A Warren Township High School District 121 board member, on Dec. 11, apologized for comments she made about the possibility of a gay or lesbian school superintendent, but said that she would not step down over the matter, NBC-5 reported.
In a public meeting Dec. 2 in Gurney, Liz Biondi said, "I'm concerned that if we hired someone that we were not aware of that background, that they may be fighting more personal fires than superintendent fires, I guess is what I'm going to say."
The following week, she told NBC-5 in a statement, "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. 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."
Biondi's initial remarks drew fire from a number of sources. Her colleagues on the board have discussed the possibility of her removal, while a change.org petition was launched Dec. 10 calling for her to step down. As of Dec. 14, it had 2,664 signatures.
In a statement, Equality Illinois CEO Bernard Cherkasov said, "Public officials have a duty to not only follow the law but to expect that kind of behavior by others in official positions. 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."
Discrimination in hiring on the basis of sexual orientation is prohibited by the Illinois Human Rights Act of 2006. District 121 board officials said they would meet Dec. 15 to try to resolve the matter.
NBC-5's story is at bit.ly/1BM55QP .