After eight years at Byrne Elementary, CPS clerk Judy Mahoney faces a layoff on July 1 due to budget cuts, despite school and community support. The decision has sparked accusations of disability discrimination by the Local School Council (LSC).
Under the Americans with Disabilities Act, employers must provide reasonable accommodations unless doing so creates “undue hardship” — a legal term that allows institutions to cite financial constraints. CPS has not publicly stated whether it’s invoking this exception.
Following a car accident in which she was hit by a drunk driver, Mahoney was left paralyzed from the waist down in 2017. CPS transferred her from Whittier Elementary, a non-wheelchair-accessible school, to Byrne Elementary School, a wheelchair-accessible school.
The clerkship at Byrne Elementary was meant to be temporary, with Mahoney actively applying to other schools. CPS typically funds one clerk per elementary school, and clerks are not guaranteed.
According to Samantha Soukal, a special education teacher and LSC representative, the clerk application pool is already very slim, yet Mahoney has not secured a job.
Mahoney also faces age discrimination and accessibility barriers in the job market, said Soukal. She has been rejected in every job search attempt. Soukal states that CPS tends to favor younger, able-bodied candidates, who may command lower salaries, over Mahoney.
Mahoney was on a year-to-year ADA accommodation from 2017 to 2020, causing stress and uncertainty as she attended job interviews with no success and didn’t know if Byrne had the funds to keep her for the next year.
In 2021, Byrne’s LSC, faculty, and staff rallied to keep Mahoney by garnering media attention and CPS’s attention. CPS came to a short-term agreement, which got her an ADA accommodation from 2021 to 2026.
“It came with a catch,” said Mahoney. “It was approved because I indicated that I hoped to retire around this time. However, I’m not financially able to retire, nor should I be forced out. No other employee is expected to provide a timeline for their future plans to keep their jobs.
“Why was I asked to do this?”
Mahoney, 54, is the sole breadwinner of her family and cannot retire or start collecting her pension. She wants to continue working. She fears that her pension and unemployment benefits would not be sufficient to support her and her husband.
According to Soukal, CPS says it cannot fund her position but is asking Byrne Elementary to pay for Mahoney.
For the 2026-2027 fiscal year, Byrne Elementary cannot afford to fund Mahoney’s position. Soukal hopes that Byrne and CPS can work to get the allocated funds to retain Mahoney until she’s ready to retire.
According to CPS’s publicly available Employee Position Roster (December 2025), clerk salaries range from approximately $55,000 to $95,000 or higher, depending on years of experience and language fluency.
Soukal calls the treatment of Mahoney humiliating and discriminatory. She believes disability and age have become barriers for her when interviewing at other CPS schools, despite her being overly qualified with references and experience.
CPS Clerk Judy Mahoney’s family poses for a picture with Ald. Silvana Tabares (23) at a Tuesday, June 2 rally. Credit: Alexis Bocanegra / Southwest Regional Publishing 
“This fight is more than just my job; it’s about ensuring that people with disabilities are treated with dignity, fairness, and respect,” said Judy Mahoney. Credit: Alexis Bocanegra / Southwest Regional Publishing 
Credit: Alexis Bocanegra / Southwest Regional Publishing 
LSC Parent Representative Jennifer Rodriguez, who has a son who uses a wheelchair, says Byrne Elementary School would suffer immensely if Judy Mahoney were fired due to budget cuts. Credit: Alexis Bocanegra / Southwest Regional Publishing 
LSC Teacher Representative Robert Gebel has been at Byrne Elementary School for 14 years and says the teachers strongly stand in support of Judy. Credit: Alexis Bocanegra / Southwest Regional Publishing
Advocacy begins
On May 19, Soukal sent an email requesting support from local elected officials, Ald. Silvana Tabares (23), Ald. Marty Quinn (13), Senator Mike Porfirio (11), State Representative Abdelnasser Rashid (21), and Cook County Commissioner Frank Aguilar (24).
LSC Parent Representative and mother Jennifer Rodriguez says Byrne Elementary School would suffer immensely if Mahoney were fired due to budget cuts.
Rodriguez is also a parent at Blair Elementary School and has a son who uses a wheelchair. As someone with lived experience of accessibility barriers, she is a fierce advocate for students and staff with disabilities.
“Our faculty and staff deserve to be supported, and our students benefit from a collaborative approach that includes staff like Ms. Mahoney. Her efforts to maintain the administrative tasks within the school are necessary to the success of the students and faculty and do not go unnoticed,” she said.
Joseph Salas, a community representative on the LSC, is also a father of daughters who attended Byrne Elementary School. His oldest is also a teacher at the school.
“It is the LSC’s duty to help Ms. Mahoney because she is an important member of our school and community. It is also unfair that, in spite of the Disabilities Act, she has to fight for her job. I am also willing to scour the community for signatures in support of her keeping her job,” he said.
The LSC is asking Chicago Public Schools to reconsider their decision and work with them to find the necessary funds to keep Mahoney employed.
Board of education testimony
Mahoney’s family spoke at the Chicago Board of Education meeting on May 28, a tactic that worked in 2021.
Although Mahoney did not speak—the public forum was about her situation—she was present in support and visibly emotional as her family spoke on her behalf.
“School clerks like me are anchors in the daily operations that keep schools running smoothly. Now I face a layoff, not because of my performance, but because of my disability. I would not be in this position if Whittier, my original school, were wheelchair accessible,” Mahoney’s husband addressed the school board on her behalf.
He further described Mahoney feeling like a “pawn” on a chessboard and noted that since her temporary placement, the staff size at Byrne Elementary has grown from 60 to 94 employees since 2017, showing that CPS has the funds for more staff at Byrne but still does not see her clerkship as a funded position.
“I am asking CPS to practice the equity and inclusion they preach. Allow me to continue serving the Byrne community with dignity,” continued Mahoney’s husband on her behalf. “Mobility is a fragile gift; anyone in this room is one moment away from joining my community. We can do better; we must do better.”
Maria Nava, sister of Mahoney, is also a CPS special education teacher. She spoke in support of Mahoney and provided her insights that CPS falls short in accessibility to students. She noted that CPS transfers students to different schools based on accessibility, as they did with her sister.
She then referenced Dr. Martin Luther King’s famous “I Have a Dream” speech and offered her own version: “I, too, have a dream that every CPS school will someday be accessible to everyone. In the meantime, my dream is that every employee who works for CPS can rest assured knowing that if they should ever require a wheelchair, CPS will do the right thing.”
June 2 rally: Community mobilizes
The LSC held a rally and press conference on Tuesday, June 2nd, in front of Byrne Elementary School.
More than a hundred families, students, teachers, staff, community members, and leaders stepped out on that Tuesday afternoon to offer their support for Mahoney.
Tabares thanked everyone who came out in support and asked the children standing behind her to hold up their homemade signs high. They did. She called out the unfairness of Judy’s predicament and said that the community has her back. Tabares also shouted out the Local School Council members and asked them to raise their hands to be recognized for their efforts in advocating for what Judy deserves.
Brooklyn Casper, student representative, spoke at the press conference, explaining how Mahoney’s work impacts students daily.
“If you have ever walked in our office, you know that it’s a very busy place. Phones are ringing, people are walking in and out, and there are always a million things happening at once. Ms. Mahoney handles the chaos like a pro. No matter how crowded it gets, she’s right there helping teachers, students, and parents with whatever they need.”
In a statement at the press conference, Mahoney called on CPS to find a solution with Principal Gallo to secure her funding for a permanent position.
“If you remove my wheelchair from the equation, my employment would have never been disrupted. I do not know of any other school clerk who has faced this relentless level of scrutiny year after year,” she said. “I certainly had never experienced this before becoming a wheelchair user.”
Next steps
Byrne LSC has not exhausted its options. The next step is to gather petition signatures from Byrne families and Garfield Ridge community members urging CPS to permanently fund Mahoney’s position. They will also continue making it known to the Chicagoland area and highlighting what they characterize as discriminatory treatment.