The inspector general’s office at Chicago Public Schools has closed its recently reopened investigation into allegations that school board presidential candidate Hilario Dominguez had inappropriate conduct with a minor in 2017.
According to a letter sent to Dominguez Wednesday from the CPS Office of Student Protections and Title IX, which Dominguez posted on his campaign website, the inspector general’s office “determined that there is no actionable finding of sexual misconduct.”
The office made no additional findings regarding possible CPS “policy or guidelines violations relating to this incident.” That letter says the “investigation is concluded and the matter is closed” and that no further action will be taken.
The letter is not the same as the inspector general’s report, which has yet to be released publicly and will elaborate on why there was no actionable finding.
The inspector general’s office determined the same allegations were unsubstantiated earlier this year, but recently decided to reopen the investigation. The young woman who made the allegations said she was not interviewed for the original investigation and came forward because she wanted to tell her story.
In a post on Dominguez’s campaign website, his lawyer, Rima Kapitan, said the inspector general’s report “fully cleared” Dominguez of any wrongdoing.
The Dominguez campaign also reiterated that the allegations came from Aida Flores, who was one of Dominguez’s opponents in a race for a City Council seat in 2019. Flores is an assistant principal in CPS and has personal ties to the young woman who made the accusations, according to multiple sources.
“Voters who weren’t aware of the decade-old smear the Aida Flores campaign spread when I ran for alderman in 2019 deserved an answer to them being brought back this year,” Dominguez wrote in a statement. “The OIG [Office of Inspector General] has given it to them.”
Dominguez said he now wants to “re-center his campaign” on education issues “that voters deeply care about.”
WBEZ reached out to the young woman, who is now 26, through her lawyer, who did not immediately respond. Flores also did not immediately respond to a request for comment.