By Illinois Review
Lyons Township Clerk Elyse Hoffenberg released surveillance footage Thursday night showing her after-hours kiss with Bridgeview Mayor Steven Landek — and the video is now raising new questions about how she previously characterized the encounter.
Hoffenberg, who is married and is the Democratic candidate for Cook County Board District 17, had described the July incident as a “peck” and told Patch that she immediately told Landek the contact was “inappropriate” and that Landek apologized.
But the newly released footage provides a fuller picture of the encounter.
The video shows Hoffenberg and Landek talking inside the Lyons Township clerk’s office as they appear to be preparing to leave. Landek turns toward Hoffenberg, places both hands on her face and kisses her for approximately two seconds.
Hoffenberg smiles afterward, and the two continue talking.
In a slow-motion sequence reviewed and published by Illinois Review, Hoffenberg also appears to reach down and take Landek’s left hand as he turns and begins walking away.
The footage does not contain enough audible conversation to establish what Hoffenberg said to Landek following the kiss. But the interaction captured on camera has prompted skepticism online over her earlier description of the encounter as simply a “peck.”
Within approximately nine hours of Illinois Review publishing the video on social media, it had generated more than 100,000 views on Facebook and more than 121,000 views on X, with numerous commenters disputing Hoffenberg’s characterization of the encounter.
Hoffenberg released the footage to the Chicago Tribune on Thursday night while Republican Liz Gorman — her opponent in the November election and the person who filed a Freedom of Information Act request seeking the video — said she still had not received it through the township’s FOIA process.
Gorman filed her request earlier this month and later narrowed it to specific evening hours, including July 13. Hoffenberg serves as Lyons Township’s designated FOIA officer and was responsible for processing the request.
Gorman said she still had not received the footage when Hoffenberg provided it directly to the Tribune.
That sequence adds another layer to the controversy: the subject of the requested video provided the footage to a major newspaper before the political opponent who formally requested it under Illinois public-records law received it.
In a statement accompanying the release, Hoffenberg described the interaction as “lighthearted, friendly and non-romantic” and has accused political opponents of attempting to pressure her into ending her campaign.
The release of the footage also does not resolve earlier questions surrounding the handling and preservation of the surveillance records.
Hoffenberg previously accused Township Supervisor Chris Getty of downloading and deleting security footage. Getty’s office disputed that characterization, saying the deletion involved camera-position material. The surveillance vendor has also said footage is stored off-site and that copies may be recoverable.
Those conflicting accounts still warrant examination.
The remaining questions are straightforward: Was any responsive footage deleted, altered or removed from the system? If so, who did it, who authorized it and why? And were all access logs, metadata and backup copies preserved?
The fact that a copy of the kiss video has now been made public does not eliminate the need to determine how the government records were handled before their release.
Landek, a former Democratic state senator and longtime Lyons Township Democratic committeeman, has not publicly commented on the controversy.
Hoffenberg is challenging Gorman for the 17th District Cook County Board seat, currently held by Republican Sean Morrison, who is not seeking reelection. The general election is November 3.
What began as a dispute over whether the public would ever see the township surveillance video has now changed.
The public can see it for themselves — and determine whether what happened inside the clerk’s office after hours matches the way Hoffenberg described it.
