With Contract Up, Wilmette Park District Chief Quits As $5 Million Lawsuit Heads To Court

WILMETTE, IL — Steve Wilson, the embattled executive director of the Wilmette Park District, will step down at the end of the month, district staff announced on the eve of a court hearing in a $5 million lawsuit accusing the district and its longtime chief of workplace misconduct, retaliation and emotional distress.

The lawsuit alleges that Wilson's actions caused severe emotional distress to the district's former superintendent of human resources, Elizabeth "Liz" Cox, during her battle with cancer. First filed by her widower in May, the complaint claims Cox resigned a year earlier after facing retaliation for investigating an alleged inappropriate relationship between Wilson and a subordinate.

In October, Cook County Circuit Judge Michael Barrett dismissed the first version of the suit, finding its claims were not legally actionable, but he allowed attorneys for Cox's husband to refile them. An amended complaint was filed on behalf of her estate in November, attorneys for the park district filed a motion to dismiss it last month and a hearing to schedule briefings in the case is set for Tuesday.

Wilson notified staff members of his resignation on Monday, though he had notified park district commissioners of his plans to step down last month ahead of the Dec. 31 expiration of his contract. The decision to step down from the approximately $200,000-a-year position, effective Jan. 31, came after "extensive discussions and planning" with commissioners and "careful consideration" with his family, Wilson told district staffers.

“As I transition from this role, I want to express my heartfelt gratitude to the outstanding staff members I have enjoyed working with. Their dedication and professionalism have made my tenure rewarding, and together, we have fostered a strong sense of community," said Wilson, who declined to offer interviews or answer written questions about his departure.

The amended version of Cox's complaint describes a series of events leading up to Cox's resignation, alleging that Wilson's conduct and the park district's actions created an abusive and hostile work environment.

It accuses the executive director of ignoring concerns from employees, favoring an employee with whom he allegedly had a relationship and undermined Cox, especially after she returned from medical leave for cancer treatment in September 2022.

"Elizabeth’s supervisor, Wilson, was willfully and wantonly subjecting Elizabeth to extreme and abusive behavior stemming from his intentional non-responsiveness and aggressive comments in the workplace, as well as his involvement in an inappropriate relationship with his subordinate," it alleges. "Wilson viewed Elizabeth as a threat and subjected to her extreme abusive behavior in an effort to get her to quit."

According to the complaint, Wilson failed to perform basic functions of the job, with his non-responsiveness so "egregious" that it made it "incredibly difficult" for the then-recreation supervisor to adhere to deadlines.

Cox, in her HR role, checked a box to indicate that the supervisor had completed some mandatory training before a Dec. 31, 2022, deadline. According to the suit, Cox understood she had the authority to waive training and had done so for Wilson himself without incident.

In response, Wilson launched an investigation into her actions. The complaint alleges that the investigation was a pretext for forcing Cox out of her position and accuses Wilson of threatening her with felony charges.

In March 2023, Cox and the recreation supervisor were given an ultimatum: resign or face termination. Her resignation became effective in May 2023. She died in December 2023.

In the amended complaint, Kevin Cox argues that the park district denied Liz Cox access to her accrued sick leave, which would have allowed her to maintain health insurance during her cancer treatment. It also claims that Wilson misrepresented the circumstances of her resignation in communications to staff and the public, exacerbating her emotional distress.

The park district’s December motion to dismiss counters these allegations by asserting that the claims fail to meet the legal requirements for intentional or negligent infliction of emotion distress.

The motion argues that workplace disputes and job-related stress do not constitute the “extreme and outrageous” conduct necessary for a claim of intentional infliction of emotional distress.

"[E]ven if true (and it is not), Wilson's failure to do his job well because he was engaged in an alleged workplace romance or third-party complaints about the same brought to Elizabeth as HR for the agency, [Wilmette Park District], is not extreme and outrageous."

It further contends that the alleged emotional harm does not meet the physical injury standard required for an negligent infliction of emotional distress claim under state law. Even if all its allegations were true, park district attorneys argued, there is no cause of action.

Additionally, the motion raises affirmative defenses, including preemption under the Illinois Workers' Compensation Act and the Illinois Survival Act, which the district argues bars claims for emotional distress following Cox's death in December 2023.

"Nothing has changed since the original Complaint, as this matter continues to arise from a situation in which Elizabeth as Superintendent of Human Resources for [Wilmette Park District], in December 2022 chose to falsify documents (or 'waive a requirement') for a Colleague (and friend) at a time when the Colleague would otherwise not receive a 2023 pay raise or bonus because of not completing mandatory training," said Patrick O'Connor, an attorney for Wilson and the district.

"The waiver resulted in an investigation and, ultimately, both employees’ resignations from [the district]. The [first amended complaint] does not add facts to better state a cause of action but is just another attempt to spread gossip and launder hearsay to settle a past score," O'Connor said.

And, even if the allegations were true, the park district is immune from liability for them, according to its attorney.

"[Cox] essentially alleges that Steve wanted Elizabeth to resign or terminate her to make way for his alleged paramour to take over HR duties at WPD and used an investigation into allegations of misconduct by Elizabeth and a Colleague as the method to end employment," he argued.

"However, the decisions at issue here — e.g., to mandate certain training (and to make compensation adjustments contingent on completion), to investigate the head of HR who undisputedly created a falsified document, to end the employment of both, and to give choices to both as to resignation or termination — are all immunized pursuant to the doctrine of discretionary immunity," he said, referring to the doctrine that protects public officials from lawsuits over job-related decisions.

Following the filing of the first complaint, park district staff issued a statement declaring that Wilson "vehemently" denied the accusations it contained, though he declined to answer questions about its specific allegations.

An investigation by The Record North Shore found nine staff members at manager-level and above departed the park district from May 2023 to May 2024, with Wilson and the employee he was accused of improperly favoring comprising two of the three parks administrators who remained on staff since February 2020.

According to The Record, the board hired an outside law firm to conduct a confidentially delivered "fact-finding review" before putting Wilson on a performance improvement plan in the summer of 2023.

In a joint statement read at a park district committee meeting in June 2024, Cox's family and a co-worker said the park district board had covered for Wilson as he engaged in an "unconscionable" campaign of harassment against her.

Cox's husband, Kevin, has contended the idea that his late wife had concocted a scheme to get her colleague a raise rather than to be able to meet year-end deadlines was absurd and without evidence. He welcomed Monday's announcement that Wilson, now out of a contract, would be stepping down at the end of the month.

"Liz cherished her job at the Wilmette Park District, which played a crucial role in her battle against cancer. However, she became a victim of Steve Wilson’s cruelty, and turned her into a target, leading him to make her life a living hell," Kevin Cox told Patch.

"In his twisted mind, he believed he held absolute control over the park district and that eliminating Liz was essential to conceal his affair with another subordinate. Regrettably, his resignation comes too late for Liz, but I can’t help but hope that Liz’s fellow employees are now protected from his wrath," Cox said.

"While his resignation may bring some relief, it fails to address his disgusting behavior towards Liz or the Board’s complicity in supporting him," he added. "It is telling though that the Board’s press release failed to praise Wilson or even thank him for his 17 years of service."

Neither Wilson nor park district board representatives have commented on whether his departure was influenced by the allegations or the legal proceedings. The next hearing on Cox's case is scheduled for Tuesday morning before Barrett in room 2202 of the Daley Center.