Cook v. Yarbrough

MEGAN COOK and SHEENA WILLIAMSON, Plaintiffs, v. KAREN YARBROUGH, in her individual capacity,WILLIAM VELAZQUEZ, in his individual capacity,COOK COUNTY RECORDER OF DEEDS OFFICE,and COOK COUNTY, Defendants.

18 C 4583

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT NORTHERN DISTRICT OF ILLINOIS EASTERN DIVISION

May 5, 2021

MEMORANDUM OPINION

CHARLES P. KOCORAS, District Judge:

Before the Court is Defendants Karen Yarbrough ("Yarbrough"), William Velazquez ("Velazquez"), the Cook County Recorder of Deeds Office ("Recorder's Office"), and Cook County's (collectively, "Defendants") motion for summary judgment under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 56. For the following reasons, the Court grants the Motion.

BACKGROUND

The following facts are from the record and are undisputed unless otherwise noted.

A. Background Facts

The Recorder's Officer is responsible for recording, storing, and maintaining land records and other official documents for public and private use. Defendant Yarbrough was elected as the Cook County Recorder of Deeds in November 2012. She served in this position from December 2012 until December 2018. Yarbrough is currently the Cook County Clerk. Defendant Velazquez served as the Chief Deputy Recorder, the second highest position in the Recorder's Office, from December 2012 until October 2013.

Plaintiff Megan Cook ("Cook") worked in the Recorder's Office as Executive Assistant to the Labor Counsel from May 2013 until sometime in 2017. Similarly, Plaintiff Sheena Williamson ("Williamson") was Executive Assistant to the Deputy Recorder for Finance from June 2013 until November 2016. Cook and Williamson (collectively, "Plaintiffs") allege that they were discriminated against by Yarbrough and Velazquez because of the use of political factors in the hiring of Erica Sanchez ("Sanchez") as Velazquez's Executive Assistant, and in the setting of Plaintiffs' and Sanchez's salaries.

It is significant to note that neither Cook nor Williamson applied for the higher paying position occupied by Sanchez. Notwithstanding their consistent complaints about the pay discrepancies between their positions and that of Sanchez, the differences in duties between their positions and the office Sanchez occupied is basically ignored by Plaintiffs. Equally ignored is the county-wide grade and pay structure applicable toall employees based essentially on the relative importance ascribed to the duties of the grade and positions described. Succinctly stated, the comparisons made to Sanchez by the Plaintiffs are not to a similarly situated employee.

B. The Parties' Political Affiliations

In addition to her position as the Recorder of Deeds, Yarbrough was an elected Committeeperson of the Proviso Township Democratic Organization. Yarbrough and Velazquez met in the early 2000s when Yarbrough was a state legislator and Velazquez was a lobbyist. Velazquez served as Yarbrough's co-campaign manager and was asked to be the Chief Deputy Recorder after Yarbrough was elected. Velazquez says that he had no affiliation with the Proviso Township Democratic Organization. But Plaintiffs maintain that he must have been involved with the organization, otherwise he would have been the only member of Yarbrough's executive staff that was not affiliated with it.

In October 2012, Yarbrough attended Sanchez's wedding. Sanchez says that Yarbrough may have been a guest of her father-in-law. Sanchez says Yarbrough and her father-in-law are "friends from the community" but are not close friends. Also, Sanchez's husband and father-in-law own a banquet hall called Mariella's Banquets. Yarbrough and her husband have hosted multiple political events at Mariella's Banquets throughout her political career. Although Sanchez says she does not recall attending any political events hosted by Yarbrough at Mariella's Banquets, Plaintiffs say that Sanchez has been photographed at such events.

Additionally, both Sanchez and Yarbrough personally know the Mayor of Hillside, Illinois, Joe Tamburino. Yarbrough and her husband have contributed to Tamburino's political party, the Hillside Independent Party. Sanchez also made contributions to Tamburino's party prior to her employment at the Recorder's Office.

Plaintiffs assert that they were not politically affiliated with Yarbrough, Velazquez, the Proviso Township Democratic Organization, or any other organization affiliated with Yarbrough. Plaintiffs contend that Yarbrough and Velazquez knew of Plaintiffs' non-affiliation because it would have been part of the hiring process and because it would have been revealed during investigations by the Office of the Independent Inspector General ("Inspector General").Interestingly, though, Williamson admits that she attended a political event that Yarbrough also attended.

C. Hiring Procedures at the Recorder's Office

The Recorder's Office is subject to the Supplemental Relief Order issued as part of the Shakman litigation, which prohibits unlawful political discrimination for certain positions within the Cook County government. See Shakman v. Clerk of Cook County, 2021 WL 1437195, at *1-2 (7th Cir. 2021) (discussing the history of the Shakman litigation and consent decrees). The Recorder's Compliance Administrator ("RCA") is an independent office that ensures the Recorder's Office's compliance with Shakman by reviewing hiring decisions. The Recorder's Office drafted an employment plan to comply with Shakman. Certain policy making positions, such as the Chief Deputy Recorder, were exempt from the requirements of Shakman and could be filled forpolitical reasons. The positions at issue, Executive Assistants, are non-exempt positions and may not be filled for political reasons.

When it is determined that a position needs to be filled, a job description is created and publicly posted for 14 days. The job posting includes a salary range, Grade 9 through 24, assigned by the County. Candidates are then interviewed by an interview panel. The Recorder's Office employment plan allowed for certain positions, including Executive Assistant positions, to be filled through an expedited process that bypasses the interview panel if the selected candidate meets the minimum qualifications for the position. Plaintiffs and Sanchez were hired through this expedited process.

D. Plaintiffs' Hiring and Employment at the Recorder's Office

When Cook and Williamson were hired, their positions were assigned to the Grade 18 pay level and the salary range was $46,476 - $75,017. Plaintiffs' starting salaries were the lowest end of the range, $46,476. Chloe Pederson, the Labor Counsel, and Cedric Giles, the Deputy Recorder of Finance, wrote intra-office memoranda formally announcing Plaintiffs' hiring. Plaintiffs say that the memoranda were circulated to Felix Babatunde ("Babatunde"), who was the Human Resources Director, and Yarbrough.

Cook's job responsibilities included assisting the Labor Counsel in the preparation of documentation for investigations of employee misconduct, employees' disciplinary and grievance proceedings, and leave requests under the Family and Medical Leave Act ("FMLA"). Williamson's job responsibilities included attendingmeetings on behalf of the Deputy Recorder of Finance, preparing reports and presentations, and coordinating projects among multiple departments. Williamson says she also performed tasks outside her primary job responsibilities including processing refunds in the Accounting Department. In July 2015, Williamson submitted a request for a salary increase to her supervisor because of the extra work she performed, which was denied. As a result, Williamson was directed to no longer assist with refund processing.

E. Sanchez's Hiring and Employment

When Velazquez first started as Chief Deputy Recorder, he received permission from Yarbrough to hire an Executive Assistant. According to Defendants, Velazquez told Yarbrough that he was interviewing people for the position, but he does not recall the specific details on how Sanchez was selected or what process was used. Velazquez says that he reviewed applications as they came in. Additionally, Velazquez admits that he met with Sanchez at some point and encouraged her to apply for the position. Velazquez's intra-office memorandum officially hiring Sanchez was circulated on February 26, 2013. Plaintiffs contend that Sanchez applied for the position before the position was publicly posted and that her hiring paperwork was completed before she was officially hired, which, according to Plaintiffs, shows something nefarious was afoot.

Sanchez's position was assigned to the Grade 20 pay level with a salary range of $56,172 to $90,218 per year. Velazquez set Sanchez's salary at $70,308 per year.Plaintiffs contend Sanchez was given an opportunity to negotiate her salary. Defendants assert that Sanchez was not given this opportunity, but Sanchez instead let the Recorder's Office know how much she wanted to make on her own initiative. Her request was approved because of her education level and experience.

Sanchez's job responsibilities involved working with other County agencies such as offices under the Cook County President and Cook County Commissioners, and assisting the Chief Deputy Recorder in dealing with labor issues, finance issues, and operations.

Based on these facts, Plaintiffs filed a complaint in this Court alleging political discrimination in violation of the First Amendment by Yarbrough, Velazquez, and the Recorder's Office and a claim for indemnification against Cook County. Defendants now move for summary judgment under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 56.

LEGAL STANDARD

Under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 56, summary judgment is proper "if the pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories, and admissions on file, together with the affidavits, if any, show that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the moving party is entitled to a judgment as a matter of law." Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 322 (1986) (cleaned up). "A...