A Cook County judge has cut off a lawsuit brought by a former Palatine High School teacher against a current Palatine high school board member and Black Lives Matter activist, who she said instigated her termination by leveling allegedly unfair and slanderous accusations of racism against her.
Jeanne Hedgepeth filed suit against Tim McGowan in 2021, after she was fired by Township High School District 211 from the teaching position she had held for two decades.
According to the complaint, McGowan had helped to organize Black Lives Matter protests in northwest suburban Palatine in 2020, in part to express outrage over the death of George Floyd at the hands of police in Minneapolis that May.
Tim McGowan
| Facebook
Following Floyd’s death, communities throughout the U.S. became embroiled in heated protests and debates, with those backing BLM demanding white Americans join them in calling for policing reforms and in discussions over so-called “white privilege.”
At the time of the protests, outside of the school year, Hedgepeth posted a message to her personal Facebook page, responding to the protests, saying, in part: “I find the term ‘white privilege’ as racist as the ‘N’ word. You have not walked in my shoes either so do not make assumptions about me and my so called privilege. You think America is racist? Then you have been hoodwinked by the white liberal establishment and race baiters like Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton.”
According to the complaint, McGowan then took to Facebook himself to target her and urge the school district to take action against her. The effort began with a video posted on June 15, 2020, in which Hedgepeth says McGowan first allegedly falsely accused Hedgepeth of a number of allegedly racist acts.
Among these, McGowan allegedly said Hedgepeth had:
- Encouraged white students at Palatine High School to disrespect Black students;’
- “Encouraged a white student … to disrespect an Indian student in her classroom;”
- “Allowed a white student to get up and say, ‘I’m glad Donald Trump was elected so he could figure out a way to get rid of these ragheads;’”
- “Was destroying lives and validating ignorant little white boys and discouraging a brown lady;” and
- “Has dramatically disturbed students at Palatine High School.”
In her complaint against McGowan, however, Hedgepeth asserted the school board only took action against her because of McGowan’s alleged slanderous campaign against her.
McGowan responded to Hedgepeth’s lawsuit by arguing he cannot be sued for his statements, because District 211 took action without citing his Facebook videos or other statements against Hedgepeth.
“It is unreasonable to infer that the District 211 School Board – one of the largest and most sophisticated school boards in Illinois with multiple constituents and a teachers’ union – saw the Facebook video or would terminate (Hedgepeth’s) employment merely because of Mr. McGowan’s post on social media,” McGowan’s lawyers wrote in their motion to dismiss.
McGowan also argued his statements should not be considered defamatory because they merely expressed “opinion” about Hedgepeth, and did not assert “facts.”
McGowan was elected to the District 211 board of education in the fall of 2020, with strong support and funding from district’s teachers’ union.
Hedgepeth has also separately sued District 211 in federal court. In that case, she asserts the district violated her constitutional rights by firing her in retaliation for her political speech, which the school board found to be politically incorrect and objectionable. Hedgepeth has noted the supposedly terminable comments were posted to her own personal social media, on her own time, while on vacation, and without including any words or images to call attention to her profession or her employer.
That case remains pending.
In the meantime, however, Hedgepeth’s attempt to sue McGowan has failed, pending appeal.
In an order issued June 26, Cook County Circuit Judge Jerry A. Esrig found Hedgepeth’s termination was solely a result of “her own conduct.” The judge pointed to a final report issued by District 211, justifying the district’s decision to fire her for cause from her position as a tenured teacher. He noted that decision was supported by a recommendation from the Illinois State Board of Education.
Members of the state school board have been appointed by Gov. JB Pritzker, a strong political ally of teachers’ unions and outspoken supporter of the Black Lives Matter movement and protests.
Esrig further noted Hedgepeth has not appealed her termination “under Illinois Agency Law.”
Based on those findings, Esrig invoked the judicial doctrine of collateral estoppel, which prevents plaintiffs from suing someone else for a dispute that involves other parties and has already been ended.
In this case, Esrig said collateral estoppel should block Hedgepeth from “arguing that her dismissal by District 211 was wrongful or the result of any alleged statements” made by McGowan.
Hedgepeth has not yet filed any notice of appeal.
Hedgepeth is represented in the Cook County case and in federal court by attorney Christine Svenson, of Palatine.
McGowan is represented by attorney Kristin D. Tauras, of the firm of McKenna Storer, of Chicago.