Algonquin Clerk 'Slammed' Door Into Trustee, Trustee Says

ALGONQUIN, IL — Tensions are high among Algonquin Township officials as a trustee accused the clerk of slamming a heavy door into her body, bruising her arm, over a conflict about documents, the Northwest Herald reported.

The Herald reported that trustee Rachael Lawrence called police to her office on Tuesday, Nov. 7 concerning clerk Karen Lukasik, and at a public meeting Wednesday, Lawrence questioned Lukasik's competence and asked officials to evaluate her performance.

In the incident, Lawrence and Lukasik told a McHenry Sheriff's deputy conflicting versions of the story. Lawrence said Lukasik slammed the door into her body, the Herald said, and Lukasis claimed that she asked Lawrence to leave the office, as she was closing the door, Lawrence stuck her foot in the doorway and her foot got caught.

Nobody was charged or arrested as a result of the incident.

Lawrence described her account of the event in a meeting on Wednesday. She said she had asked Lukasik for specific documents at least three times before finding some success, the Herald reported. She said when she went to Lukasik's office, she was met with "extreme hostility" and, during an argument, "vitriolic insults."

“I’d like to officially request an item be added to next month’s meeting agenda to address the clerk’s ability to perform her official duties, fulfill the document requests of this board, and of the public and ensure the safety of all individuals in contact with her,” Lawrence said.

Lukasik sat silently at the meeting, but was interviewed by the Herald. “I tried to diffuse the situation, I asked her to leave,” she said.

She likened Lawrence's putting her foot in the door to a person jumping in front of a car for the insurance money. "If you’re going to block somebody in, what do you want me to do? It’s like those people who jump in front of a car. What are you trying to do? Get an insurance claim?” she said, the Herald reported.

Lukasik claimed innocence. “I didn’t do anything to her. If she would leave me alone and let me do my job, I would work just fine with her," she said.

Trustee Dave Chapman is irritated by the infighting. He cited the tendency among people to go to extremes rather than look for common ground. “That’s what’s happening in our township and that’s what’s happening in our country. We need to find common ground. It’s going to be tough sometimes, but that’s what we need to do to serve our residents.”

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