Excerpts from the patch.com:

About 15 people showed up at a Hinsdale Village Board meeting to show their support for 25-year-old Nicole Hladik, a Lyons Township High School graduate who took her own life in July 2020.

Last summer, Hladik’s estate sued the village and fire Lt. Tom McCarthy, alleging she was the victim of gender discrimination.

The first speaker at the meeting was Chicago firefighter Lee Ann McKay, who said Hladik had no place to go to air her complaint. She could not raise it to her supervisor, McCarthy, because he was the one harassing her. As a female firefighter, McKay said she knew what it was like to be berated every day. She urged the village board to change the culture in the Hinsdale Fire Department.

The day after her death, the village hired a former federal prosecutor to investigate whether Hladik was the victim of discrimination. The investigator interviewed everyone in the fire department and produced a 36-page report. The board approved spending more than $100,000 on the investigator. The village said the report was covered by attorney-client privilege, the reason it has not been released. The village manager and a few select others have seen the report. The elected village trustees have not seen it.

The village is willing to share the report with the family and the public, but would redact the names of those interviewed and the investigator’s conclusions. If the family’s attorney was fine with releasing it to the public with the redactions, the village would then do so. The report shows the village did nothing inappropriate in relation to Hladik, but the village manager is willing to hear from the family and others about whether anything is wrong with the report, which could result in a reopening of the investigation.

Hladik’s mother, Sharon Zaba, said the family declined to speak with the investigator because they did not trust someone hired by the village, given what happened to her daughter. She said she has nightmares constantly about her daughter’s situation, saying she will carry it for the rest of her life.

Later in the public comments, Cicero Firefighter Brian Kulaga, Hladik’s uncle, said local firefighters, including the fire chief, lied to the investigator. He said Cauley was berating the family for not talking with the investigator.

“I personally know multiple members of your fire department, and they lied to you. Your report is horribly, horribly flawed,” Kulaga said. “It’s not your fault. The fault (was) prior to the incident. The citizens should know what’s going on in your department. It’s a culture. Your department has been doing this for decades. Nicole was told on a daily basis that she was a failure.”

Hladik’s husband, Daniel Zaborowski, told the village board that he would speak with the family’s attorney about the offer on the report. He said their lawyer advised them not to speak with the village’s investigator.

Tags: chicagoareafire.com, Chicagoareafire.com/blog, female firefighter candidate commits suicide, Firefighter suicide, Firefighter/Paramedic Candidate Nicole Hladik, Hinsdale FD Lt. Tom McCarthy, Hinsdale Fire Department