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Chicago Tribune
28-05-2025
- Business
- Chicago Tribune
Nick Loving choice for Burns Harbor clerk-treasurer job
Long-time Burns Harbor Councilman Nick Loving will take on a new assignment as the town's clerk-treasurer. Porter County Democratic Party Chair Don Craft announced Wednesday that he is appointing Loving to the job. He is empowered to make the appointment as Burns Harbor only has one voter precinct. The appointment was made in consultation with Burns Harbor council members. Craft chose Loving over Toni Biancardi, who formerly served for nine years as a Burns Harbor Councilwoman. Biancardi is a Republican. Loving, 43, said he hopes to bring a fresh approach to the job. 'I will work on modernizing some of the processes we have in place,' Loving said, regarding the clerk-treasurer operations. Loving also acknowledges that there had been conflicts between prior clerk-treasurers and the council. 'I am committed to working with the council to make sure the office for clerk-treasurer is serving the people of Burns Harbor,' Loving said. Loving succeeds Nicole Migliorini, who resigned on May 14 after serving less than a year on the job. Loving complimented Migliorini for her commendable job performance. Migliorini cited a 'toxic' work environment as her reason for leaving. The Town Council had rejected her request to hire an additional full-time assistant. It was the second time within a year that a clerk-treasurer had suddenly resigned. Jane Jordan, who had served for 20 years as the town's clerk-treasurer, resigned on May 8, 2024. She had issues with the Burns Harbor Volunteer Fire Department Corporation concerning public records access and alleged violations of Indiana Code in customer billing for emergency services. She said the Town Council, county and state officials wouldn't address her concerns. Jordan considered a possible return to her old job. She is considered an expert by the state of Indiana as she has been employed to teach at seminars for clerk-treasurers. However, Jordan was drawing a pension from the state and the town would have been prohibited from contributing 11.2% of her salary toward the pension fund. Jordan asked the council to consider contributing the 11.2% toward her salary, noting that she has seven advanced certifications for the clerk-treasurer job. There wasn't enough support on the council for her request and Jordan withdrew as a candidate. Loving rejoined the Town Council last June when he was appointed to fill the vacancy left by Kurt Jordan – Jane's husband, who resigned with her at the same time. Before that, Loving had served on the Burns Harbor Town Council from 2016 to 2024. He chose not to run for re-election in 2023 but decided to rejoin the council when he was appointed last June. Craft said that he will accept applications from Democrats to fill the council position vacated by Loving.
Chicago Tribune
17-05-2025
- Business
- Chicago Tribune
Reunion with past clerk-treasurer won't happen in Burns Harbor while Nick Loving is a candidate
Jane Jordan was interested in returning as clerk-treasurer for Burns Harbor but has now withdrawn after the Town Council wouldn't consider her compensation request. The clerk-treasurer's job became officially open on May 14 when the resignation of Nicole Migliorini took effect. Don Craft, chairman of the Porter County Democratic Party, said he hopes to appoint a new clerk-treasurer before the council's next meeting on May 28. Craft is making the appointment in consultation with the Town Council. There are two candidates for the job and Craft acknowledged that one of them is Burns Harbor Councilman Nick Loving, a Democrat. Loving didn't return phone messages seeking comment. The Democratic party chairman is empowered to make the appointment without a caucus because the Town of Burns Harbor consists of one voting precinct. Migliorini cited an 'impossible' working environment as the reason for her resignation because the council refused her request to hire a second full-time assistant clerk. She had served on the job for less than a year. Jordan, a Democrat, had served 20 years as the Burns Harbor clerk-treasurer and had been re-elected to another four-year term in November 2023. She is considered an expert in her field as the state has called upon her to lead training seminars for clerks. She suddenly resigned on May 8, 2024, along with her husband Kurt Jordan who had been elected to the Town Council in November 2023, because of issues with the Burns Harbor Volunteer Fire Department Corporation concerning public records access and alleged violations of Indiana Code in customer billing for emergency services. The Jordans resigned because they believed the Town Council, along with county and state officials, were unresponsive. Jordan said she became aware on May 7 that Migliorini was going to resign, so she reached out to Craft. 'I love this town and I love the residents,' Jordan said, stating why she considered coming back. Since she left the job, Jordan had been drawing a pension from the state of Indiana. Because she was drawing a pension, Jordan said the town would be prohibited from contributing 11.2% of her salary toward a pension. She said that if she had returned it would be for less than the total compensation she had been paid before. Under state law, a political subdivision can add compensation for certifications that an employee attains. Jordan said she has seven state and international certifications as a clerk. She asked that the town consider raising her salary since the town wouldn't be making a pension contribution. Craft said he understood that there was one council member — Jack McGraw — interested in bringing Jordan back. McGraw didn't return a phone message seeking comment. Council President Jennifer McHargue at Wednesday's meeting said that they would follow the law and fill the position. When asked about whether Jordan was one of the candidates, McHargue replied 'no comment.'
Chicago Tribune
07-05-2025
- Business
- Chicago Tribune
Burns Harbor clerk-treasurer resigns, citing toxic work environment
Nicole Migliorini is resigning as the Burns Harbor Town clerk-treasurer, citing a 'toxic environment' that has made it 'impossible' to perform the job. Migliorini, 32, had served for less than a year as she was officially appointed by the Town Council as clerk-treasurer on June 12, 2024. She filed her official resignation letter Wednesday with the Porter County Clerk's office. The resignation takes effect on May 14. It is the second time within a year that a Burns Harbor clerk-treasurer has resigned, citing problems working with other town officials. Jane Jordan on May 8, 2024, suddenly resigned as the clerk-treasurer after serving 20 years on the job. Her husband Kurt Jordan, who had been elected to the Town Council in November 2023, also turned in his resignation. The Jordans had issues with the Burns Harbor Volunteer Fire Department Corporation concerning public records access and alleged violations of Indiana Code in customer billing for emergency services. They resigned because of their belief that the state, county and the Town Council were unresponsive to the situation. Migliorini in her letter stated that she hoped to have a more positive experience when she started the job, but it became apparent that wasn't going to happen. 'This decision comes after long consideration and is the result of the toxic environment that has made it impossible to perform my duties with the integrity the role deserves,' Migliorini's letter states. 'Despite my best efforts to uphold the responsibilities of my office, I can no longer justify remaining in a position where standards are ignored.' Migliorini said she believed that resigning 'is in the best interest of both my professional integrity and personal well-being.' During her last week on the job, Migliorini said she would fulfill her duties, but 'will not continue to tolerate an environment that actively obstructs the very principles I was hired to uphold.' Migliorini couldn't be reached for further comment. Migliorini had worked as an assistant clerk in the Burns Harbor clerk-treasurer's office before she was promoted. She also served on the town's plan commission. Councilwoman Roseann Bozak said that she and other council members received an email this week from Migliorini, informing them of her intent to file the resignation paperwork with the Porter County Clerk's office. Bozak declined to comment on the content of Migliorini's resignation letter. The Town Council will have to find someone soon to fill the job and, at the moment, there is no one in mind, Bozak said. The council appointed Migliorini to the clerk-treasurer's job after Porter County Democratic Party Chairman Don Craft declined to make the appointment.
