SPRINGFIELD (IL)
Springfield Journal Register
December 5, 2018
By Crystal Thomas
A city of Springfield employee appears on the list the Catholic Diocese of Springfield released last week that named priests it said had been credibly accused of sexually abusing minors.
Joseph D. Cernich, 62, of Springfield, was laicized, or stripped of his priestly duties, in June 2003 and hired by the city in November of the same year. Cernich currently works as a technical support specialist in City Water, Light and Power’s information systems division and makes about $56,000 a year.
Requests for comment from Cernich went unanswered. He hung up when The State Journal-Register called his work phone number.
In response to a State Journal-Register inquiry into whether the new information affects Cernich’s employment, city attorney Jim Zerkle wrote the “the situation is presently under review.”
″… (C)onsistent with the City personnel policy, the City cannot comment on individual personnel matters,” Zerkle wrote.
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