Kane County settles former officer's sexual harassment claim

Kane County paid out $75,000 to a former corrections officer Tuesday in settling a sexual harassment claim dating back to Ken Ramsey's days as Kane County Sheriff.

Erma Rodriguez filed suit against Ramsey in June 2003, claiming she was "periodically sexually harassed" over two years by a another officer, who "made suggestive remarks and gestures, touched and rubbed himself against (Rodriguez), and refused to stop despite plaintiff's demands that he do so."

Rodriguez, a Chicago resident who joined the sheriff's office in 1993, also claimed female corrections officers were "treated differently" than their male counterparts by being assigned to high-risk areas of the jail more frequently. She said she was issued a written warning followed by a verbal reprimand after complaining to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in 2001.

On Jan. 15, 2003, she claimed she found a "phallic-shaped" piece of insulation foam marked with graphic pictures on a desk. After complaining about the incident, she became the subject of an internal investigation into supposed policy violations she was accused of committing the day she saw the object, the lawsuit says.

"(Ramsey), through his employees and agents, (has) embarked on a systematic course of harassment, filing and pursuing false disciplinary actions, assignment of plaintiff to the most hazardous jobs, assigning plaintiff to extra work and otherwise verbally and physically harassing her," according to the lawsuit.

Rodriguez's claims were investigated but dismissed by the Kane County Sheriff's Merit Commission. The investigation did not support Rodriguez' claims, and she eventually lost her job. She applied for reinstatement through the merit commission but was denied.

Rodriguez had sought an unspecified amount of back pay, damages and court costs for the suit settled Tuesday. The Kane County Board cited the settlement as being "in the best interests of the parties" and "to avoid the costs associated with protracted litigation."

Rodriguez has a separate, but related, lawsuit against the merit commission and its members at the time that has not yet been resolved.