School board member running for alderman despite sexual assault charge
Tyrone Rogers said he’s having no problems campaigning for the aldermanic seat inHarvey’s 6thWard, nowthat he’s been removed from electronic home monitoring.
Rogerswas on home monitoring for more than two years following his arrest in August 2016 on a criminal sexual assault charge after a woman accused him of attacking her inHarvey CityHall.
“I’m going through the judicial system right now,” Rogers said by phone Thursday evening. “I’m certain I’m the best person for the job.”
Rogers, 61, won three elections and has served since 2007 on the Harvey School District 152 Board of Education, where his wife, Janet, is board president.
From 2016 to ’18, the judge hearing the criminal case granted several requests by Rogers to temporarily lift the home-confinement restrictions so that Rogers could attend school board meetings and travel to Illinois Association of School Board events, court records show.
Rogers said he’s been free of the home-monitoring restrictions for about six months, and that his public service experience makes him the best candidate among the four seeking to representWard 6 on the Harvey City Council.
“The people ofHarvey deserve me,” he said.
Early voting beganMonday for the April 2 consolidated election. Melville A. King Jr., Da’MonMorgan and Felicia Johnson also are seeking theWard 6 seat held by Ald. Keith Price, who is unable to seek re-election due to term limits.
King said he’s concerned that Ward 6 voters may be unaware of the serious allegations involving Rogers.
“Not everyone knows about the assault he’s charged with,” King said.
Rogerswas arrested after a 49year-oldwoman told police that on Aug. 26, 2016, Rogers allegedly took her into an office insideHarvey’s municipal center, locked the door and sexually assaulted her.
At the time, Rogerswas director of commuter parking forHarvey. The alleged victimwas a longtime acquaintance of Rogers, prosecutors said in court. She told police shewas with a friendwho sought the help of Rogers to address a raccoon problem at the friend’s home, the Chicago Tribune reported.
The criminal case is pending, and no trial date has been set.
Johnson, who serves on the District 152 board with Rogers and his wife, disagrees with King’s assessment about the notoriety of Rogers within the community.
“Everybody knows about Mr. Rogers’ case,” Johnson said Friday. “Everybody is aware of it.”
Johnson said she hasworked for FordMotor Co. for seven years and that she also is office manager for theHarvey Park District. She appeared in a campaign video with AnthonyMcCaskill, park board president who alsoworks for Ford.
McCaskill andWard 3 Ald. Chris Clarkwere the top two vote-getters on Feb. 26 among sevenmayoral candidates. The two will appear on ballots for the April 2 election, and the winner will succeed four-term Mayor EricKellogg, who is ineligible to run due to term limits.
Earlier this month, three relatives ofKelloggwere among six charged by federal authorities whowere investigating alleged extortion, bribery and prostitution at a strip club in the city of about 25,000 residents.
The Chicago Tribune said in a March 18 editorial that citizens of Harvey havewaited a long time for something to be done about alleged corruption in their city.
“We don’t knowwhere the federal cases will lead,” the editorial said.“We do knowHarvey residents, who have been trying to fight corruption in their town for years, finally have an ally— theU.S. attorney’s office.”
King, a former police chief in south suburban Phoenix, said he’s running to change the culture in the Harvey community.
“My main thing is getting rid of the corruption,” he said. “My candidacy bothers people. Sometimes you have to stand up, even if it’s all by yourself.”
Potholes and other infrastructure needs are another issue in the race. In the campaign video withMcCaskill, Johnson spoke about a nephew who died in a fire that she saidwas madeworse by a lack of working hydrants.
“We all need to startworking together to unify the community,” Johnson said.
Efforts to reachMorgan for commentwere unsuccessful.
In addition to facing a criminal charge, Rogerswas a key figure in civil litigation involving theHarvey school district. InDecember, a jury awarded $400,000 to former SuperintendentDenean Adams, who replacedKellogg as superintendent in 2013.
Adams claimed the school board retaliated against her after she requested a forensic audit of district finances to explore alleged irregularities, questionable spending and possible misuse of funds.
The suit alleged that when she informed the board of her proposal to hire an auditor, Rogers called her and told her shewas “itching for an ass-kicking.”
Rogers noted that the school district is appealing the $400,000 judgment awarded to the former superintendent.
“She hasn’t got a penny yet,” Rogers said.
Rogers needed an appellate court ruling to earn a spot on the April 2 ballot. Initially, he circulated and filed petitions to run as aDemocrat, then withdrew and filed a second set of paperwork after realizing Harvey’s elections are nonpartisan.
An objector argued that Rogers violated an Election Code prohibition on “dual circulation” of petitions, but theHarvey electoral board overruled the objection and allowed him to appear on ballots.
A circuit court, however, reversed the decision and ordered his name be removed before the appellate court’s Feb. 22 ruling restored Rogers to ballots. The court found that it was legal for Rogers to gather signatures from registered voters a second time.
“We deem it necessary to explain our reasoning … because it is necessary to publish an opinion to clarify the lawon this subject,” the court wrote.
Rogers goofed by thinkingHarvey had a Democratic primary, but he realized his error and correctly filed a second set of petitions, the court found.
“Rogers did not help himself by his conduct here,” the ruling said. “He circulated petitions for a primary that didn’t exist. But he corrected the mistake by recirculating petitions for his nonpartisan candidacy.”
The written ruling could give someone the sense that the appellate courtwas frustrated by the lack of clarity in Illinois election law.
“No provision of the Election Code prevented him fromcirculating a second set of petitions for this nonpartisan election,” the court wrote. “We will not invent one. Nor willwe judicially re-write an existing provision that does not apply to his election. The General Assembly, as always, is free to speak on this matter.”