Lawsuit Against Burr Ridge Official Thrown Out

BURR RIDGE, IL – A DuPage County judge earlier this month threw out a lawsuit against Burr Ridge Trustee Tony Schiappa.

In May, resident Patricia Davis sued Schiappa. She alleged the trustee represented himself on his Facebook page as a government actor authorized to speak on behalf of the village. Yet he includes political endorsements on the page, she said.

Illinois law bars employees and officers of any public body from taking part in political activities in their official roles.

Earlier this month, Judge Jennifer Barron dismissed the case, saying Davis had not exhausted all her local administrative remedies.

It is unclear what those remedies are, although Mayor Gary Grasso, a Schiappa ally, said after the lawsuit was filed that complaints such as Davis' should be made to the Village Board.

Davis responded to the court's decision in a statement to Patch.

"I'm happy with today's ruling because Judge Barron seems to feel that there is some lingering ethics issue here, and dismissing it without prejudice means that the case could be brought again," said Davis, who represented herself. "Burr Ridge residents deserve leadership that knows and follows ethics law."

On his Facebook page, Schiappa noted the judge's decision. He said he started his page in 2014, even before he was elected trustee.

"To all who follow my page, please remember this is not an official Village of Burr Ridge page," he said.

Responding was Jeff Waters, a Hinsdale High School District 86 board member, who said, "Fortunately, that frivolity is behind you. If we had English rule, you'd be cashing a reimbursement check right now."

Although Schiappa never admitted an error, he changed his page's designation several times after Davis' complaint.

The page, titled "Tony Schiappa, Burr Ridge Trustee," was formerly categorized as "Government & Public Service." But after Davis raised concerns, he changed it to "Political Candidate" and then "Public Figure." It's back to "Political Candidate."

The introduction still states, "Tony Schiappa is honored to be one of the trustees of the Village of Burr Ridge." But he has since added, "This is a private, political campaign page of Tony Schiappa and is not affiliated with any other governmental entity."

The Chicago-based Reform for Illinois said over the summer that Schiappa's page, as it was previously designated, ran afoul of state law.

Davis originally brought her complaint to Schiappa himself. Schiappa was not officially represented by an attorney.