Cahokia mayor's workmen's comp claims total $145,000

By BETH HUNDSDORFER AND GEORGE PAWLACZYK

CAHOKIA -- A fall down stairs while on the job resulted in Mayor Frank Bergman receiving a village check for more than $20,000 -- the fourth time he has received payment for injuries while working for local government.

Bergman, who is paid a salary of $40,000 as mayor, received payouts totaling $145,463 since making his first worker's compensation claim in 1986 while working for the Commonfields of Cahokia Public Water District.

The latest payment, a $20,669 check, was approved for Bergman at the May 6 Village Board meeting, according to a village finance department invoice. The settlement is tax free.

"I got hurt in the village," Bergman said. He declined further comment and hung up when asked for the settlement amount and information about the injury.

Attorney Rod Thompson of Belleville said Bergman, who slipped on steps at the Village Hall on Dec. 9, 2005, received payment for a 22.5 percent loss of the use of his leg and underwent surgery at a Granite City hospital. The village will not be reimbursed for the settlement amount nor for medical expenses, he said.

"He never lost a day on the job," said Thompson, "so this was a good deal for the village."

A News-Democrat request on May 27 for the Village Board minutes in May was initially resisted, with the clerk asking for a Freedom of Information Act request, then telling reporters that the request must be reviewed by the village attorney. However, the minutes were later released,

While they mention the settlement to Bergman, they do not list the amount. The newspaper learned the amount through a village invoice.

Village attorney Robert Sprague stated in a letter dated Wednesday in response to a May 27 Freedom of Information request that he didn't have possession of documents concerning the settlement, but he did forward the request to the village.

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