Journal & Topics Media Group

Maine Trustee Jones Files Complaint With EEOC, State


Maine Township Trustee Kim Jones, who claims that fellow Trustee Dave Carrabotta touched her buttocks on three separate occasions while attending township events within the last nine months, said she filed a complaint against Carrabotta last Friday with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and the Illinois Department of Human Rights.

According to Jones, she is alleging that inappropriate touching of her by Carrabotta has created a hostile workplace due to the alleged sexual harassment and subsequent retaliation.

“I’m consulting an attorney,” said Jones this week.

The filings were made four days after a special Maine Township Board meeting where a 3 to 0 vote was taken to post the report into the sexual harassment allegations on the township’s website. The report said there was not enough evidence or witnesses to conclude that Carrabotta touched Jones’ buttocks on the three occasions. A week before the Aug. 6 special meeting, all five voting members of the Town Board received copies of the report that was conducted after Jones in late May complained to Carrabotta privately about the alleged touching followed by Carrabotta’s demand that a closed Town Board meeting be held into the matter. The investigation was conducted by the law firm that represents the Maine Board. Within two days after the trustees were sent copies of the report, but before it became public, Maine Township Republican Committeeman Char Foss-Eggemann urged people to obtain a copy of it. Her advice was part of a Park Ridge blog.

One of the trustees who received a copy of the report a week before the Aug. 6 meeting was Trustee Susan Sweeney, who Eggemann has referred to as her best friend. In her Aug. 1 blog post, Eggemann urged people to obtain a copy of the report by filing a Freedom of Information request with the township. The report, however, did not become public until after the Aug. 6 meeting. That session was held with only Sweeney, Carrabotta and Claire McKenzie attending and voting. There has been some speculation that Carrabotta should have recused himself from voting on the matter because of his personal involvement. If he did not vote, then formal action on any matter likely could not have been taken due to a lack of a quorum. Supervisor Laura Morask had asked that the meeting on the report be held on Wednesday, Aug. 8 because she would not be available because she would be in the hospital undergoing tests. The three trustees refused Morask’s request.

The EEOC is responsible for enforcing federal laws that make it illegal to discriminate against a job applicant or an employee because of the person’s race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability or genetic information. Following an initial EEOC investigation into a complaint, it has the option of filing a lawsuit that could lead to punishment, including financial penalties.

Of the five Maine trustees, all ran for election in 2017 as Republicans with the exception of Claire McKenzie, who is a Democrat.

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