Investigative Statement No 2-Redacted
Investigative Statement No 2-Redacted
Background: On Friday, June 30, 2023, at 4:00 p.m., City Manager Dorothy David interviewed
7(1)(d)(i - d-6) - Witness who was identified as a witness to an alleged statement made by Fire
Chief Gary Ludwig that potentially violates the City’s Harassment Prevention and Reporting Policy.
The City Manager instructed 7(1)(d)(i - d-6) - that he was ordered to answer the questions posed
during the interview completely and honestly to the best of his recollection. He was informed the
policy investigation is confidential and that he should not discuss this matter with anyone. The City
Manager advised that the Fire Chief had not yet been made aware of the allegations, and that she
would make every effort not to disclose the names of the witnesses participating in the process if
feasible. 7(1)(d)(i - d-6) - was further advised that if the Chief or any other person were to ask about
the investigation, that this should be reported directly to the City Manager.
Interview Summary: The fact-finding witness interview was conducted by the City Manager as
the alleged incident involved the Fire Chief who directly reports to the City Manager. 7(1)(d)(i -
7(1)(d) was asked to share his detailed recollection of a conversation that he had with Fire Chief
Ludwig on Thursday, June 29 in the Station 1 truck bay while performing truck inventory.
7(1)(d)(i - d-6) -
confirmed that he was performing truck inventory on the morning of June 29 with
7(1)(d)(i - d-6) - Witness
. At some point, someone in the truck room calls out to tell them to say that
everyone is doing a great job. In response, 7(1)(d)(i - d-6) - jokes with the Chief, saying something
like, “Then give us a raise.” 7(1)(d)(i - d-6) - confirmed that the Chief responded with something
like, “You know how many raises that I got in Memphis? Two, and one was taken away.” At that
point, 7(1)(d)(i - d-6) - went back to working on inventory. He recalls the Chief continued to
comment about how surprised he was that in Champaign the staff get raises every year. The City
Manager then specifically asked if 7(1)(d)(i - d-6) - heard the Chief make a comment similar to,
“You know what I have gotten from here? 3% here, 2 ½ % there, a little pussy here and a little
pussy there.” 7(1)(d)(i - d-6) - confirmed that he did hear the Chief make that reference.
The City Manager then asked if 7(1)(d)(i - d-6) - had ever heard the Chief make similar statements
prior to the reported incident, statements that would be potential violations of the policy including
statements that were disrespectful or demeaning to women or statements that would be considered
sexually charged or inappropriate. 7(1)(d)(i - d-6) - responded, “yes,” but could not recall anything
specific. He did say that he had heard the Chief make statements about women and sex before.
At the conclusion of the interview, the City Manager reminded 7(1)(d)(i - d-6) - of the
confidentiality of the investigation. She also reiterated that the policy prohibits employees from
being subject to any negative employment consequences or retaliation for participation in the
investigative process or making good faith allegations of policy violations.
I 7(1)(d)(i - d-6) - have read the above summary of my June 30, 2023, interview with the City
Manager, and I agree that it is a complete and accurate summary of the allegations that I have
witnessed and reported. I have been provided an opportunity to review, revise, and add a
supplemental statement to this summary prior to it being finalized and approve of this serving as my
statement for purposes of the Harassment Prevention Policy investigation.
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