Nearly a month after Oak Park village president Vicki Scaman abruptly ended a finance meeting over a comment a colleague made, the issue is playing out in public.
At the regularly scheduled village board meeting Tuesday, Scaman publicly addressed a comment trustee Ravi Parakkat made Feb. 22 that Scaman said she felt was “threatening.”
At the time, the comment was reported to be a “joke,” and Parakkat wrote that it came in reference to a story interim chief financial officer Donna Gayden told about a police officer shooting in New York, where she previously worked.
The Wednesday Journal reported about the issue, but neither Scaman nor Parakkat wanted to directly address the issue, each saying they’d like to focus on the positives.
However, this week, Parakkat wrote a letter to the editor, published in Wednesday Journal, in which he wrote that after Gayden’s story, he leaned over to trustee Lucia Robinson and said “I wonder if our chief knows.”
Scaman disagrees. She told Wednesday Journal the comment was “We should talk to the chief.”
That comment, which was not recorded by the village’s system, left Scaman visibly startled. Individuals expressing support for Scaman said she was shaken by what was described as a “joke” referring to gun violence or violence against women.
After Scaman adjourned the meeting early, Parakkat said he asked her to talk and was “waved off.”
He also wrote that he reached out to Scaman to clarify and apologize.
At the March 19 board meeting, after his letter to the editor was published, Scaman publicly addressed the situation.
“I take seriously my responsibility to shut down abusive, bullying behavior that is unproductive, violates our values and guidelines as a board in how we operate, and interferes with our work,” she said.
Parakkat’s letter to the editor does not represent the facts “consistent with the intention to repair harm,” Scaman said.
She added that she is trained in restorative justice and said she understands when “bullying behavior leads to an individual changing facts to suit their own agenda.”
At the March 19 meeting, Scaman also said she has been reflecting on her experience as a woman in the position as village president.
“I am resilient and powerful in how I lead with empathy and compassion,” she said. “Holding this perspective that my service is not about me helps me not internalize criticism and work to learn from a differing perspective.”
She said recent events have led to a “less than productive environment.” She also said she does not want to hurt the reputation of Oak Park and does not take interviews with media organizations that intend to use quotes out of context.
The board is racially diverse and diverse in perspective, Scaman said, which she appreciates. She encouraged the trustees to be “unapologetically themselves.”
“We are 4-3 more often than in recent history but I am of the opinion this leads to hopefully more of our residents feeling heard,” she said.
It has been a difficult time for her and her family, Scaman said, but she said she wants to ensure the board focuses on its goals.
At the March 12 board meeting, trustee Susan Buchanan said she was surprised Scaman had not received an apology. She said one time she “shot [her] mouth off” at a meeting but sent an apology email to her colleagues almost immediately, and then publicly apologized at the next meeting.
“I think you, our village president, deserves the same from trustee Parakkat,” Buchanan said.
“I have again reached out to President Scaman to clarify the misunderstanding and to offer my apology for the mental and emotional distress that my remark caused her,” Parakkat said in his letter. “I look forward to hearing back and working with her to figure out the best way forward.”
Update 3/21/24: This story was updated to include what Scaman said Parakkat’s comment was.