Shuttered Factory Making News Again
Union representatives have long alleged that Republic violated labor law
By ANDREW GREINER and DICK JOHNSON
Updated 3:32 PM CST, Thu, Sep 10, 2009
A judge ordered today a $10 million D bond ($1 million cash) for the former CEO of Republic Windows and Doors, which abruptly closed last year without paying employees, for organizing a "financial crimes enterprise" and other charges.
The bond figure is above and beyond the $500,000 bond that the states attorney requested, according to a reporter at the scene.
Gillman's lawyer, Ed Genson called it the "most outrageous judgment I've heard in 45 years." He plans to appeal.
Gillman was arrested Wednesday for "moving assets or hijacking assets of the company that legally belonged to its creditors," Sally Daly, a spokeswoman for the Cook County state's attorney's office told the Trib.
Spokeswoman Tandra Simonton declined to offer details. Simonton adds that search warrants were executed Wednesday in a wider criminal investigation.
Union representatives have long alleged that Republic violated labor law, including by removing machinery from the plant as it closed. Republic executives have previously denied any wrongdoing.
Charges are expected to be filed against at least one company official as early as today.
Gillman's factory first made the news last December, when a group of laid-off factory workers on the city's North Side staged a sit-in to protest their unfair release that left them without severance or vacation pay.
Since the sit-in in December the factory has experienced a resurgence. A California based company took over the lease and hired back a handful of the laid-off employees.
Copyright Associated Press / NBC Chicago
First Published: Sep 10, 2009 11:35 AM CST
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