Statement from Chicago Park District Board President Avis LaVelle:
(Chicago, IL) On behalf of myself, the board of Commissioners and the entire CPD staff. let me say that we owe both a sincere apology and of a debt of gratitude to the brave young women who came forward to share their painful stories of humiliation and abuse at the hands of colleagues and supervisors as lifeguards in the Chicago Park District.
No one expected it would take so long or so much outside assistance to get to this point where we know exactly what happened and who was responsible.
Their allegations were credible and taken seriously from the point they were turned over the Inspector General in March of 2020. We were simply dysfunctional in our approach to this investigation, and I apologize for what has been a slow, tortured process.
OIG at Chicago Park District set up in 2013 by former President Bryan Traubert and Supt. Michael Kelly. The OIG WAS NOT envisioned to investigate allegations of sexual assault, harassment etc. — the IG's traditional scope was investigating operational issues that could be addressed through tighter management policies and procedures: residency violations, employee theft of property or timecard abuse, vendor contract non-compliance.
The Chicago Park District OIG was designed to be independent but collaborative not confrontational — the IG reports directly to the Board President but also periodically briefs the President and Supt. about on-going probes and recommendations for corrective measures.
As established by Park District Code, OIG investigations were reported out when there were findings. On-going probes were kept confidential.
It is a delicate balance to keep the OIG at arm's distance while at the same time, have the office directly report to the Board President and indirectly to the Supt. in a collaborative fashion to correct operational flaws as they were uncovered.
What I wanted to share with the entire CPD board about this investigation was not just allegations but concrete findings, disciplinary action and report that District leadership had moved promptly to address this problem with better training and management reorganization.
I was assured by former Supt. Mike Kelly throughout the process that management was taking the corrective steps to address these problems system-wide. What I never expected is that it would take so long to get to the point of holding accountable those who are responsible.
In hindsight, it would have been better for me to step outside of the usual OIG reporting structure to share with the entire CPD Board earlier even though there was little substantiated evidence.
There's a bigger picture here also: If not for this unfortunate situation, we might never have had a complete appreciation of the deficiencies that exist at CPD in our approach to personnel practices and investigatory issues.
We are seizing this opportunity to examine how our OIG office is structured, its scope of work, its accountability and its reporting relationship to the Chicago Park District and the Board of Commissioners.
I asked Alison Perona, who established the Park Districts' OIG office to come back to help us understand how so much could have gone wrong and where the OIG had strayed from its mission and procedures since she left years ago.
We now have a much more insight as to how that office should be structured and staffed going forward, what its scope of work should be and how to integrate the OIG into the Chicago Park District's more proactive and responsive efforts to protect our most valued resources, our patrons and our workforce.
The OIG's office also will emerge from this situation better positioned within the CPD, more directly connected with the Board, and staffed differently to reflect the revised scope of work envisioned for its' office.
I have asked the board to form an oversight committee where two other board members will join the President for regular OIG briefings and reports from CPD's new Office of Protection.
The role of HR and the way delicate investigatory matters are handled is outdated and inadequate. Supt. Escareno is working on that now and will be able to provide more details.
Perona also told us that years ago, the OIG would attend executive sessions with the entire CPD Board of Commissioners to give summary briefings on resolved cases and ongoing probes. We will reinstitute that OIG practice which ended at some point before I became Board President.
The Board and CPD's new management team have consulted with the Chicago Public Schools and reached out to the Archdiocese of Chicago to learn from their experiences how to create an integrated internal structure to assure that all appropriate steps are taken to try and prevent problems where possible and promptly investigate and report on allegations of abuse.
Additionally, CPD is also re-examining how the OIG coordinates with its Human Resources, the newly created office focused on safeguarding park patrons and employees. This office will strengthen our ability to assure the well-being of those who visit and those who work at our park facilities.
All this works together to ensure clear lines of responsibility and accountability for timely investigations of all complaints with high priority being given to matters such as this.
As members of the Park District board member and even as President, we are unpaid volunteers who set policy but lack visibility into the day-to-day operations and management decisions of the Chicago Park District.
There is a trust factor. We don't work for the Chicago Park District. We know what management and staff tell us. Most of us hold full-time jobs elsewhere. We are not in their offices with them.
In fact, almost no one was in the office or workplace when I became aware of the allegations in March of 2020 as the Covid shutdown got underway.
At the time, CPD's limited staff was scrambling to provide programs and resources for the children of essential workers while schools were closed. The investigation was in the hands of the OIG and the probe was fully supported by the Board President.
Throughout the months, I was also repeatedly assured by Supt. Kelly his staff was working on, then implementing a plan to reorganize beaches and pool staff and enhance training and reporting procedures across the board on sexual harassment and assault before they began hiring for summer lifeguards.
Kelly had told me that one of the initial reports came from the daughter of his longtime friend. He assured me it was a high priority. That reinforced my belief that he would do all that he could to promptly address the many problems. As you will learn from our investigators, Val Hays, that didn't happen.
We are brought to this point by letters from two young women who were brave enough to break "the code of silence" that has apparently existed for some time in the aquatics division of the Park District.
I grew up in the Chicago Parks and VOLUNTEER on this board because I know how vitally important parks are in our communities. We have beautiful parks, and we care deeply about them.
I WANT TO EMPHASIZE—the majority of the CPD workforce are committed, hard-working parks and recreation professionals whose careers are spent in service of the people—young and old— who use our parks.
It was heart-breaking to learn of abuse inflicted on young people who, like me, came to the parks as a safe haven or for a wonderful summer job and it was shocking to learn how long this disgraceful conduct has existed.
On behalf of my fellow commissioners and those who came before us over the years, I sincerely apology to everyone who has been harmed by the behavior and culture of the Beaches and Pools division—and the district's failure to address this abuse in a timely manner.
We are making real progress now with a professional team of investigators who are dedicated to uncovering every aspect of this ugly, disgusting story. This kind of humiliation and abuse of girls and women should never have been tolerated, let alone allowed to fester for who knows how long? We must eradicate that culture. This is our commitment.
STATEMENT FROM MAYOR LORI E. LIGHTFOOT
The results of the independent investigation released today confirm the accounts of the many young women who bravely stepped forward to reveal their truth, and called for righteous accountability. As I have repeatedly said, it was critical that this investigation of allegations regarding serious misconduct, and in some instances, criminal conduct, be treated with integrity and conducted with full independence.
I am outraged and appalled by these findings, particularly those that show that the people entrusted to lead the Park District were aware of these heinous allegations of bullying, intimidation, sexual harassment, and assault and chose to do very little in response. It is clear that all the way to the top of Park District senior leadership absolutely failed to take these complaints seriously. The investigations themselves were, until recently, also hampered by unacceptable layers of incompetence.
To the survivors, this investigation is the first step in the process of bringing justice, accountability, and healing. I made a promise that you will be believed, abusers will be held accountable, and that we will change the culture of our institutions to minimize any opportunity for harm to occur. This is the moment where that process begins. To the thousands of residents and families who rely on the Chicago Park District for high-quality programming every single day, I am working each and every day with the Interim leadership team and the Board to restore your trust in our world-class park system.
To our Parks employees, you deserve leaders who share your closely held values of protecting our children against predators and believing survivors of sexual abuse. Lastly, I want to thank the interim CEO and General Superintendent, Rosa Escareño, and the Park District Board for seeing these investigations to their conclusion, leading with transparency by releasing the reports, and taking swift and deliberate action in light of their findings.
As long as I am Mayor, I am committed to ensuring that leadership at every level of municipal government takes allegations of sexual misconduct and abuse of power seriously, and to doing everything in my power to protect employees, residents, and patrons.
