Ravinia Festival 'Falsely And Maliciously' Boots Women's Board Member

HIGHLAND PARK, IL — A longtime member of the women's board of the Ravinia Festival Association filed suit against the music festival operator after she was removed from the board last year over mysterious misconduct allegations.

Karen Ettleson, a Glencoe attorney and Ravinia Women's Board member since 1993, filed a complaint in Cook County court last month alleging that the not-for-profit's board did not have the authority to boot her from the board.

According to her suit, Ravinia trustees defamed her "following a sham investigation of alleged undefined conduct with respect to Festival Shop employees that was designed as a pre-text to produce a report allegedly justifying their actions."

In July 2023, Ravinia Board Chair Chris Klein notified Ettleson that the board had "launched an investigation into the activities of some members of the Board of Trustees and the Women's Board and their interactions with the Ravinia Festival Shop and its employees," according to an exhibit to her lawsuit.

"There are alleged behaviors which may have violated our code of ethics," Klein said.

In September 2023, Klein notified Ettelson that an investigation by lawyers from the white-shoe firm Perkins Coie had determined that "your conduct was, among other things, inconsistent with our expectations for volunteer board members of Ravinia."

Without specifying the nature of the alleged misconduct, Klein told her the executive committee of the festival board had authorized his "executive action" to remove her from the board immediately.

That marked the first time in the six-decade history of the women's board that someone was kicked off of it, Ettelson alleged.

The Women's Board was established by the executive committee in 1962, but in 1972 it was granted independence, after which it drew up its own governing bylaws and functions autonomously from the Ravinia Board of Trustees, according to the complaint.

The board describes itself as an "autonomous group of leaders" that “not only exemplifies the spirit of volunteerism at the festival but has also brought a business approach to fundraising and social programs." And, the complaint noted, former festival president Welz Kaufmann called Women's Board volunteers the "heart and soul" of Ravinia.

A review of the membership of the Ravinia Festival Association's Board of Trustees indicates there are 45 men and 29 women on the board. The 18-member executive committee includes twice as many men as women.

In his letter notifying Ettelson that the executive committee had ousted her from the board, Klein offered her the opportunity to accept a letter of resignation from her if she cooperated with his demand to turn over any digital assets or records from the festival archives. (Ettelson, who is also the co-president of the Glencoe Historical Society and the author of a 300-page illustrated 2013 book about the history of the Ravinia Women's Board called "Leading Ladies.")

"While we are troubled by your actions with respect to the Ravinia employees, we are grateful for your years of service to the Women's Board," Klein said. "If you fully cooperate with the return of materials and transfer of digital materials and rights, we would like to find a peaceful resolution to your departure from the Women's Board."

The next day, an attorney for Ettelson responded with a demand for any report or conclusions from the Perkins Coie investigation that justified her purported removal and for the board to reverse its decision and issue her a formal apology.

Perkins Coie is also representing Ravinia Festival Association in its trademark infringement lawsuit it filed last year against a local microbrewery. Last month, Ravinia Brewing Company fired back with counterclaims accusing the not-for-profit of violating its agreement and fraudulently obtaining a trademark on the use of the name of the Ravinia neighborhood even though several other businesses already used it that way.

Ravinia Festival Association board member Richard Sevcik is the firmwide chair of Perkins Coi's tax-exempt organization's practice.

According to Ettelson, the firm has been a sponsor of festival programs for years and received discounts, recognition and other benefits.

Ravinia Festival Association Chief Marketing and Communications Officer Elizabeth Fildes declined to answer questions about any special deals between the law firm and the not-for-profit.

Hiring the firm to conduct the internal probe was a clear violation of the organizations code of ethics, which calls for avoiding the appearance of conflict of interests, the suit alleged.

The firm's investigation was "pretextual and grossly inadequate" and "not independent," according to her suit, which says she was the only target of the investigation.

"It failed to disclose the nature of any wrongful conduct, the contents of any alleged complaint and otherwise permit a full and fair response to any claim," Ettelson alleged. "It failed to interview all of the key witnesses and examine all relevant documentation. It failed to follow any recognized practice or procedure and failed to apply appropriate legal standards."

The eight-count suit seeks not only Ettelson's reinstatement on the Women's Board but also aims to clear her name and correct the association's records, while seeking unspecified compensatory and punitive damages, including attorney's fees.

Ettelson's complaint, which was first first reported by the Cook County Record, includes allegations of tortious interference with a contract, both intentional and negligent infliction of emotional distress, false light invasion of privacy and two counts of defamation.

In a statement, a festival spokesperson referenced the organization's "standards of common decency" and declared that it "does not tolerate discrimination, harassment, or mistreatment."

But the nature of the allegations that prompted Ettelson's removal remain a mystery.

Fildes, the festival's chief communications officer, declined to answer questions regarding how many other people have been removed from either board for ethics violations and whether the executive committee could simply dissolve the Women's Board at its discretion.