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parties of their choice." International Ass'n of Firefighters,
Local No. 37 v. City of Springfield, 378 Ill. App. 3d 1078, 1081,
883 N.E.2d 590, 592 (2008). "Because the parties to an
arbitration did not bargain for a judicial determination, a
reviewing court cannot set aside an arbitration award because of
errors in judgment or mistakes of law or fact." City of
Springfield, 378 Ill. App. 3d at 1081, 883 N.E.2d at 592.
While keeping these considerations in mind, we conclude
the IELRB's decision to give no weight to Schumacher's conduct as
a bus driver was arbitrary and capricious. By excluding that
conduct, the IELRB's review was improperly limited to whether the
Arbitrator's award violated a public policy against using
profanity in front of children. This was too narrow a look at
the public policy at issue. A broader and very important public
policy concerning the safety of school children is really what is
at issue in this case. See AFSCME II, 173 Ill. 2d at 311, 671
N.E.2d at 675 ("the welfare and protection of minors has always
been considered one of the State's most fundamental interests").
This general public policy is found in both statutes and case
law.
In AFSCME II, a Department of Children and Family
Services (DCFS) employee, Vera DuBose, stated in a written
progress report that in February 1990 she had seen three children
involved in a case the employee was assigned to and they were
