A substitute teacher is suing an area school district, claiming he wasn't hired for a full-time position because he is a white man.
Elliott Cady filed suit Nov.13 in Cook County Circuit Court against School District No. 65 Evanston/Skokie, alleging gender and race discrimination.
According to the complaint, Cady was hired in November 2012 as a district-wide substitute teacher and on Nov. 29, 2012, the school district posted a job opening for a permanent second grade teacher.
Cady says he applied for the position, one he asserts he was well-qualified for as he had 19 years experience in teaching and a bachelor's and master's degree from Northwestern University.
On Dec. 4, 2012, the suit says Cady was assigned to substitute teach in the second grade classroom he had applied to work in permanently. While there, Cady claims he repeatedly voiced his interest in being interviewed for the position to the principal.
But, even though the district's human resources director personally recommended Cady to the principal, the suit alleges the principal never interviewed Cady.
Cady, who is a white man, contends he heard from current and former teachers that Daniels, a black man, planned to hire a black woman for the job. The principal eventually hired a black woman who allegedly had just graduated college and had no previous teaching experiences, according to Cady's lawsuit.
Cady, who contends he wasn't hired because of his race and sex, is seeking damages to be determined at trial, but not limited to back pay, front pay, wage differential, lost benefits and other costs. He is represented by attorney Mason Cole of Cole Sadkin in Chicago.
Cook County Circuit Court case number: 2014L050866.
This is a report on a civil lawsuit filed at Cook County Circuit Court. The details in this report come from an original complaint filed by a plaintiff. Please note that a complaint represents an accusation by a private individual, not the government. It is not an indication of guilt and it represents only one side of the story.