Warren Twp. school board calls for member Liz Biondi's resignation

GURNEE, Ill. (WLS) -- There are calls for a north suburban board member to resign after she said during a meeting that the district should not hire a superintendent who is gay.

The Warren Township school board met Tuesday night in Gurnee, but the woman at the center of the controversy, Liz Biondi, was a no-show.

The six other school board members say if she won't resign, they'd like to oust her from the board but legally cannot. They plan to ask the regional superintendent to do it.

"To hear an elected official from this community suggest that a gay person is somehow less qualified to hold the position of superintendent is simply unacceptable and wrong," said Kelly Stanbury, a parent.

Most speakers addressed the empty chair at the end of the table, because school board member Liz Biondi apparently chose not to answer those calling on her to resign - which included almost everyone in the overflow crowd.

Biondi has been on the hot seat since her statements during a board meeting earlier this month when she suggested the board should not consider hiring a new superintendent if he or she is gay.

"...That they might be fighting more personal fires rather than superintendent fires," Biondi said earlier this month.

A number of her supporters have defended Biondi's right to free speech. But about 3,000 community members have signed a petition calling on her to apologize and resign. Many in the crowd signed that petition.

"For her to say something like that, being a governing body, she has no place on this board," Barb O'Briend, a parent.

Board members insist Biondi's comments do not reflect the community's views.

"To have people come out in this kind of number and say 'we're behind you 100 percent' makes you feel really good, puts your faith in humanity," said John Anderson, school board president.

Eyewitness News was unable to reach Biondi for comment, but in the past she has said she has no plans to resign.