Fired Dist. 211 teacher's defamation suit against board member dismissed
A defamation lawsuit filed by a fired Palatine High School teacher against a board of education member has been dismissed, but the former educator's wrongful-termination suit against Palatine-Schaumburg High School District 211 continues.
Social studies teacher Jeanne Hedgepeth was fired by a 5-2 vote of the board in July 2020, following controversial comments she posted on Facebook about protests over the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis.
Hedgepeth later sued Tim McGowan of Palatine as he was running for the board in early 2021. The suit alleged McGowan made knowingly false statements in a Facebook post and video in an effort to have Hedgepeth fired.
McGowan was subsequently elected to the board in April 2021.
Cook County Judge Jerry A. Essig granted McGowan's motion to dismiss the defamation suit this summer. McGowan's attorney, Kristin Tauras, said Hedgepeth had 30 days to appeal the ruling, but she is unaware of any appeal being filed.
Hedgepeth attorney Christine Svenson could not be reached for comment Monday.
In his decision, Essig wrote, "Township High School District 211 dismissed Plaintiff, Jeanne Hedgepeth, for cause, based on her own conduct as set forth in the 'Resolution and Order Dismissing for Cause Jeanne Hedgepeth as a Tenured Teacher' ..."
"Plaintiff, Jeanne Hedgepeth, is collaterally estopped from arguing that her dismissal by District 211 was wrongful or the result of any alleged statements made by Defendant, Tim McGowan," he added.
The District 211 investigation that led to Hedgepeth's firing began in June 2020 after screenshots of what purported to be deleted a Facebook post about the protests were shared on social media.
"The statements in the post do not reflect the values or principles of District 211," the district said in a statement at the time. "We are truly sorry for any harm or disrespect that this may have caused."
Hedgepeth initially said she would retire but rescinded her retirement request a week later, before the board could vote to accept it.
Several community members urged the board to fire Hedgepeth, while others, including family members and longtime acquaintances, defended her character and care for her students.
Filed in July 2021, Hedgepeth's federal wrongful-termination lawsuit alleges District 211 violated her First Amendment rights by firing her for expressing herself away from the workplace. The controversial posts were made from a beach in Florida on May 31, 2020, after the school year had ended, the suit states.
"What people really need to understand is that the school break had started and she was completely away from her job duties. I think that's really the outrageous part," Svenson said at the time.
According to the lawsuit, Hedgepeth posted, "I don't want to go home tomorrow. Now that the civil war has begun I want to move."
When another person posted a meme suggesting that rioters could be stopped by septic tank trucks with pressure cannons, Hedgepeth responded, "You think this would work?"
The suit contends the remark was made in jest.
Hedgepeth posted a longer statement on June 1, 2020, that began, "I am about facts, truth seeking and love. I will speak on any topic I choose because I live in a free country. I find the term 'white privilege' as racist as the 'N' word. You have not walked in my shoes either so do not make assumptions about me and my so called privilege. You think America is racist? Then you have been hoodwinked by the white liberal establishment and race baiters like Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton."