Teachers, union and disability advocates press council during public comment

Several community members used the public-comment period to raise personnel and disability-accommodation complaints about Community Unit School District 130.

Doug Taylor, an organizer with SEIU Local 73, said custodial and maintenance workers reported ongoing workplace problems under the current superintendent and assistant superintendent, including alleged restrictions on speaking Spanish, anti-union actions, and denied safety training requests.

Teacher Molly Sexton, who identified herself as a 19-year district employee and founder of a nonprofit, said she was forced to resign on Aug. 10, 2025, because of a disability she described as multiple sclerosis. Sexton told the council she had been denied an elevator accommodation, characterized as a basic ADA need, and said district administrators labeled her unfit for duty and later refused to hire her for a position for which she said she was qualified. She said students and families had been harmed when long-time teachers left and asked local leaders to press the school board for transparency and staffing accountability.

Jonathan Barton of the Progress Center for Independent Living and members of the Blue Island disability committee thanked the council for prior work on disability inclusion and urged continued support for employment and accessibility for people with disabilities. Reverend Steve Warren thanked the council for sidewalk repairs around his church.

Speakers urged attendance at an upcoming school-board meeting and asked councilors to press district leaders and to consider the community impact of staff turnover.