After graduating from Dickinson College in 1999 with a political science degree, Adam Mulvey of Spring Grove enlisted in the U.S. Army. He said serving for a few years would help him make decisions about a future career choice. But the events of Sept. 11, 2001, changed his mind.
“It’s like being a firefighter,” Mulvey said in an interview Thursday. “You don’t want to see a house burning, but if it is burning you want to be there. You stay in for the soldiers you’re serving with, and to take care of each other.”
Married with three children — now ages 9, 11 and 13 — Sgt. 1st Class Mulvey retired from the Army after 20 years which included two tours of duty in Iraq and one in Afghanistan. They moved to Spring Grove to be near family.
His passion to serve his country, and especially veterans, remained a constant in his life. Hearing about the James A. Lovell Federal Health Care Center in North Chicago, he said it was a perfect fit. It is the only facility in the country that cares for both veterans and active duty personnel simultaneously.
“That was the selling point for me,” Mulvey said. “We came to Illinois, and I committed to Lovell.”
Joining Lovell as an emergency management specialist on March 24 of last year, Mulvey said his work was akin to planners for the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). He developed plans to help the hospital deal with emergencies like a tornado, an active shooter or other crises.
“We made plans for anything which would overwhelm the emergency department,” he said. “We dealt with worst-case scenarios. I led an active shooter training at (Naval Station) Great Lakes. It was about how the hospital would deal with mass casualties.”
On Nov. 1, Mulvey received a performance review praising his commitment to the hospital, its patients, his coworkers and his professionalism. He was classified as “fully successful or better,” according to the report.
Nevertheless, in an email he received in the middle of the night on Feb. 13, Mulvey said he learned he was no longer employed at the hospital, 39 days before becoming eligible for all the protections provided to a federal employee in his classification.
Mulvey was one of 18 Lovell workers who lost their jobs, along with 6,000 veterans nationwide between Feb. 13 and 24, as part of the cost-cutting efforts of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
“I called my supervisor and he was stunned,” Mulvey said. “This wasn’t performance-based. I felt insulted and aggravated. They fired employees who couldn’t fight back. We are already understaffed.”
Jayna M. Legg, a public affairs specialist at Lovell, said in an email Thursday, “a small number of probationary staff” were dismissed. She declined to say more citing privacy concerns over personnel matters.
“This decision will have no negative effect on veteran health care, benefits or other services and will allow the VA to focus more effectively on its core mission of serving Veterans, families, caregivers and survivors,” she wrote.
A federal judge in San Francisco ruled Thursday that firing probationary workers is likely illegal, but while Judge William Alsup’s order prevented further terminations it did not order reinstatement of those already let go.
Local HUD workers terminated in recent Trump administration cuts
Alsup ruled the federal Office of Personal Management (OPM), which sent the termination email to Mulvey and others, does not have the authority to fire workers other than those in their own agency. The Department of Veterans Affairs has jurisdiction over employees like Mulvey.
“OPM does not have any authority whatsoever, under any statute in the history of the universe,” to hire or fire any employees but its own, the judge ruled.
U.S. Rep. Brad Schneider, D-Highland Park, said terminations like the 18 at Lovell are happening throughout the 10th Congressional District, which includes much of Lake County as well as parts of Cook and McHenry counties.
Schneider said Mulvey and the thousands of other federal employees dismissed since President Donald Trump took office on Jan. 20 and charged Elon Musk — considered the world’s richest man — with cost-cutting for the federal government, are victims of mismanagement.
“They are dedicated people who are victims of Musk’s irresponsible approach,” Schneider said. “He’s not cutting branches. He’s using a chainsaw to cut down to the trunk and roots.”
U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth, herself an Army combat veteran, said in an email Thursday these indiscriminate firings designed to cut costs will force veterans seeking care to wait longer in line and experience chaos.
“Trump and Musk can keep claiming that they’re working to weed out waste and save money, but we all know that these mass layoffs and VA cuts are ultimately their attempts to fund tax breaks for the ultra-wealthy — and stick our Veterans with the bill,” Duckworth said. “It’s an outrageous betrayal from someone who promised to look out for them.”
While not denying there is room to reduce federal expenditures which may mean loss of jobs to some, Schneider said a more thoughtful analysis is needed. A business consultant before he was elected to Congress in 2012, he discussed a three-step approach.
Every government task should be reviewed to see if it can be done better in the private sector, he said. If the effort belongs in government hands, he said, the most efficient way should be found.
“If we look at it this way, we get the most efficient government for all Americans,” Schneider said.
Matt Mutchowski — the legislative and political organizer for the American Federation of Government Employees for Illinois, Wisconsin and Michigan — said the workers he represents are becoming consistently more nervous about their jobs. He represents approximately 4,000 workers at Lovell and Naval Station Great Lakes.
“There’s a lot of chaos and confusion,” Mutchowski, a Waukegan resident, said. “A lot of them are worried, but they’re also finding ways to stand together. Membership is growing. We’re the only place they can get accurate information, and we’re the group standing up for them.”
