Updated 3/17/2021 3:11 PM A former Palatine High School teacher fired last summer over a controversial Facebook post is suing a candidate for the Palatine-Schaumburg High School District 211 board for what she alleges were defamatory statements intended to harm her. Jeanne Hedgepeth's lawsuit against Palatine resident Tim McGowan seeks in excess of $50,000 in compensatory and punitive damages for defamation and intentional interference with an existing business relationship. It was filed last month in a Cook County court.
The lawsuit claims McGowan made knowingly false statements in a Facebook post and video in June in an effort to have Hedgepeth fired from Palatine High School, where she'd worked since 2000.