A Warren Township High School board member apologized Thursday for comments she made about hiring a gay superintendent.
The comment was made by board member Liz Biondi at a public meeting last week where board members were discussing criteria for the next head of the Gurnee-based school district, following the retirement of current Superintendent Mary Bates.
Biondi expressed concerns over hiring a gay person to fill the position and said a gay superintendent could end up fighting “more personal fires than superintendent fires,” the Daily Herald reports.
"I am being very honest," Biondi reportedly said in the meeting. "I have no problem with gays and lesbians. I personally know many. I know some who are (in the) closet, and I respect that."
On Thursday, Biondi told NBC5 in a statement that she was sorry for her remarks. "It was never my intention that this be a part of hiring questions or guidelines nor should a person's sexual orientation ever be a part of that," she said in the statement.
"I was relaying a question which someone had asked me. I did not expect my intentions to be taken out of context. In retrospect, I should never have asked the question," her statement read. "I have several members of my family who are gay and lesbian—the closest being my sister. I love my family, am proud of all their accomplishments, and am proud to support the LGBTcommunity including my sister. I would never intentionally do anything to harm someone."
The Illinois Human Rights Act of 2006 prohibits discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity in employment matters.
A petition launched on Change.org Wednesday called for Biondi’s “immediate resignation.” As of Thursday afternoon the petition had received more than 1,500 signatures.
“As we continue to remind our children and students, words matter, and as a leader of our district, Ms. Biondi should be held at least to the same standard to which we hold those in our charge,” a letter to the Warren Township Board of Education posted in the Change.org petition read. “Her statements fell well below the threshold of acceptable behavior, her opinions run counter to the values of our school, and she has set an example of, at best, ignorance, and at worst, bigotry. For these reasons, we demand that Ms. Biondi step down as member of the Warren Township High School Board.”
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Equality Illinois, a civil rights organization advocating for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender Illinoisans, also called for Biondi's resignation following the comments.
"Public officials have a duty to not only follow the law but to expect that kind of behavior by others in official positions," Bernard Cherkasov, CEO of Equality Illinois, said in a statement. "Biondi clearly demonstrated that she is not worthy of the trust to hold a position on the school board. We find Biondi's comments as someone who is sworn to uphold the law to be reprehensible, and she needs to resign from the board effective immediately, certainly before the search process proceeds."
The Daily Herald reported the comments were not targeted at a specific candidate, but Board President John Anderson noted the comments have prompted the board to explore removing her from office through a petition to the Lake County Regional Office of Education.
Lake County Regional School Superintendent Roycealee Wood told NBC5 that officials planned to meet Monday to discuss what potential legal options, if any, the district has.
"We're going to get together on Monday and see if we can't work out some solution that will be good for everybody, if we can just kind of get the situation under control," Wood said. "It's a sad situation but we can work through it, I'm sure we can."
