Three women who worked in administration at Chicago’s City Colleges have accused the college system of discrimination, saying they were fired in retaliation for reporting the actions of a male dean allegedly protected by administration, even though he, among other alleged infractions, allegedly “manufactured” a fake male fiancé who committed suicide, and used that invented personal tragedy to “fraudulently obtain benefits.”
On Jan. 21, plaintiffs Eileen Lynch, Erin Rubio and Aneesa Saleh filed suit in Chicago federal court against the Board of Trustees of the City Colleges of Chicago, the network of community colleges that serve Chicago residents.
The women are represented in the action by attorneys M. Megan O’Malley and John P. Madden, of the firm of O’Malley & Madden P.C., of Chicago.
According to the complaint, all three women worked at Richard J. Daley College, in Chicago’s Ford City neighborhood on the city’s Southwest Side.
Lynch had served as the college’s Dean of Student Services, while Rubio and Saleh each held the title of Associate Dean of Student Services at Daley College. All had served in those roles since 2017, according to the complaint.
However, all were terminated from their roles about two years later.
In their complaint, they allege their removal was in retaliation for actions they took to report the alleged actions of a fellow dean, identified in the complaint as Roberto Torres. According to the complaint, Torres was hired at Daley College in early 2018 as the Dean of Instruction.
According to the complaint, Torres was hired in that role despite having been charged with felony theft for allegedly misappropriating $20,000 from a former school employer.
The complaint alleges the three female employees reported Torres on several occasions for alleged misconduct. These included reports he allegedly did not comply with the City Colleges’ policies regarding reporting sexual harassment involving the school’s men’s basketball team; allegedly helped students register late for classes with alleged backdated registration, and allegedly register for classes for which they did not academically qualify.
They further alleged he “maintained inappropriate boundaries with the men’s basketball players,” engaging “in conduct that would violate National Junior College Athletic Association rules and regulations and would place Daley College’s basketball team and its players in jeopardy of losing their eligibility.”
In the complaint, they assert those complaints met with no response from school administration.
They then allegedly took those concerns to the college’s president Janine Janosky, but were allegedly told to “’table’ the investigation and take no further action.”
However, after that meeting, the complaint said the women allegedly discovered Torres had allegedly misled the college and his colleagues about an allegedly invented personal tragedy.
According to the complaint, Torres allegedly told coworkers, students and superiors that he had been engaged to be married to a male physician, but his fiancé had committed suicide. Torres allegedly displayed a photo of the allegedly fake fiancé in his office.
According to the complaint, Torres allegedly said “he was struggling with the suicide … and an ensuing fight over his fiance’s family over the fiancé’s estate.” He allegedly took bereavement leave, and would then use his alleged grief as an excuse to “work late, leave meetings early, or otherwise shirk his job responsibilities.”
According to the complaint, he further allegedly cited his personal experiences as he allegedly provided support services to a student allegedly struggling with suicidal thoughts, as well.
According to the complaint, Rubio first discovered the “fanciful tale” when she saw the alleged dead physician’s name on a student athlete’s medical authorization form.
“It turns out that the physician was alive and well and married to a woman and had never completed a medical form for a Daley College student athlete,” the complaint said.
The three plaintiffs reported the incident in October 2019 to the Office of the Inspector General, which initiated an investigation. According to the complaint, the Inspector General ultimately concluded Torres had invented the story and used it to secure benefits.
However, Torres has remained employed at the college, the complaint said.
In contrast, the City Colleges terminated the three plaintiffs in November 2019. The complaint said the Colleges allegedly said it was eliminating their positions. However, shortly after their termination, the college initiated the hiring process for deans of “Student Development,” positions which allegedly held essentially the same duties as the plaintiffs’ former jobs.
The colleges have also allegedly refused to hire the plaintiffs for other positions “for which they were eminently qualified,” the complaint said.
The complaint accuses the City Colleges of sex discrimination, pregnancy discrimination and retaliatory discharge.
The plaintiffs are seeking a judgment ordering the City Colleges to rehire the plaintiffs, and award them back pay and lost benefits; damages for emotional distress; and unspecified compensatory and punitive damages, as well as attorney fees.
Neither Torres nor Janosky are named as defendants in the lawsuit, only the City Colleges.
A spokesperson for the City Colleges of Chicago declined comment, saying the college system does not comment on pending litigation.
Torres did not reply to a message from The Cook County Record seeking comment.