SD 103 board member rips Facebook post about her dead son

By Steve Metsch

Lyons School District 103 board member Winifred Rodriguez

has taken to task two members of the board’s minority after a private Facebook

page they administrate delved into one of her saddest memories.

Rodriguez’ son, Chicago police officer Tito Rodriguez Jr.,

died in 2015 in a motorcycle accident. He was killed on the Dan Ryan Expressway

when his motorcycle was struck by a car.

A June 23 post by Gloria Medina, a parent in the school

district, on the SD 103 Residents page touched on that.

She posted, “Yes, these are the monsters who make decisions

because they don’t’ care about our children. WiniFred (sic) you had a son do

something good in his memory!!”

The mentioning of her late son on the Facebook page

infuriated Rodriguez, who sent an email to Supt. Kris Rivera criticizing the

administrators of the page, a group that includes current board members Shannon

Johnson and Marge Hubacek.

“My son’s death has nothing to do with this and I blame the

two board members that are the Admins that left a very disrespectful and rude

comment go through,” Rodriguez wrote to Rivera.

Rodriguez added that “it is never appropriate to speak of

anyone’s child especially if their child is no longer here.”

During the June 30 board meeting, she read into the record a

three-page letter ripping Hubacek and Johnson for the page’s “vicious, shameful

and personal attacks against me.”

She added, “To allow disgraceful attacks that reference my

son, a Chicago policeman dedicated to protecting the lives of families and the

public, who lost his life in a motorcycle accident …”

“These comments and attacks are not anonymous on this

private Facebook page. They are made by people directly associated with Hubacek

and Johnson, including Johnsons’ activist husband, Earl Johnson.”

Contacted at her home on July 1, Rodriguez said the other

board members were “blasting me about my son, who they have no idea about.”

Hubacek said she was an administrator on the Facebook page

“not because I’m on the board, but because I’m an active member of the

community.”

“Should she have put it up? Maybe not,” Hubacek said of

Medina. “The point she was saying was do something good for kids. (Rodriguez’)

daughter took exception to that and posted it.”

The post “offended my daughter so she put that post on (the)

Lyons Living (page) and added her comments … so people could see how ignorant

they are,” Rodriguez said.

The post in question had been swiftly removed from the

private page, Hubacek said on July 2: “(Medina) didn’t say anything derogatory.

She didn’t mean to cause anybody grief.”

“I have nothing to be ashamed of,” Hubacek added.

“It’s not a blog. It’s a Facebook page,” Hubacek said. “It

has nothing to do with the board. If she’s got a problem with it, she should

talk to her daughter about it … I’m not here to censure people.”

Rodriguez remains angry and offended.

She closed her letter read into the record by saying the two

board members had demonstrated “the height of unprofessionalism and

disrespect.”