Robert Cruz speaks during a special meeting of the Oak Lawn High School District 229 Board Wednesday in Oak Lawn. The other six board members later voted to remove him from the board. (Terrence Antonio James / Chicago Tribune)
The Oak Lawn High School District 229 Board voted Wednesday to remove Robert Cruz from the board, claiming he violating his oath of office and board policy by twice filing a lawsuit against Gov. J.B. Pritzker objecting to the statewide mask mandate in schools.
The lawsuits cost the district $25,000 and Cruz sought to recoup his own legal fees from the district, said Burt Odelson, the board’s attorney.
Cruz said he believes each district should craft its own mask policy and in his first lawsuit claimed he was acting in his official capacity as a board member, and then as an individual. A federal judge dismissed his lawsuit in December.
A handful of supporters of board member Robert Cruz erupt in the stands as the Oak Lawn High School District 29 Board votes to remove him from office. (Jesse Wright / Daily Southtown)
Cruz said he believes masks harm students and mask mandates curtail any chance for local government control. Dozens of his supporters sat in clumps around the performing arts center, many without masks despite a mask requirement posted at the entryway.
The other six board members all voted to remove Cruz from the board by declaring a vacancy.
[Most read] Hot mic on internet livestream catches Cook County judge ridiculing attorney after hearing ？
Former school board member Joseph Amado spoke on behalf of Cruz.
“If you don’t wake up, you’ll all be in the camps together,” Amado told the audience.
Former board member Joe Amado warns the audience of coming camps if they allow the school board to remove Robert Cruz off the board. (Jeff Vorva / Daily Southtown)
The district’s website had already removed Cruz from the list of board members Thursday.
“We will appeal this,” he said. “This is not the law. I did have attorneys in the audience, and if they want a lawsuit, they’ll get one.”
Cruz argued the only legitimate reason to remove a school board member is if they’re guilty of a felony.
[Most read] Pregnant hairstylist, 29, who was ‘always smiling’ fatally shot in Park Manor. ‘She didn’t deserve this,’ her mother says. ？
Odelson countered that members have a duty to uphold a code of conduct that includes protecting the interests of the taxpayers, and said that prevents members from seeking personal gain, including political fortune, from the office.
Odelson said Cruz violated the code because he had no authority to speak on behalf of the board. Not only had he never brought the potential lawsuit before the board during a meeting, apparently, he’d never even informally floated the idea, Odelson said.
Odelson said neither the board as a whole nor the administration ever supported the lawsuit against the governor.
“Not only did you not protect the school district, you sued the school district,” Odelson said.
Burton Odelson, attorney for Oak Lawn High School District 229, said board member Robert Cruz had violated the board's code of conduct when he, in a federal lawsuit against Gov. J.B. Pritzker opposing a statewide mask mandate, claimed he was acting in his official capacity. (Terrence Antonio James / Chicago Tribune)
Odelson said Cruz was an embarrassment to the district.
[Most read] ‘The roster needs work.’ How does the Chicago Bears coaching job stack up with the other NFL openings? A look at how attractive each team is. ？
“You again brought District 229 into disrepute, and misrepresented the facts when you issued a press release Dec. 14, alleging an increase of suicide and violence in District 229,” Odelson said.
Cruz shot back at Odelson.
“Who asked you to get involved with this on behalf of the school district,” Cruz said.
“Who told you to sue on behalf of the board,” Odelson replied.
Odelson said Cruz also sought political fame from this fight.
[Most read] Monkey King Jianbing is worth the hunt, serving up crepe-like street food in Chinatown ？
Cruz is an announced candidate for the Republican nomination in the redrawn 6th Congressional District. He said after the meeting he has no idea whether a protracted fight against the school district could help his bid for Congress, but said he’s hopeful it will.
“The crowd seemed to be on our side,” Cruz said. “We’re going to continue to fight for our kids and we’re going to continue to fight for what we think is right.”
People stand to recite the Pledge of Allegiance Wednesday during a special meeting at Oak Lawn Community High School, after one audience member questioned why it had not been recited at the beginning of the meeting. (Terrence Antonio James / Chicago Tribune)
The meeting opened without the Pledge of Allegiance, something questioned by the first public speaker, Ashley Ramos, a Cruz supporter. After she finished, board President Robert Loehr apologized for overlooking the pledge and began it, amid boos and catcalls, though that gave way to an intense, angry recitation of the pledge by Cruz supporters.
The majority of the crowd opposed the board all evening.
Leslie Mendoza, the only student to speak on Cruz’s behalf, warned the parents in the audience that if Cruz should be kicked off the board, worse things will come.
[Most read] Who will the Chicago Bears hire? Here’s what to know about the coach and GM searches. ？
“He has simply done nothing wrong,” said Mendoza, a member of the student chapter of Turning Points USA, a nonprofit organization that advocates for conservative values on high school, college and university campuses.
Student Leslie Mendoza spoke out in favor of Robert Cruz Wednesday night. (Jeff Vorva / Daily Southtown)
“Parents, this is a preview of what our future will look like if you don’t stand up to your school boards now,” Mendoza said.
Daily Southtown Newsletter
Twice-weekly
News updates from the south suburbs delivered every Monday and Wednesday
You are now following this newsletter. See all newsletters.
Only one man, Bob Bulow, spoke out against Cruz. Bulow said he’s 70 and while he doesn’t like wearing a mask, he has no problem doing so and he can breathe just fine. He said he opposed Cruz for running up massive legal fees for the district and then seeking to have the district pay his own legal fees.
As he stepped away from the microphone someone yelled and called him a communist.
From the audience, a man yelled, “We’re ready! The high school kid is smarter than the board.”
[Most read] Who will the Chicago Bears hire? Here’s what to know about the coach and GM searches. ？
District 229 is a one-school district that governs Oak Lawn Community High School. The board will vote to pick a new board member at its next meeting and that person will serve until the April 2023 election, when voters will elect someone to fill the remaining two years on his term.
Cruz was elected in April 2021, in a five-person race for four seats on the board. He placed third with 1,243 votes.
Jesse Wright is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.
Column: Illinois Supreme Court orders visitors be able to bring cellphones into all courthouses
39m
Oak Lawn High School Board member Robert Cruz removed from office, vows lawsuit
48m
Criminal Justice Hot mic on internet livestream catches Cook County judge ridiculing attorney after hearing
1h
Breaking News Pregnant hairstylist, 29, who was ‘always smiling’ fatally shot in Park Manor. ‘She didn’t deserve this,’ her mother says.
38m
Chicago Bears ‘The roster needs work.’ How does the Chicago Bears coaching job stack up with the other NFL openings? A look at how attractive each team is.
6:00 AM