School Nurse Who Swapped Meds Of Arlington Heights Students Receives Felony Conviction: Lawyer

ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, IL — A former nurse at a local elementary school, who is accused of mismanaging and swapping the prescription drugs of students, has received a felony conviction. Tory E. Eitz received a 13-count criminal sentence that includes at least 90 days in Cook County Jail.

According to the law firm of Romanucci & Blandin, the legal team representing the families of Westgate Elementary School, that jail stint will be followed by 30 months probation, drug testing and additional conditions to ensure she does not have contact with these families.

In 2024, Eitz was charged with six felonies — official misconduct (one count) and forgery (five counts) — along with seven counts of endangering the life or health of a child (misdemeanor).

As Patch reported in April of that year, the family of a student at Westgate hired a lawyer after the child's doctor said their blood work showed signs of "excessive aspirin intake," and tested positive for fentanyl.

RELATED: School Nurse Charged In Student Medicine Swap — Arlington Heights PD

"Today's felony conviction by the former nurse is an important step towards accountability for the harm to the education, physical health and social emotional development of nine children, and the fact that Tory Eitz will now spend time in jail is a satisfying but somber outcome to the criminal proceedings," said Gina A. DeBoni, managing and senior partner at the Chicago-based law firm.

In May 2024, the Arlington Heights School District 25 Board of Education voted unanimously to terminate the contract of Eitz. The board voted 6-0 in favor of her firing. Eitz had been on leave since April.

According to police, detectives reviewed physical evidence collected at the school, information obtained from forensically extracted data and documents obtained through the legal process. Detectives conducted numerous interviews with witnesses, school staff members and parents as multiple students were affected.

"The judge in his remarks from the bench called the nurse's conduct 'diabolical' and stated clearly that these children did nothing to provoke or deserve this harm, and that the nurse's addiction ensnared defenseless children with medical conditions," DeBoni said. "We support our clients as their families continue to navigate the harm done to their young children."