Rich Mitchell, the gay superintendent of Bremen High School who made headlines when an edgy video he created for teachers was leaked, was fired by the school board Nov. 9. He is preparing to file a complaint with the Cook County Commission on Human Rights for sexual orientation discrimination.
The school, after eight hours of deliberation, fired Richard Mitchell in a 4-2 vote. The school's lawyer said that Mitchell was fired based on poor leadership, not because he is gay. Charges against Mitchell included poor communication with the board.
Mitchell's lawyer, Jim Madigan of Lambda Legal, is preparing to file a complaint of sexual orientation discrimination with the Cook County Commission of Human Rights, which may or may not include a transcript of last week's hearing with the board.
Mitchell has not filed a complaint with the Illinois Department of Human Rights.
'We wanted to give the board an opportunity to do the right thing, although we were pessimistic about a few members,' Madigan told Windy City Times. The process of filing a complaint with the commission and getting a hearing can take up to several months. 'We'd rather it take a long time and be very thorough,' Madigan said.
Mitchell was hired in 2004, and received great reviews, which led to his contract being extended thru 2009. In April 2005, Evelyn Gleason, a board member who Mitchell claims resisted his hiring because he is gay, took over control as the school board's president.
'Soon after, systematic steps were taken to cut the programs Richard had initiated and to undermine him,' Madigan said.
According to Madigan, Gleason hired her son's law firm, which claimed that Mitchell's contract was invalid. Mitchell filed a lawsuit as a declaration that his contract was valid, and met with the board council Sept. 25 of this year to say he had evidence of discrimination and would pursue his rights under the Illinois Human Rights Act.
Three days later, the DVD Mitchell had created for the enjoyment of teachers was leaked to an anonymous source. He had made a video to be shown to teachers before, and there were no problems. The video, which was edited to show teachers answering ridiculous questions, was made public by a staff member, who was only supposed to provide the video on the Internet for faculty and staff to access.
Madigan calls the leak and other such behaviors 'calculated retaliation' against Mitchell for saying he would pursue his rights.
After the complaint process is completed, Mitchell may pursue issues concerning his contract.
