LTHS Grad's Death: Hinsdale Still Keeps Report Secret

HINSDALE, IL — Hinsdale is still declining to release a report from an investigation into the fire department after the death of a firefighter. The village's leader promised to do so under certain conditions.

Now, the village has come up with a new reason for its secrecy: Divulging the report would be "unduly burdensome" to its operations.

The inquiry took place after the death of 25-year-old firefighter Nicole Hladik, a Lyons Township High School graduate who took her own life in July 2020. Last year, her estate filed a lawsuit alleging she was the victim of discrimination based on sex.

On Friday, the village government rejected Patch's request for the report for a second time. The first time was last March.

Back then, the village's main reason for secrecy was that the report was subject to attorney-client privilege, given that a law firm produced the document. The village also said release of the documents would reveal the identity of those who provided information as part of the investigation.

Those reasons were used again. But the village came up with new ones. This time, it said producing the documents would be "unduly burdensome."

This exception to the state's open records law is typically used in situations when a request involves large amounts of records and time. In this case, the 15-month-old report is said to be 36 pages and was identified repeatedly by Village President Tom Cauley just two weeks ago during a public meeting.

The village also said release of the report would be an "unwarranted invasion of personal privacy, specifically as it relates to Nicole Hladik and her family."

At a Village Board meeting two weeks ago, Hladik's family members and supporters showed up to criticize the village's handling of Hladik's situation.

In response, Cauley said the village's attorneys advised Hinsdale to keep the report secret because of the litigation. But he said he was willing to share the report with the family and the public.

Cauley 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.

Cauley 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.

The estate's attorney is James Pullos of Chicago-based Clifford Law Offices. He has not returned two messages from Patch.

In the village's letter to Patch, it said its attorney, Mallory Milluzzi of Chicago-based Klein, Thorpe & Jenkins, was responsible for the denial of the report. She did not return a call for comment, particularly on the use of the "unduly burdensome" exception.

Cauley said the investigation found no wrongdoing in the fire department.