MARCH 15, 2023
Vol. VII No. 11
vfpress.news
D209 teachers file retaliation suit vs. district, superintendent
Meet the candidates running for Hillside library board
Four teachers file lawsuit claiming retaliation after speaking out
FRANCIA GARCIA HERNANDEZ | staff FREE
By AMARIS E. RODRIGUEZ Staff Reporter
Four teachers are uniting against alleged retaliation taken by Proviso Township High School District 209 and Supt. James Henderson after vocalizing their discontent in regards to issues facing the three schools in the district. The lawsuit, filed on March 6, names the Plaintiffs as Jenny LaBash, Carissa Gillespie, Nicole O’Connor and Danielle English and state that the district and Henderson have “carried out a policy or practice of punishing the Plaintiff teachers for both speech and association rights protected by the First Amendment.” The lawsuit continues claiming that the district and Henderson, listed as defendants in the case “have unlawfully suspended, discharged, or threatened discharge of the four Plaintiff teachers for repeated public criticism of the serious administrative failings of defendants,” following the two-week strike by District 209 teachers in March 2022. “We thought long and hard about this lawsuit because we know how it looks,” LaBash said, adding they had tried to go down various other routes including filing complaints with OSHA, with the Civil Rights Division and others to draw attention to “the fire going on.” In March 2022, 280 members of the Proviso See D209 on page 5
With four open seats on board, newly elected trustees will play important role in library’s future By FRANCIA GARCIA HERNANDEZ Staff Reporter
In the upcoming April 4 election, residents will elect four new trustees to take a seat on the Hillside Public Library board. The Hillside Public Library, 405 N. Hillside Ave, has about 3,400 registered card holders, according to executive director Amy Franco. Franco emphasized the next board will also play an important role in overseeing the library’s goals for the next five years, including increasing the number of visitors and expanding the library’s bilingual offering. Meet the candidates All candidates were asked the same questions. Their responses have been edited for print. A more complete version can be found at Vfpress.news. Geneva Allen (4-year unexpired
term) Allen is a retired registered nurse who has lived in Proviso township since 1975, calling Hillside home since 1999. A graduate of Concordia College’s nursing program, now Concordia University, she forged a career in nursing in 1988 until her retirement four years ago. As a longtime resident of Proviso, she has seen how the community has changed and feels a sense of responsibility to get involved and see the standards of living improve. Why are you interested in serving as a library trustee? When I was in school, I worked in the Bellwood library for seven to eight years doing various duties and responsibilities. Working at the library, I got to really experience what the library is all about and what it has to offer. Now that technology has grown and taken over, our residents don’t really take advantage of the activities that the library has to offer. I would really like to see our young people take a greater interest in the library. I really feel like when you have a physical book it has a different effect on learning. There have been renewed efforts
to censor and remove materials from public libraries across the country. How would you ensure books at the Hillside Public Library remain free and accessible? It is the library’s responsibility to make materials accessible and available to everybody. I think in a sense we have to censor some of those things, maybe putting a certain section of the library for certain age groups. You don’t want to be prejudiced or biased, but I think with the board, you have to take a look at the material and see if it is beneficial or if it’s gonna do harm to the public because the library is a public facility. I don’t have any specific topics I would focus on, but you watch the news and see lifestyles that are being presented to young people. I think it is up to the parents to make a choice of what they want their children to be exposed to. Being a public facility, we have to put a limit, I would think that the board would have to take into consideration what our residents and the majority of our parents feel. At some point in time, you have to come up with something concrete, something that is going to be for the safety and moral valSee LIBRARY CANDIDATES on page 4