Mayor's 'Love Ya' Letters and Alleged Hots for Village Treasurer Lead to Lawsuit

If you believe Alsip’s former village treasurer, Mayor Pat Kitching had the hots for her in a bad way. A really bad way.

So much so that he would leave “suggestive messages” on the woman’s desk via greeting cards, according to a lawsuit filed in federal court this week.

“I’ll never tire of playing with fire ... as long as that fire is you.”

“I think of you first thing in the morning and last thing at night,” says a cartoon creature sitting on a bed with a love heart floating overhead. “The rest of the day I spend thinking about us.”

“No matter what, no matter when ... I’m here for you.”

Altogether, she claims he left 13 cards for her, apparently with the awkward and earnest fervor of a lovestruck adolescent, many of which were signed “Love Ya, Me.” And he even tried to steal a kiss, the lawsuit alleges.

But Elizabeth Gonzalez rebuffed the married mayor’s advances, which took place over five years starting in 2006, three years after she starting working for the village, and she changed her work hours. And then she declared her support for Kitching’s election-year foe in 2013.

But Kitching won that election, and he sought power in July 2013 from the village board that would allow him to fire employees on his own, including the village treasurer who’d finally put a damper on his alleged lust. And that’s just what he did a few months later, according to Gonzalez’s lawsuit, only he didn’t tell the board he did so as required by village ordinance.

Kitching and the village are named as defendants in her federal lawsuit claiming gender discrimination and political discrimination as well as retaliation. In February 2014, Gonzalez filed a civil rights complaint with the state Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, according to the Chicago Tribune, which is a necessary precursor to a lawsuit.

“The mayor and the village vehemently deny the accusations,” Susan Glover, a village attorney, told the Tribune. “These are the actions of a disgruntled employee who lost her job in an internal restructuring.”

The village attorney conducted an internal investigation and determined that Gonzalez’s claims against the mayor were without merit.

Gonzalez’s lawyer, Dana Kurtz, says the various cards and their amorous messages show otherwise.

“How would you like your boss to send you cards like that?” asked Kurtz.