Watch the video:
A suburban Chicago mayor wanted a background check on a liquor-license applicant — and ordered it run through LEADS, the state’s police-only criminal history database. Village staff told her no. She insisted anyway.
Project manager Josh Watson did what the rules required: he reported the attempted misuse to the Illinois State Police. So Lynwood Mayor Jada Curry summoned him to a meeting — one Watson recorded. On the tape, she asks whether he doesn’t think the mayor is “entitled” to the background check. By the end of that same meeting, he was fired.
This week, a federal jury sided with Watson on every count: $262,500, including punitive damages against Mayor Curry personally. The jury put the number in writing. The mayor kept her job.
That last part is the story. A unanimous verdict found she retaliated against a whistleblower for reporting her own attempted database misuse — and Jada Curry is still running the village of Lynwood, Illinois today.
The recordings, the testimony, and the verdict — in the episode above.
Sources: WGN Investigates; Kulwin Law — whistleblower verdict; Kulwin Law — complaint; Chicago Tribune; Citizen Newspaper Group.
