La Grange Library's Secrecy Over Firing Questioned

LA GRANGE, IL — In response to public records requests, the La Grange Public Library released the complaint that prompted an employee's firing. But it refused to disclose the employee's written reply to the complaint.

Also, the library appears not to have followed its own policy designed to deal with discrimination.

Meanwhile, an attorney from a watchdog group is questioning the handling of Slabich's firing and the library's response to Patch's records requests about it.

On Oct. 30, 2019, the library fired member services clerk Joyce Slabich, who had worked there for 13 years. This was two days after an employee filed a complaint accusing Slabich of making a racist remark.

In her complaint, the co-worker said Slabich and a patron were talking about how they thought freckles were cute.

"I then heard Joyce say something along the lines of, 'I'm not racist, but I unfortunately think freckles on a black person make them look like an overripe banana,'" the co-worker wrote. "The patron kind of tacitly agreed but didn't say much."

The employee, who was replacing a sign near Slabich, walked away without speaking with Slabich or the patron, according to the complaint.

Slabich's lawyer said her client was informed of the complaint two days later. Slabich was fired three hours after that, the lawyer said.

In her termination letter, Slabich was told that she violated the anti-discrimination and anti-harassment policy.

The step-by-step procedure for the handling of complaints under the policy refers to an "investigation report." It says the library board would review such a document if an employee were unhappy with the outcome of an investigation.

Through a public records request, Patch sought the investigation report, but the library replied no such document existed.

Patch has twice sought Slabich's response to the complaint. The library has denied the request, saying it falls under the Freedom of Information Act's "deliberative process" exemption. It is referring to the exception for records that "express opinions being formulated and are preliminary in nature."

State law requires that a public entity identify by name and title those responsible for the decision to deny records. Although Patch specifically asked the library to disclose that required information, it did not.

Ben Silver, an attorney with the Elmhurst-based Citizen Advocacy Center, said he did not understand why the library used the "deliberative process" exemption. That provision, he said, applies to those making decisions and that he assumed Slabich had no role in the decision on her firing.

He also questioned why the library did not disclose who made the decision to deny the release of records, even after Patch specifically requested the information.

"That is one of the things they need to disclose," Silver said. "There's a strong accountability reason to have that in the law. The General Assembly didn't put it in there on a whim. It's an accountability measure."

After the library was informed of the Citizen Advocacy Center's opinion, it emailed Patch and disclosed that the library's executive director, Charity Gallardo, made the decision, with the advice of legal counsel.

In his interview with Patch, Silver said he couldn't say whether it was unfair that the library released the complaint, but not Slabich's response. He said he would need to see what the library was holding back.

"There is a need for full transparency, so the public can make a judgment about whether the process was fair," Silver said.

The library, he said, is in an "unsafe place" on public accountability when it is keeping information under wraps.

Silver said that if the library is citing its non-discrimination policy in firing Slabich, a more "substantial investigation" was needed.

"It's rare to see anyone fired within that limited of a timeframe," he said. "In three hours, an independent review doesn't seem possible. They're not being forthcoming. They're not following the policy or citing the right policy."

Gallardo, the library's executive director, has not returned messages for comment. On Wednesday, Patch left email messages with every library board member.