LTHS Board Member Puts Home Up For Sale

LA GRANGE, IL – A Lyons Township High School board member who has not said whether she plans to serve out her term has put her house up for sale.

Member Julie Swinehart's La Grange house is now listed with Western Springs real estate agency @Properties. It is Swinehart's main residence because she takes a homestead property tax exemption, meaning it's where she actually lives.

It is unclear whether Swinehart plans to move to another place in the high school's zone. She has been connected remotely at the last two school board meetings.

Swinehart, who was elected to a four-year term in April 2021, has not answered Patch's inquiries since mid-February about whether she plans to serve until the end of her term.

On Patch's comment boards, some have said Swinehart plans to resign early, prompting Patch's questions.

If Swinehart leaves before her term is up, the other board members get to appoint her replacement. Swinehart's seat could have been up in the April election if she resigned before election deadlines last year.

Last July, Swinehart was hired as the chief financial officer for the Boston-based Fenway Sports Group, according to the Sports Business Journal. Its holdings include the Boston Red Sox.

Through Facebook, Patch asked resident Gina Sirchio-Lotus about whether she is in line to be appointed if Swinehart's position becomes vacant. Sirchio-Lotus entered the school board election in December, but she withdrew soon afterward.

Sirchio-Lotus did not answer Patch directly, but addressed the inquiry on the Facebook page for Moms of La Grange Park, La Grange and Western Springs, which has 8,500 members.

She said she was writing in case "Mr. Pretend Reporter from the Local Enquirer (known as the Patch) tries to create rumors and clickbait – let me say it here first."

Sirchio-Lotus, a physician, said she withdrew as a candidate because of her four children and her two small businesses.

"As I stated clearly when I withdrew, I do not have the time to dedicate to the board at this time," Sirchio-Lotus wrote. "If anyone has questions – reach out to me directly – not to a man I've never met typing from his Mom's basement."

In Illinois, school board members are unpaid.