The kiss-cam controversy in Lyons Township is heating up, with a lawsuit alleging that footage of the encounter and other relevant records were improperly withheld in violation of the state’s public records statute.
The elected clerk of Lyons Township government is Elyse Hoffenberg, who is responsible for handing requests to the agency for records under the Illinois Freedom of Information Act. That state law guarantees public access to public documents upon request, from paper and electronic records to videos.
Hoffenberg is also a Democratic candidate for Cook County Board, facing off against Republican Liz Gorman in Tuesday’s general election.
Hoffenberg, of La Grange, was captured on surveillance video inside the Lyons Township’s government offices in Countryside getting kissed after hours on July 13 by Bridgeview Mayor Steve Landek. He’s a former state senator, the Lyons Township’s Democratic committeeman and a longtime political ally of convicted ex-Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan (D-Chicago.)
Gorman and others got wind of the embrace, and under FOIA provisions requested a copy of related records including the video — something Hoffenberg initially wouldn’t release.
Later, she handed over a selected clip to news outlets, and has called the kiss inappropriate but also non-romantic.
Gorman, an Orland Park resident, has said whatever it was, it was inappropriate in a government building.
But Gorman said Lyons Township hadn’t released all of what she requested, and a conservative nonprofit group based in Washington, D.C., Judicial Watch, followed up with a similar request on Aug. 31, but didn’t get a response.
Judicial Watch took the matter to court, filing a lawsuit in Cook County Sept. 28 against Lyons Township saying the state’s FOIA statute was violated. The law says requested records, in most cases, must be turned over within five business days.
“On information and belief, Defendant received Plaintiff’s emailed request the same day it was sent,” the lawsuit states. “To date, Defendant has failed to respond to Plaintiff’s request in any way or even acknowledge receipt of the request.”
In recent days, Hoffenberg turned over some information, while calling the earlier lack of a response “unintentional” and the result of “an administrative oversight,” according to a letter from her township office to Judicial Watch’s lawyer.
The letter also said: “I respectfully request that you confer with your client regarding voluntary dismissal of the claims for declaratory and injunctive relief insofar as they seek production of records that have been furnished. I further invite you to discuss an appropriate resolution of any remaining issues so that this matter may be concluded without unnecessary additional litigation or expense to either party.”
But it’s not yet clear whether the disclosed records represent all that Judicial Watch asked for. The group wouldn’t comment.
Gorman suspects Hoffenberg tried delaying the release so it wouldn’t impact her election efforts.
“Now it’s going to be stuck to the taxpayers of Lyons Township,” Gorman said, referring to the legal fees needed to defend the case.
The law firm defending Lyons Township against the lawsuit includes attorney Burt Odelson, who has worked for Lyons Mayor Chris Getty on the governmental and political sides.
Getty, who’s also the Lyons Township supervisor and a candidate running in Tuesday’s election for Congress as an independent, is a political rival of Hoffenberg. She’s accused him of leaking the initial footage to Gorman’s camp. Getty has denied that.