Alyssia Benford Violated Open Meetings Act In Firing: Lawsuit

BOLINGBROOK, IL - A civil lawsuit was filed last week at the Will County Courthouse naming Alyssia Benford, the 98th district Republican candidate for state representative, as one of the defendants. The other co-defendants are fellow elected officials on the DuPage Township board. The lawsuit accuses them of committing an Illinois Open Meetings Act violation on March 27. At that meeting, there was a split vote of 3-2 to fire a long-time DuPage Township employee, Linda Youngs.

The plaintiff's lawyer issued a statement suggesting the termination of his client was completely uncalled for and it was an illegal act. “As shown by her letter of termination, prior to March 27, 2018, Ms. Youngs had an exemplary work history and record with the Township," Bolingbrook attorney Joe Giamanco said. "She was an employee who didn’t simply do her job, she went above and beyond every day to serve the people of the Township."

Giamanco said there were a number of actions by Benford and her fellow trustees Maripat Oliver and Dennis Raga that made it obvious they circumvented the state's Open Meetings Act prior to showing up to the March 27 meeting. That day, the termination vote on Youngs was 3-2 to get rid of her. Supervisor Bill Mayer and Ken Burgess voted against her termination.

"The fact that police were present to escort Ms. Youngs from the property, before a vote was ever taken, supports Ms. Young’s belief that those who voted for her termination discussed doing so prior to the meeting and despite it not being on the agenda," Giamanco stated.

"Such actions are a clear violation of the Open Meetings Act and are indicative of behavior by elected leaders who lack respect for the rule of law. This type of governance cannot be tolerated by taxpayers and Ms. Youngs should not be victimized by such behavior.”

According to her lawsuit, Youngs had worked as an assistant to township supervisor Mayer for the past decade. She handled the daily administration for all township services and reported to Mayer.

One of the lawsuit exhibits submitted by the plaintiff's lawyer is a correspondence from Mayer. In it, he explains "three members of the DuPage Township Board who voted to terminate your employment clearly had pre-arranged their decision well before the board meeting since they had two Bolingbrook Police officers as well as the Deputy Chief of Police Mike Rompa on hand and waiting even prior to the end of the executive session.

"The Bolingbrook Police also requested from you that you surrender your door key even prior to a finalization of a vote of termination of employment ... Mayer stated in a letter to Youngs after her firing.

"It made no sense for you to be treated as a criminal when clearly there was 'no reason.' I would like to go on record to say that I in no way agree with the Board action that was taken nor does Trustee Burgess. I am totally dumbfounded, amazed and ashamed that the Board has taken this action. I feel that this was a horrible decision to be made regarding your employment ... You have no personnel records or write-ups to indicate that this type of action should have been been forthcoming."

Youngs has asked the Will County judicial system to void her firing from March 27 and take measures to prevent DuPage Township from committing additional Open Meetings Act violations.

Her lawsuit also seeks attorneys fees for Giamanco, who operates Giamanco Law Partners on Bolingbrook's Quadrangle Drive.

Image of Alyssia Benford via Bolingbrook Patch archives, image of Linda Youngs via Giamanco Law Partners