Kiss Video At Lyon Township In Limbo; Official Says She Wants It Released

LA GRANGE, IL – A kiss took place between two area elected officials in the Lyons Township office last month. And there's video of it.

That appears to be agreed upon.

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As of Tuesday, footage of the incident had yet to be released. The deadline for its disclosure passed mid-Tuesday afternoon.

The controversy is linked to the District 17 race for the Cook County Board, which pits Democrat Elyse Hoffenberg of La Grange against Republican Liz Gorman of Orland Park.

Last week, Gorman filed a request for the video of the after-hours incident, which includes Hoffenberg, the township's elected clerk.

As the clerk, Hoffenberg is responsible for handling Freedom of Information Act requests such as Gorman's.

Hoffenberg said Monday that the kiss was between her and Bridgeview Mayor Steve Landek, a former Democratic state senator. She described the kiss as a peck and said she told the mayor it was inappropriate, prompting him to apologize. Gorman, for her part, said she was told it was a "romantic kiss."

In emails Monday and Tuesday, Hoffenberg pushed for the video's release. She told a village vendor that the township's elected supervisor, Christopher Getty, downloaded and then deleted the security camera footage. She asked whether the vendor could retrieve the video.

An employee in Getty's office told the clerk that he had received the public records request related to the camera positions and forwarded it to the township's lawyer, Burt Odelson.

"Although I downloaded camera positions, I realized none of that material related to my office, and it was subsequently deleted," the employee said.

The vendor responded to Hoffenberg and Getty's employee that his company doesn't manage the township's camera system. Wherever the data is stored, he said, was off-premises, not at any township workstation.

"By chance, did Chris check the recycle bin on the desktop he deleted the recordings?" the vendor said. "It's possible they are still sitting in there and can be restored."

Late Monday afternoon, Hoffenberg emailed Getty, copying a couple of reporters.

"PLEASE GO TO THE TOWNSHIP AND GET THESE PUBLIC RECORDS," she wrote. "They must be provided in a FOIA response tomorrow. NO MORE GAMES."

On Tuesday morning, Hoffenberg asked for the status of the video.

"It is imperative that you provide me with these records," she told Getty.

Gorman told Patch late Tuesday afternoon that she had not received the footage.

Asked about the status of the request, Hoffenberg said in a text message, "I am unable to comment as I have retained an attorney to look into the extensive harassment I have suffered."

On Friday, three of the four members of the township's board called an emergency meeting for Monday to vote on an independent investigation into alleged surveillance, harassment and political retaliation. They appeared to want to investigate Getty, who is also the village of Lyons' mayor.

On Monday morning, the trustees canceled it. They did not say why.

Patch left a message late Tuesday afternoon with Getty on the status of the video.