Late Hinsdale Firefighter's Backers Confront Officials

HINSDALE, IL — Family and supporters of a late Hinsdale firefighter this week criticized the fire department as being a hostile environment for women.

About 15 people showed up at the meeting of the Hinsdale Village Board to show their support for 25-year-old Nicole Hladik, a Lyons Township High School graduate who took her own life in July 2020.

Last summer, Hladik's estate sued the village and fire Lt. Tom McCarthy, alleging she was the victim of gender discrimination.

The first speaker at the meeting was Chicago firefighter Lee Ann McKay, who said Hladik had no place to go to air her complaint. She could not raise it to her supervisor, McCarthy, because he was the one harassing her.

"Day 1 in the academy, you learn to keep your head down and shut up. You don't complain, and you follow orders," McKay said. "To be berated, to be harassed, to be abused, you have no place to turn. The guys who watched it happen, they kept their head down and watched it happen because they don't want to be the focus of berating harassment."

As a female firefighter, McKay said she knew what it was like to be berated every day. She urged the Village Board to change the culture in the Hinsdale Fire Department.

This prompted Village President Tom Cauley to speak about Hladik, calling the family's loss tragic. The day after her death, Cauley said he hired a former federal prosecutor to investigate whether Hladik was the victim of discrimination.

The investigator interviewed everyone in the fire department, Cauley said.

"The family refused to talk to the investigator. There was also a suicide note. We asked to see the note. We thought that would be very helpful for the investigation," Cauley said. "The note was held by the Downers Grove Police Department. They refused to give us the note, based on the family's privacy concerns."

The investigator, Eric Pruitt, produced a 36-page report, which was dated Nov. 10, 2020, Cauley said. At the time, the Village Board approved spending more than $100,000 on the investigator. But the village would not disclose the reasoning for it, other than to tell Patch it was looking into "operational issues."

Only in December, when Patch was reporting on the lawsuit, did the village confirm the inquiry was related to Hladik's death and that it cleared the village.

At Tuesday's board meeting, Cauley said the report was covered by attorney-client privilege, the reason it had not been released.

"I would like to give you a copy of that report," Cauley told Hladik's supporters. "My attorneys tell me that since we're in litigation with the family, I shouldn't do that. They tell me I shouldn't even comment on it. But I'm going to anyway."

He said only he, the village manager and "a few select others" have seen the report. Even the elected village trustees have not seen it, he said.

Cauley said he was willing to share the report with the family and the public. But he said he wanted to redact the names of those interviewed and the investigator's conclusions. If the family's attorney was fine with releasing it to the public with the redactions, the village would then do so, Cauley said.

The report, Cauley said, shows the village did nothing inappropriate in relation to Hladik. But he said he was willing to hear from the family and others about whether anything is wrong with the report, which could result in a reopening of the investigation.

Hladik's mother, Sharon Zaba, said the family declined to speak with the investigator because they did not trust someone hired by the village, given what happened to her daughter. She said she has nightmares constantly about her daughter's situation, saying she will carry it for the rest of her life.

"Please do not blame my family for not cooperating with Hinsdale," Zaba said.

Cauley said his intent was to say that the village had "one hand tied behind our back because certain people wouldn't talk to us." He said the investigator comes from a reputable, third-party law firm, to which Zaba added, "That you hired."

Cauley replied, "Because no one is going to do the work for free."

Zaba took issue with Cauley's statement that the village did not see a copy of the note.

"To be perfectly honest, sir, I think you need to get your house in order because it was the Hinsdale Fire Department that told us about the note and told us what it said," Zaba said.

Cauley said that was news to him. That type of information, he said, may require a reopening of the investigation.

Later in the public comments, Cicero firefighter Brian Kulaga, Hladik's uncle, said local firefighters, including the fire chief, lied to the investigator. He said Cauley was berating the family for not talking with the investigator.

"I personally know multiple members of your fire department, and they lied to you. Your report is horribly, horribly flawed," Kulaga said. "It's not your fault. The fault (was) prior to the incident. The citizens should know what's going on in your department. It's a culture. Your department has been doing this for decades. Nicole was told on a daily basis that she was a failure."

Hladik's husband, Daniel Zaborowski, told the Village Board that he would speak with the family's attorney about Cauley's offer on the report. He said their lawyer advised them not to speak with the village's investigator.