West Chicago mayor urges due process after school staff comments, says district suspended employee

The mayor of West Chicago addressed a recent controversy involving comments by a Gary School employee, saying the school district suspended the employee with pay and will carry out an investigation.

In a statement to the City Council, the mayor said about “a 100 to a 150 people” attended a community meeting and that protesters had been asked to gather at city hall rather than outside the school to avoid putting children in the middle of demonstrations. “I encouraged our community to not, to not dehumanize this individual,” the mayor said, urging restraint while the district follows its procedures.

The mayor described the district’s action as a removal with paid leave while the district investigates and said the city does not conduct that investigation: “We have a process … it's not something the city does. It's something that our school district will be doing.” The mayor called for due process and for community members to allow the district to evaluate whether school policies or contractual obligations were violated.

The mayor also said the story was amplified by outside social media accounts and described a false narrative circulated by a far‑right group that led to hundreds of hateful messages and some threats aimed at local officials and staff. He said those messages appeared to come from outside West Chicago and that the community had largely heeded requests to avoid protesting at the school.

The mayor closed by praising community members who spoke at a public meeting — including children — saying their remarks helped refocus discussion on students’ needs. The mayor said no executive session was needed on the matter at the meeting and that the district’s investigation will be the next procedural step.