Jury Rejects Sexual Harassment, Discrimination Claims Against Town of Cicero

Cicero, IL - A federal jury has rejected a sexual harassment and racial discrimination lawsuit against the Town of Cicero.

Maria Isabella Delgadillo, an administrative assistant for Cicero's fire department, filed a federal lawsuit in October 2011 in the U.S. District Court for Northern District of Illinois, according to Ray Hanania, spokesperson for the Town of Cicero.

Delgadillo alleged in the suit that she was sexually harassed and discriminated against based on race between 2007 and 2010 by fire department personnel. She also claimed the work environment was hostile.

Delgadillo requested $1.5 million in damages, and if her case had been successful, her attorneys would have sought an additional $2 million in attorney’s fees, Hanania reported.

After a 10-day trial, the jury rejected the claims on March 23.

“As the Town of Cicero asserted from the beginning, my administration vigorously enforces policy against sexual harassment and racial discrimination in any branch of Town government," said Cicero Town President Larry Dominick in a statement. "It is a zero tolerance policy for such behavior.”

Delgadillo was represented by Nixon Peabody.

Del Galdo Law Group attorney Austin Zimmer served as the lead counsel for the Town of Cicero, assisted in court by Del Galdo Law Group attorneys Veronica Bonilla-Lopez and Cynthia Grandfield.