyer was charged in Kenosha County Circuit Court with substantial battery, strangulation and suffocation, and disorderly conduct — all with domestic abuse enhancers. The alleged attack occurred on March 21 at Meyer’s upper unit residence on 17th Avenue.

Read More »

Kenosha Woman Charged Again for Stealing Family’s Car While Out on Bail for Doing the Same

Kenosha, Wis. – A 36-year-old Kenosha woman remains in the county jail on a $7,500 cash bail after being charged with stealing her daughter’s car over the weekend—despite already being out on bail for a similar car theft involving her own mother just months earlier. Kristy R. Delaney now faces a total of ten new charges in a case filed Monday, including five felony counts of bail jumping, misdemeanor bail jumping, misdemeanor theft, operating while revoked,

Read More »
MORE TOP STORIES

Kenosha Woman Accused of Tearing Sister’s Ear in Violent Fight

Kenosha, Wis. — A 23-year-old Kenosha woman is facing felony charges after allegedly assaulting her sister during a domestic dispute, less than two years after a similar case against her was dropped by the previous district attorney’s office. Katie M. Imbrogno has been charged in Kenosha County Circuit Court with one count of Substantial Battery – Domestic Abuse, a Class I felony, and one count of Disorderly Conduct – Domestic Abuse, a Class B misdemeanor. If

Read More »

$50,000 Bail Set for Kenosha Man Accused of Distributing Child Pornography

Kenosha, Wis. — A Kenosha man is being held in the Kenosha County Jail on serious felony charges after investigators say he shared a graphic image involving a young child over social media. Daniel D. Pichardo-Vilchis, 39, was arrested April 16 following an investigation by the Kenosha Police Department and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC). He appeared in court last week for an initial appearance, where Court Commissioner William Michel ordered a

Read More »

Kenosha Man Jailed After Additional Child Porn Charges Filed

Kenosha, Wis. — A Kenosha man is facing serious new criminal charges after being re-arrested last week in connection with a growing child pornography case. Hector A. Tot-Cuc, 25, was first charged on March 31, 2025, with two counts of possession of child pornography. He was released on $10,000 cash bail the following day. But on April 16, at 9:40 a.m., Tot-Cuc was taken back into custody after new evidence led prosecutors to file five additional

Read More »

Teen Avoids Adult Court After Bringing Loaded Gun to Indian Trail

Kenosha, Wis. — In a decision that’s raising eyebrows across the community, Kenosha County Circuit Court Judge Chad Kerkman (D) on Friday rejected a request from prosecutors to waive 16-year-old Jaheem Wright into adult court, allowing the teen who brought a loaded gun to school and made threats to be sentenced in juvenile court instead. Wright, who terrified students and staff at Indian Trail High School in December, took a plea deal and pleaded guilty to

Read More »

Counselor on Leave Amid Allegations at Westosha Central High School; Parents Demand Transparency

Paddock Lake, Wis. — A counselor at Westosha Central High School is currently on leave, and parents are once again demanding transparency from school leadership. Kenosha County Eye has confirmed through multiple sources that the counselor is accused of inappropriate communication with a student. According to individuals familiar with the situation, the counselor allegedly used his or her personal cellphone to communicate with a student and is also believed to have given the student a ride

Read More »

Kenosha Cop Sues City, Claims Anti-Gay Discrimination Over Missed Promotion

Kenosha, Wis. — A longtime Kenosha police officer who was once accused—but never charged—of rape has filed a federal lawsuit claiming the city and its police chiefs passed him over for promotion because he is gay. Officer Pep Moretti, who has worked for the Kenosha Police Department since 2009, filed the Title VII discrimination lawsuit in late March against the City of Kenosha, former Chief Eric Larsen, and current Chief Patrick Patton. In his complaint, Moretti

Read More »

Wilmot High School Quiz on Trump Tariffs Draws Parental Criticism

Kenosha, Wis. — Some Wilmot Union High School parents are speaking out this week, accusing a 10th grade World History teacher of pushing a politically biased message in the classroom. The criticism centers on a quiz that students were given concerning the economic impacts of former President Donald Trump’s tariff policies — a quiz many say unfairly portrays Trump in a negative light. The assignment, titled “The Consequences of Black Friday,” includes four questions directly targeting

Read More »

Kenosha Law Enforcement Agencies Diverge on Radio Dispatch Policy Changes

Kenosha, Wis. — A recent shift in radio dispatch protocols by the Kenosha County Sheriff’s Office has sparked discussion among local law enforcement leaders, with the Kenosha Police Department opting not to follow suit. As of April 1, the Kenosha County Sheriff’s Office has implemented a revised dispatch policy for non-emergency and low-priority calls. The change, outlined in a March 11 email by Captain Eric Klinkhammer, is aimed at enhancing privacy and reducing radio clutter while

Read More »

Convicted Child Predator Extradited to Kenosha for New Sexual Assault Charge

Kenosha, Wis. — A Racine County man already serving 30 years in state prison for sexually assaulting a 4-year-old girl was extradited to Kenosha County this week to face a new charge involving a different child victim. Seth C. Beining, 23, of Wilmot, is now charged in Kenosha County with first-degree sexual assault of a child under 13. According to the criminal complaint, Beining allegedly assaulted an 11-year-old girl in June 2022 while the two were

Read More »

Kenosha County Scanner Admin Harasses Young Woman for Sharing Post, Reigniting Concerns Over His Criminal Past

Kenosha, Wis. — A 21-year-old Kenosha County woman says she is being harassed by a convicted serial arsonist after sharing one of his Facebook posts in a community thread. The man at the center of the controversy, 48-year-old Allen M. Dunski, Jr, co-manages the Kenosha County Scanner Facebook page with his partner John Broemelkamp. The page charges subscribers $4.99 per month to view posts, which often summarize local police and fire activity. Dunski has previously claimed—without

Read More »
Categories
Archives
Authors

21 Responses

  1. This isn’t making a lot of sense. If you wanted records of the Twin Lakes Police Dept. you’d ask the chief, not the village clerk. How is this different? Does she even have the letters? And if she doesn’t, why a month to answer what could have been done in a day — or less?

  2. Of course he is going to hang up on you….lawyers get paid even if they lose, too. He’d love for you to take them to court.

  3. Only if you knew the reasons why he’s a terrible leader and people are leaving. It’s scary… there is no one to cover the village at times because no one wants to work for him

    12
    2
  4. He is a terrible leader, none of the firefighters in Salem Lakes stand with Chief James Lejcar. He has little to no respect for his men and women. Don’t forget that fact that he has anger issues and likes to yell like a toddler and won’t step up and own his mistakes. Countless firefighters have sent letters in complaint of Chief Lejcar. This is said from a someone who has worked under Lejcar. Lejcar is ruining the reputation and name for SLFR, his men and women are embarrassed to be lead by such a failure.

    8
    2
  5. He is the worst thing that could have happened to that dept. mike Slover built that place so high, just for him to crumble it. People used to come from home and enjoyed being at the station. Now, no one. Everyone is scared to go to work. The absolute disrespect and abuse of power he has. Hell! Even the secretary can’t sleep at night and has constant panic attacks. It’s that bad. Ever hear a Fire Chief make racist comments on a scene in front of the public… yup that happened. Just know when you lay down your head at night, you might not have the proper connection you think you are getting.

  6. Is anybody in charge of this Village? I think there is seven board members, why no leadership. These stories about this Village seem unbelievable, hopefully their election can find leadership, they clearly need it. They must have a lot of uninformed taxpayers. It is amazing that these Villages protect employees and board members that should be doing something else, who the hell would want to work for a Village with this BS going on. Probably why they are abandoning ship. Another reason for some kind of term limits, helps protect the taxpayer from chaos. Also sounds like the citizens in that community better invest in a private fire department, or possibly new personnel before nobody is left.

    6
    2
    1. It’s not the personal on the fire department, it’s the chief making bad word for everyone. The fire department staff does not stand with the chief and wants no part of the bad name he has brought to SLFR. The community needs to understand the men and women on the line do not agree with the leadership. Members have tried to get Lejcar out of there, but he’s doing something for the hire ups so they are doing something for him.. it’s truly sad

      7
      1
    1. Hey mister Anonymous, if you said “Countless firefighters have sent letters in complaint of Chief Lejcar”, then get them sent to the Fire Commision. They would love to see them.

      1. I hope that you realize that the fire commission is the one that hired him and so there jeopardises their presence in the department. The fire commission should be wondering about their monthly reviews of the work of the chief and looking at the big picture with each resignation and again whenever the Chief puts out a posting for new hires. The village does not need short term hires of full timers and then to pay for pensioninsurance forever. We need a chief that will build professionalism like Chief Slover did for many years. Somewhere along the line the fire commission missed out on the leadership aspect that Slover had in their criteria for a great candidate for the job. I have read the comments on this and the other threads. No one needs to have a boss yelling in their face and if the issue with the employee is that very bad, then Wisc is an “at will state” and the person should be fired, not insulted. And it would be up to the chief to write the person up and those shold be of interest to the commission. Every employee should be able to contest what was written up on them and to contest it. If the commission is really working, they would be investigating this on the mere mention of an issue, mere hint of a problem, mere whisper of degrading the greatest local department by any news outlet.

        Time for someone to ask for the roster for all locations of the last 10 years, and must include Fire, Rescue, EMS for those of the time as the Town, the Village of Silver Lake and Salem Lakes. Chief Slover should have had it, would have had it, so the present Chief should have it still.

        4
        2
  7. anyone that works in the western counties. As a firefighter or emt , knows about this guy, even the private ambulance services in the western part knows about this guy , He needs to be gone ,We need to clean house with these tyrants.

    8
    2
  8. It’s a shame that someone like Kevin Mathewson can spread this kind of misinformation for his own personal gain. Just because you see it on the internet doesn’t mean it’s truth.

    5
    4
  9. I believe that the larger picture needs to be looked at. Take a look at the top. Murdock is a poor leader at best and an outright criminal at worst. Poor and unethical behavior starts with him. If a resignation letter isn’t accepted, it’s because of him. I pray each day that Walworth County Sheriff does a complete and thorough investigation and finds all that Murdock has done. He has harmed good people and needs to be held accountable for his actions.

    4
    1
    1. Murdock is the problem. He does what he wants. Hires people that kiss his ass. And intimidates the ones that don’t. He drives around in his village truck chasing fire calls and leaning against his truck smoking cigarettes the whole time. He does little to nothing as an administrator. Clean house from the top and watch a major change. The sooner he is gone and the fire chief and the director of public works as well as this board the sooner this village will run smoother with a lot less corruption.

      1
      1
  10. The poor leader is the village administrator who is also a fire battalion chief. How is that ok or ethical? And that was in place before Lejcar became chief. Murdock is known to yell and scream swear words and racial slurs in his fellow fire fighters face. Is that what we call brotherhood? Or is it pure bullying, threatening, fear based leadership?

  11. Its been a running joke at how many people have resigned or quit. We stopped counting at 20 in 4 months. Most if not all left letter of resignations. One left with a 2 hour screaming match with James Lejcar and the employee. James lejcar is the front man but their fire marshall Steve Ptinski is jist as bad. He has no leadeeship skills and was appointed against union wishes. In fact the union wasnt even told. Salem lakes is literally falling apart..slover left a shit pile and now all of our equipment is broken or out dated and unsafe. We barely have staffing. God help our resodents that call 911. The department needs more money. Fireifghter paramedics go tp school for 3 years and get paid nothing. That “EMT” responding to your 911 call is brand new. Our residents deswrve the best but king james lejcar and king steve ptimski care more about power than this department. Firefighters are proud of there station and equipment. But if you the public or FPC would stop by the wouldnt be allowed to talk to the firemen and would be lied to. Get rid of steve ptinski ,.get rid of james lejcar and restructure the department. We are no longer a volumteer department, we run too many calls, we are a combination fulltime/ part time. We need 7 to 9 staff per day. Some days we are lucky to get 2 or 3. We have 4 stations and yet can only staff 1. If you live on the border be prepared to wait 20 minutes for and ambukance.

    3
    1

Add a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

LATEST NEWS
Categories
Archives
Authors

Subscribe to updates

Get notified of new articles. We'll never share your email address.