Awaiting Maywood-Melrose Park-Broadview School District 89’s elected leaders at a board of education meeting this past Thursday were gift bags with “goodies” inside, given by the agency’s staff as a sign of appreciation, according to the interim superintendent.
Still unresolved are whether allegations about one of the school board members soliciting cash goodies from a concrete contractor in exchange for taxpayer-funded work are true or false.
Despite earlier assertions by some school board officials that an investigation would be launched by an outside law firm into accusations that board member Sandra Ciancio engaged in possible bid rigging and allegedly solicited kickbacks, the school board without explanation voted down a measure 3-2 on Thursday night to move forward on a formal inquiry.
A close political ally of Melrose Park Mayor Ron Serpico, Ciancio has not responded publicly to the allegations made by contractor Michael D’Addosio at an October meeting, and she refused at the Thursday meeting to speak with a reporter, saying: “Don’t even bother.”
When the reporter tried to speak to other board members, one of them said they’d decided behind closed doors not to speak to the media.
Even so, one of the two board members that wanted an investigation, Laighton H. Scott III, later said he was troubled by the vote rejecting one and vowed to press ahead to get answers.
“I am deeply frustrated by the board’s decision not to investigate allegations of bribery and extortion. While I cannot say whether these allegations are true, they are serious enough to warrant a thorough and impartial review.
“An investigation is not only about determining facts — it is also essential to removing any potential liability or risk to our school district. Choosing not to act leaves the district vulnerable and undermines public confidence.
“It is also troubling that some board members who previously demanded investigations into far less serious matters declined to support one in this instance. This inconsistency is unacceptable and does not reflect the ethical standards our roles require.”
D’Addosio stunned the crowd when he accused Ciancio at an Oct. 16 school board meeting of pressuring him for kickbacks in exchange for taxpayer-funded work and insider bid information.
“I refuse to be extorted or bribed for money,” he said during the public comment portion of the meeting. “I have five approved proposals on the table.”
In another video recorded outside the same board meeting, D’Addosio said Ciancio offered to “give me the bids” in advance, but the contractor “turned it down.”
Since then, D’Addosio said he’s been blackballed from local government work, spurring his decision to speak up.
While some dismissed the claims as fanciful, officials confirmed his company has done work for District 89 and other governmental agencies, including Serpico’s.
Serpico released a statement last month after the controversy initially blew up: “The education of our children is vital to the health of our community and I am aware of questions that were raised during a recent board meeting. I have full faith that our school board will act in the best interests of our students.”
The matter was slated to be addressed at an Oct. 23 special school board meeting, but not enough board members showed up, with Ciancio among those absent, so it was canceled.
Reached Friday about the vote the night before — which Ciancio abstained from — Serpico said: “School District 89 is an independently elected body and their decisions are their own.”
D’Addosio said Friday: “This is not going away, this is Round One of what’s to come.”
The school district includes nine schools in the west suburbs and roughly 4,000 children in kindergarten through 8th grade, mostly Latino and Black. Most of the students are considered low-income, and records show the district has struggling academic scores.
The school district shares the same law firm as Serpico’s municipal government — a Berwyn firm run by lawyer Michael Del Galdo, who has political ties to Cicero Town President Larry Dominick and now-imprisoned ex-Illinois House Speaker Michael J. Madigan.
Ciancio has contributed campaign money to Serpico, records show.
She’s also donated to the campaign fund of Cook County Judge ShawnTe Raines-Welch, wife of Madigan’s successor, Illinois House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch, a Hillside Democrat.