Milwaukee civil service commission hears appeal of city attorney aide separated over CJIS clearance

The Board of City Service Commissioners in Milwaukee spent much of its April 7 hearing reviewing whether the city attorney’s office acted reasonably when it separated business systems coordinator Antoine Young after officials said he could not obtain CJIS (Criminal Justice Information Services) clearance required to access computers and records in the Police Administration Building.

The case matters because the Office of the City Attorney prosecutes municipal violations at the Police Administration Building’s Ordinance Enforcement Division (OED) and relies on direct access to law‑enforcement databases; losing that access or permitting unauthorized access can trigger federal CJIS audits, witnesses told the commission.

Assistant City Attorney Catherine Headley opened the department’s case by telling the commissioners that “the determination that you must make today is whether or not the separation from employment was reasonable.” She said testimony and documents would show Young was not qualified for the position because he “was not able to get proper security clearance” necessary for OED software and for unescorted access to the Police Administration Building. Attorney Ben Hitchcock…