Insurer agrees to pay legal bills for former Winfield trustee

Winfield's insurance provider has agreed to pay the legal bills of a former trustee who is being sued by a current village board member.

Village officials were notified earlier this month that former Trustee Chris Levan will have some of his legal expenses paid by the Intergovernmental Risk Management Agency.

The agency is a public shared-risk pool used by many Illinois municipalities to process liability claims such as major floods or injuries within the community.

Levan is being sued by Trustee Christine Petitti, who is alleging that Levan tried to have her fired from her job as an industrial hygienist for the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration.

The lawsuit that Petitti filed in DuPage County claims Levan misused his position as a trustee in urging Petitti's employers to investigate her conduct.

The suit stems from a March 2006 meeting at Winfield's village hall involving the job performance of a local police officer.

About eight weeks later, Levan complained to Petitti's bosses that she had attended the meeting not as a village trustee but as a representative of the U.S. Department of Labor, which oversees OSHA.

Petitti was cleared by her employers of any wrongdoing, but she has claimed in her suit against Levan that his actions have hurt her job prospects and caused her emotional distress.

Petitti didn't return several calls seeking comment.

Levan deferred comment to his attorney, Phil Leutkehans, who couldn't be reached for comment..

Bruce Bonebrake, Petitti's attorney, said only that Petitti was disappointed in the risk management agency's decision help pay for Levan's legal bills. He declined to comment further until he could speak with Petitti. He didn't return later calls seeking comment.

Petitti's suit seeks at least $50,000 in damages. Her legal bills are not being covered by the municipal insurance pool, Village Manager William Barlow said.