The Chicago Park District has paid more than $2.15 million to a former lifeguard at Oak Street Beach in a settlement stemming from allegations of sexual assault, exploitation, and grooming by park district supervisors, bringing the total cost of settlements related to misconduct within the city’s aquatics department to over $8.7 million, according to records released Wednesday.
The settlement, approved by the park district board in January, resolves a lawsuit filed in October 2024 by the former lifeguard, identified in court documents as “Jane Doe.” The lawsuit accused former Park District CEO Michael Kelly and other officials of allowing and concealing a “pervasive institutional culture of sexual misconduct directed against female lifeguards.” Court records indicate the misconduct began while the plaintiff was a minor and continued throughout her employment at the beach from 2012 through 2018.
The $2.15 million payout is the seventh such settlement the Park District has reached with former lifeguards since WBEZ first reported on accusations of sexual abuse, assault, and harassment within the aquatics department five years ago. A spokesperson for the Park District stated the agency “considers multiple factors before reaching a settlement agreement and believes the payment is fair and in the best interest of the district,” adding that there are currently no pending court cases or unresolved out-of-court claims related to the scandal.
Romanucci & Blandin, the law firm representing the former lifeguard, was prohibited from commenting on the terms of the agreement. However, the firm previously secured a $4 million settlement for another client in 2022, involving accusations of abuse by a lifeguard supervisor at Humboldt Park – the largest payout in the series of cases.
The recent settlement follows a pattern of payouts dating back to 2022. In 2024 alone, the Park District agreed to settlements totaling $675,000. Prior to that, settlements of $575,000 were reached in 2022, and $977,250 and $350,000 in 2023, according to Park District records.
The unfolding scandal prompted the resignations of Kelly, Park District Inspector General Elaine Little, other high-ranking agency officials, and Park District Board President Avis LaVelle. Then-Mayor Lori Lightfoot ordered an outside investigation, which revealed that Kelly was aware of the accusations earlier than previously stated and did not immediately investigate the complaints. The investigation found evidence supporting 29 accusations against employees in the aquatics department, concluding that “bullying, harassing and sexual misconduct flourished and went unchallenged.”
The Park District’s watchdog office initially opened its investigation in 2020, following letters sent to Lightfoot and Kelly by two former female lifeguards. Following WBEZ’s reporting in April 2021, additional former lifeguards came forward, alleging that sexual misconduct had been endemic at the beaches and pools for generations, with officials repeatedly failing to uphold zero-tolerance policies.
The Park District is currently recruiting lifeguards for the 2026 season, with the next swim test scheduled for March 28 at Whitney Young High School. The advertised hourly rate for lifeguards this summer is $20.50.
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