City Drug Testing Chief Fired for Errors

By Prescott Carlson in News on May 11, 2008 4:14PM

You would think that after a truck license scandal that led to a former governor going to jail city and state employees might be a little more diligent about keeping potentially unsafe commercial drivers off the road -- especially those in Chicago's new Office of Compliance. But apparently Russell Baggett, the man in charge of the City of Chicago's drug testing program, didn't get the memo. Baggett has been fired after somehow excluding over 800 city truck drivers from random mandatory alcohol and drug tests. He also possibly violated federal regulations when he allowed employees who called in sick the day of their drug test to skip them altogether. And how did these employees so conveniently schedule their personal day? Baggett routinely warned supervisors the day before their department was to be tested.

Asked whether public safety was placed in jeopardy because of Baggett's alleged oversights, [Anthony Boswell, the Denver attorney hired to run the Office of Compliance] said, "It's pretty clear there was that potential. Absolutely. It was a very serious report. It puts people on the road at risk, and we're taking it very seriously.

"We will take appropriate action. ... We've already spoken with a number of experts to look into our program and what we need to do to make sure the protocol complies with all applicable law."

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