SD 122 board member: ‘Ridiculous’ events led to resignation
BY SUSAN DEMAR LAFFERTY slafferty@southtownstar.com June 13, 2012 8:52PM
Sue Gillooley
Updated: July 15, 2012 3:03PM
Sue Gillooley, who on Monday resigned from the New Lenox School District 122 Board, said she did so with her “head held high.”
The move came after a court ordered Gillooley and another New Lenox woman to stay away from each other after the woman said Gillooley had harassed her.
“(Resigning) was my decision only. I did not talk to other board members about it,” Gillooley said Tuesday. She had been on the board since 2007.
On June 7, a Will County judge ordered Gillooley and Kathy Jackson, a New Lenox mother of four, to stay 100 feet away from each other for three months after a dispute about a man Gillooley dated.
Jackson claimed Gillooley had harassed her, but Gillooley said she is the victim, not Jackson.
“I was the one being harassed,” Gillooley said, saying all of Jackson’s accusations were false. “She got wind that I called the police on her and she turned the tables on me.
“This never would have happened if I was not an elected official. As long as I was a public official, my kids are exposed to this,” she said, explaining she resigned to “protect” her five children.
Gillooley said she never saw Jackson until the hearing. She said she brought phone records to the courtroom to prove she had not been calling or texting Jackson.
Judge Victoria Kennison said she didn’t think either woman had been completely honest with her.
“The judge could not tell who was telling the truth. I respect her decision,” Gillooley said.
Gillooley said she dated a man who was a former boyfriend of Jackson but said it was not a love triangle.
“He broke up with her and she was mad,” Gillooley said. She said Jackson and the man’s ex-wife teamed up and appeared in court together to bring her down.
“I cannot tell you how ridiculous this whole thing is,” Gillooley said.
Jackson could not be reached for comment.
