D229 Board Mulls Resolution To Kick Rob Cruz Off Board

Oak Lawn IL

11 January, 2022

2:39 AM

Description

OAK LAWN, IL — The Oak Lawn Community High School Dist. 229 Board of Education will hold a special meeting Wednesday, Jan. 12, to determine if Robert Cruz's should be vacated on charges of official misconduct, conflict of interest and violating his oath of office. 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. Fellow board members claim 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 and 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. On the table at Wednesday's special meeting is a resolution to declare a vacancy in office, that if approved by the board, would remove Cruz from his elected seat 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. 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. The special meeting will include a public hearing before D229 board members vote on a resolution to declare a board vacancy. Should the school board vote in favor, there is no need to censure Cruz or ask the regional superintendent to remove him, according to the D229 board's legal counsel, Burt Odelson. Cruz could not immediately be reached for comment, but his spokesman, F. Scott Winslow, said Cruz plans to issue a statement Tuesday and possibly plan a rally before the special board meeting. "He knows they're going to try to kick him off the board," Winslow told Patch. "He plans to fight them tooth and nail." 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.