Burr Ridge School Controversy Sparks Lawmaker's Bill

BURR RIDGE, IL – A Burr Ridge school controversy has prompted a state lawmaker to introduce a bill that she said would help clarify the status of sexual harassment complaints.

The recent bill by Rep. Nicole La Ha, a Homer Glen Republican, would bar school districts from requiring that a harassment report be made in a specific manner to be considered "formal" or "official" for the purpose of starting an investigation.

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Last year, Burr Ridge-based Pleasantdale School District 107 heard a complaint that an employee sexually harassed another.

But the district's lawyer said the complaint did not reach "formal" status. Some residents questioned the use of that distinction.

In an interview Friday, La Ha, who represents Burr Ridge, Darien and Hinsdale, among other towns, told Patch that a constituent informed her about the issue.

"It's important to me that we have safeguards in the process and that we don't use semantics to get in the way of a fair process," La Ha said. "This will clarify the process, so we don't see differences from district to district."

La Ha, who has school-aged children, said she got feedback from representatives of the Illinois Association of School Boards that no difference should exist in the handling of complaints based on whether they are considered formal or informal.

"I see this as protecting all parties involved in a case like this," she said. "We're not jumping to conclusions."

The Pleasantdale district's attorney, Stephanie Jones, told school officials that she spoke by Zoom with a former employee who aired a sexual harassment complaint.

"As you know, school districts receive complaints on a regular basis," Jones said in a message that the district released publicly last month. "We use the processes in our policies to help guide whether a complaint is treated as a formal complaint or something other than a formal complaint. It is certainly easiest if the complainant reduces their complaint to writing or, in the alternative, tells us that a complaint is a formal complaint that they want investigated."

Jones said she asked the former employee about filing a complaint under school board policies. The lawyer said she was told the former employee would think about it.

"I had a follow-up conversation to answer questions about different processes and was again told they would think about it," Jones said in the email. "To date, I have not received word that a formal complaint was being filed."

Under the procedure, Jones said the district recommends that a person affirmatively inform officials that their complaint needs to be treated formally, even if the person doesn't want to reduce it to writing.

"Without the confirmation that they want to pursue the process of investigation, we risk proceeding with a complaint without a supporting witness, which causes questions of due process for whoever they are accusing," Jones said.