A federal jury ordered Lynwood Mayor Jada Curry to pay punitive damages for firing an employee who reported her to the Illinois State Police. The jury returned the verdict on September 18, 2026, after a five-day trial. Jeff and his law firm filed the case.
The Mayor wanted LEADS criminal history reports.
The case involved the police database called LEADS, short for the Law Enforcement Agencies Data System. The Illinois State Police operates LEADS, which gives the police private information about citizens including driver records, criminal histories, victim information, and arrest records. The law allows LEADS to be used only for criminal justice purposes. LEADS is not permitted to be used for background checks for village business.
In January 2022, Mayor Curry asked the Lynwood police department to run a LEADS check on a liquor license applicant. Illinois State Police policy clearly states that LEADS cannot be used for liquor license applications. Running a liquor license applicant through LEADS violates federal and state law.
The Records Supervisor explained the rules to the Mayor and gave the Mayor a summary instead. “This is not what I asked you for,” the Mayor said. “Are you telling your mayor no?” The Mayor claimed she previously received LEADS information.
Because the Mayor was upset, the police department directed the Records Supervisor to give the Mayor the LEADS report, which she did. The next day, the village demoted the Records Supervisor. She resigned two weeks later.
Everyone at Village Hall knew. One person reported it.
The police department knew the Mayor’s request was wrong, but went along with it anyway. Only one person at Village Hall called the State Police: Josh Watson.
Watson saw what happened to the Records Supervisor and took medical leave, in part, to get away from the tension at Village Hall.
While he was on leave, Watson called the Illinois State Police and told them about the LEADS violation. Shortly after the report, the Illinois State Police wrote to the Lynwood police chief about the violation.
Watson’s leave was set to end on March 23, but the Mayor postponed his return date. Watson reported the delay to the United States Department of Labor, and the government contacted the village to ask why his leave was extended.
“Yes, he is a weasel.”
The Mayor met with the chief of staff and the assistant chief of police before Watson returned to work.
According to the assistant chief, during the meeting, the Mayor said Watson reported the village to the State and would be terminated.
The chief of staff called Watson a “weasel,” and the Mayor said, “Yes, he is a weasel.”
His first day back lasted one meeting.
Watson returned to work on March 25 and was told to report to the Mayor’s office immediately. Four people were at the meeting: the Mayor, the chief of staff, the chief of police, and the assistant chief of police.
The first question in the meeting, according to the assistant chief, was whether Watson called the State. He admitted making the report. The Mayor asked why he had not come to her about the problem. “Because you were the one breaking the law,” he told her.
A village memorandum of the meeting recorded the Mayor asking Watson “what gives you the right” to contact the Illinois State Police, and telling him it “was none of his business.”
Then, the Mayor said the village was eliminating his position.
The village offered Watson a resignation agreement, but he refused to resign. The Mayor fired him on the spot, and two police officers escorted him out of Village Hall.
Three days after the firing, a draft termination letter blamed Watson for insubordination and for unauthorized access to LEADS. The letter the village actually sent a week after the firing dropped the LEADS accusation and added a reason the draft never mentioned: his position was “being reduced due to economic necessity.”
What the jury decided.
The lawsuit alleged violations of the First Amendment, the Illinois Whistleblower Act, and the Family and Medical Leave Act, and the jury found for Watson on all three claims. The jury awarded $250,000 in compensatory damages and assessed $12,500 in punitive damages against Mayor Curry personally.
The case is Watson v. Village of Lynwood, No. 22 C 4106, in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.
Were you mistreated at work for reporting misconduct? Contact Jeff
NOTICE: Please note that this remains a contested matter, and final judgment has not been entered as of the date of this statement. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.
