Lyons Township Leader Gets Rare Rejection Week After Election Loss

COUNTRYSIDE, IL – Lyons Township's board had a rare divided vote this week, and the township's elected supervisor, Christopher Getty, was on the wrong end of it.

The township board voted 3-2 to hire a new attorney for advice on public records requests. The township's regular lawyer advised against such a move, and so did Getty.

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This happened a week after Getty's loss in the race for Congress. As an independent, Getty received 9 percent of the vote against Democrat Patty Garcia, even after he raised almost as much money.

In Lyons Township, a divided vote is a rarity. According to meeting minutes since the start of 2024, the board has had just one other dissenting vote. (In April 2025, a trustee voted against the meeting minutes.)

In May 2025, the board voted unanimously for attorney Brian Miller from the Del Galdo law firm to advise Clerk Elyse Hoffenberg on records requests. On Tuesday, she asked the board to approve the Del Galdo firm to take on that role, with Miller having left the firm.

However, attorney Lauren DaValle of the Evergreen Park-based Odelson law firm said only the supervisor can appoint an attorney with the board's advice and consent.

"The clerk does not have the authority to appoint her own attorney to represent the township and therefore any action by the clerk to nominate or appoint an attorney would be void," DaValle said.

Getty, who is also mayor of Lyons, said he was more than happy to discuss appointing a lawyer with the board. But he said the issue needed to go through the proper channels.

DaValle asked the board to go into closed session to discuss the matter so she could provide a legal opinion and clarification.

"That's not something I'm comfortable doing in open session," she said.

Discussing it in public, she said, would be waiving attorney-client privilege.

Trustee Candace Mares replied, "I gladly waive privilege."

Trustee Mark Anderson, though, backed Getty, saying the township must follow state law.

Mares, Brian Imielski and Miriam Cruz voted for the Del Galdo firm, while Getty and Anderson were against.

For the last few months, the issue of public records requests has taken center stage in Lyons Township.

In August, Hoffenberg, a Cook County Board candidate, received a records request for video of a Democratic Party boss kissing her after hours in her office. The request came from her Republican opponent, Liz Gorman, whom Hoffenberg ultimately defeated.

Hoffenberg accused Getty of surveilling her and tipping off her opponent, which he denied. Hoffenberg has said the kiss was inappropriate and that she told that to the kisser, Steven Landek, Bridgeview's mayor.

A later request for slightly expanded footage on the same evening came from conservative group Judicial Watch. But Hoffenberg didn't reply in time for state-mandated deadlines, so the group sued for the video.

In a letter after the lawsuit, Hoffenberg said she "inadvertently overlooked" the request. The township has since provided the footage.

Asked about the lawsuit at this week's meeting, attorney DaValle said she would seek to settle it.

Mares, a paralegal, had another idea.

"I would love to negotiate that," she said. "I think that would mean you, as an attorney, have to step down. I'm done paying the law firm more money for this lawsuit."

Assuming DaValle is correct about the supervisor's powers on hiring attorneys, that could be significant for the Odelson law firm, which has a close relationship with Getty and his allies.

Over the years, the firm has donated more than $100,000 to Getty's campaign accounts.

In Cook County, townships have three mandated jobs – maintenance of roads in unincorporated areas, help for taxpayers on property assessments and distribution of "general assistance." Townships often provide social services as well.