D229 Board Prepares To Take Action Against Rob Cruz

OAK LAWN, IL — The OLCHS Dist. 229 board will decide the fate of fellow board member Robert Cruz during a special meeting set for Wednesday, Jan. 12. School board members are poised to take action against Cruz, who they claim violated his oath of office when he sued the governor last summer.

Cruz was elected to the D229 school board in April 2021 and has since declared his candidacy in the upcoming Republican primary for the newly remapped Illinois 6th Congressional District. The D229 school board alleged that Cruz did not inform them of his plans to file a lawsuit against Gov. J.B. Pritzker and state school superintendent Dr. Carmen Ayala last August, over a state mandate requiring face masks to be worn inside of school buildings during the pandemic. Cruz dropped his first lawsuit but refiled a second one in September, including the Dist. 229 school board as a defendant, in addition to the governor and state school superintendent. The second lawsuit was dismissed by a judge last month.

Cruz maintains his lawsuit was not about the state’s face mask mandate, but about Pritzker overreaching his authority.

"The lawsuit has been about retrieving local control as the Legislature has failed to pass laws, during this time of emergency, to guide the people of IL through this time,” Cruz said in a written statement prior to Wednesday’s meeting. “Instead we have allowed unchecked executive authority, by the office of the governor, to advance a one-size-fits-all approach.”

On the table at Wednesday's special meeting are three resolutions to be considered by board members following a public hearing to be conducted by the D229 legal counsel, Burt Odelsen, including formally asking the regional school superintendent to removed Cruz from his elected seat or censureship.

The third option under consideration is to declare a vacancy in office, which does not require authorization from the regional superintendent. If approved by the board, Cruz would be removed from the school board under the Illinois School Code. An elected school board seat becomes vacant before the term expires if an elected official violates his or her official oath, is convicted of an "infamous crime," or commits a violent crime against a child.

"I am deeply saddened that our board president has decided to side with Governor Pritzker at the advice of (the Odelson and Sterk law firm),” Cruz said.

Cruz was hand-delivered a letter on Jan. 5, informing him of Wednesday's public hearing. The D229 board maintains that Cruz violated the board's code of conduct by failing to perform his official duties, when he ignored the board majority to follow state pandemic directives by suing Pritzker. The school board also alleges that Cruz created a conflict of interest in suing his own district and running up a legal bill of $25,000.

"At our school alone, the mental health aspects have been overwhelming,” Cruz charged in his statement. “We have had four bomb threats, kids threatening to bring firearms to school, increased drug use (to the point where bathrooms have had to be shut down during school hours), double-digit increases in kids seeking help at the counselor’s offices and children fighting to the point of expulsion.”

The Dist. 229 school board issued its own statement refuting the “numerous inaccuracies” in Cruz’s statement. Since the beginning of the current school year, the OLCHS administration said it has enhanced the high school’s student mental health screening program, including adding staff and support programs to assist students and their families.

“Our data indicates the frequency of major infractions of our student discipline code (drugs, fighting, vandalism, etc.) are statistically equal to the data prior to the pandemic” the board maintains. “We have recently closed a few bathrooms due to a staff shortage to ensure proper supervision at all times. Students always have access to most bathrooms.”

Cruz said the board voted during its regular board meeting on July 21 that the high school would be “mask option” at the recommendation of the administration. He also accused the D229 board’s legal counsel Odelson and Sterk of “venue shopping” the case to the Northern District Court, when the matter should have been put before the court in Sangamon County, where Springfield is located.

At no time did OLCHS administration recommend that face masks would be “optional” in the fall reopening plan, according to the D229 school board's statement.

“The CDC and IDPH guidance at that time stated that vaccinated individuals did not need to wear masks and that unvaccinated individuals were recommended (but not required) to wear masks. The administration indicated that OLCHS would be strictly following this guidance.”

The only board member who sided with or against the governor is Cruz, the D229 board stated.

“[The] board’s possible action against Mr. Cruz is due to violations of his oath of office, school board policy and state laws, not because of his political beliefs or positions.”

Cruz plans to fight the attempt to kick him off the school board. He’s entitled to bring his own attorney to represent him during the hearing.

“So if I am to be removed, let us tell the truth on what is going on here,” Cruz said. “I am being targeted because I refuse to accept government overreach in America, especially in our state of Illinois.”

The entire meeting will be open to the public and will be held in the Performing Arts Center at Oak Lawn Community High School, 9400 Southwest Highway, starting at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 12.

This story has been updated with new information and statements from Rob Cruz and the Dist. 229 school board.