Editor’s Note:
The Chicago Crusader has become aware that a story published online on May 9, 2024, and in print on May 11, 2024, contained inaccuracies and a factually inaccurate headline (“Union Leader honored by Pullman Museum hid race lawsuit”). The May article included the statement that Leo Esparza of Local One “hid” and “kept secret” a race harassment lawsuit that had been filed against Laborers Local One, Chicago (“Local One”). The Crusader is not aware of any overt acts of concealment or hiding of this Federal lawsuit by Mr. Esparza or Local One, and the above statements were false.
The article also repeated other substantial factual inaccuracies regarding a case where Bobby Peak II filed a discrimination claim against Local One in the Illinois Human Rights Commission (“IHRC”), including that the IRHC ultimately ruled in Mr. Peak’s favor. No such ruling in Mr. Peak’s favor ever occurred. The article also incorrectly stated that the IHRC held that Local One violated Mr. Peak’s civil rights, that Local One’s basis for firing Mr. Peak was a pretext for unlawful discrimination, and that Local One created a hostile workplace which was discriminatory. The IHRC did not make any of these findings. These were allegations contained in a Complaint. What the IHRC in its final ruling held was that Mr. Peak failed to prove that Local One was an “employer” as defined in the Illinois Human Rights Act and therefore the Commission lacked jurisdiction over Mr. Peak’s alleged claims. Accordingly, the IHRC dismissed Mr. Peak’s claims with prejudice.
The Crusader retracts each of the false statements in the April and May articles as discussed above. We apologize to Local One and Mr. Esparza for these errors.
In view of these corrections, the Crusader commits to cover legal and civil rights matters of public interest with diligence and integrity.
Pullman Porter Museum officials were unaware honored
union leader was involved in race lawsuit.
On the home page of the A. Philip Randolph Pullman Porter Museum’s website is a picture of Leo Esparza towering over the museum’s founder, Dr. Lyn Hughes, at a black-tie gala. Reverend Jesse Jackson was there. A tall Mexican man sporting a bushy mustache, Esparza mingled with Black attendees at the Museum’s elegant fundraiser. Hughes and museum officials were impressed with Esparza and honored him with their “Change Agent” award.
They believed Esparza’s story, depicting him as a leader who pushed for more Black representation in Chicago’s lily-white labor unions. As someone who didn’t look like Blacks, Esparza convinced Hughes and her colleagues he was worthy of the honor.
But as the music played and the champagne flowed, no one at the Museum—not even Hughes—knew about Esparza’s past as president of Local One, a construction workers’ union located on Chicago’s North Side.
While guests wined, dined and danced the night away, Esparza and his attorneys were engaged in settlement negotiations tied to a federal lawsuit. The lawsuit, filed in 2020 by Bobby Peak II, alleges that Esparza sent racially offensive text messages and contributed to a hostile work environment during the time Peak served as Local One’s only Black business agent.
By the time Hughes became aware of the lawsuit, it was too late. Her Museum, a Black institution whose purpose and mission is to educate and promote Blacks in unions, had honored a man accused in legal filings of doing just the opposite. “This is so unsettling,” Hughes told the Crusader.
Now aware of the lawsuit against Esparza, Hughes and Museum officials are considering whether to strip him of the honor by rescinding the award. Meanwhile, Esparza and his lawyers remain in negotiations with Peak, as pressure builds to settle the case.
The fundraiser aimed to generate funds that will support the Museum’s expansion project, which includes the creation of Randolph’s Way, the first Black Labor Tourism District in America. In addition to photos of Esparza receiving the award at the fundraiser, the Crusader confirmed this with Hughes, who was shocked and knew nothing about the federal lawsuit against Esparza until the Crusader brought it to her attention.
The lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court of the Northern District of Illinois in Chicago on March 24, 2020. Esparza was named a defendant, along with Local One, where the plaintiff was allegedly subjected to a racially hostile work environment that included text messages from Esparza and other colleagues. After two years, Peak was fired from Local One when the company ran a background check and discovered a conviction for cocaine possession in 2009.
According to court documents, Peak said he did disclose the conviction, but the union terminated him anyway. The Illinois Department of Human Rights (IDHR), after investigating the matter, concluded there was “substantial evidence” supporting Peak’s claims and filed a civil rights complaint in 2019. The Illinois Human Rights Commission, however, dismissed the complaint in 2021 for lack of jurisdiction, ruling that Local One did not meet the employee threshold under the Illinois Human Rights Act. No ruling on the merits was ever issued.
Local One’s lawyers tried numerous times to dismiss the lawsuit in federal court. The union’s legal team is now seeking to settle the matter out of court. As negotiation talks intensified, Peak’s supporters held several protests in the Loop, carrying giant placards featuring text messages cited in court exhibits.
Esparza was Peak’s supervisor at Local One. In the lawsuit, Peak said Esparza not only engaged in racist behavior toward him, but allowed others to do the same. The lawsuit included photos of Black figurines of musicians that resembled black-faced minstrels who performed during Jim Crow. Peak alleged that Esparza gave them to him at a holiday party. Also included in court exhibits were photos of figurines depicting a pimp with a thick gold chain around his neck and a black-faced dog.
In his legal response, Esparza stated that he “gifted” the figurines to Peak because Peak had expressed interest in them. Peak’s lawyer argued there are no text messages or other evidence that indicate such interest and noted that Esparza did not gift similar items to white employees.
In the lawsuit, Peak said he was forced to serve as Local One’s “water boy” by going out to purchase water for staff meetings. The lawsuit also said Peak was forced to work in predominantly white Villa Park, where he said a resident called the police on him and another called him a “Black MF.”
Exhibits attached to the complaint include numerous text messages that Peak alleges were sent by Esparza. One includes a photo of a Black woman whose breasts can be seen through a transparent blouse. The caption reads: “Hey Bobby, no Sign up no Pu—y.”
In another message, Esparza allegedly sent a photo of a Black man in a bank robbery story with the caption: “Dude, you got some explaining to do. Bobby, Bobby, Bobby.” Other messages included memes described as sexually explicit or racially derogatory, including a video of a cartoon penis over a weather map and jokes about a prison photo resembling Peak.
According to the lawsuit, when Peter Fosco, a colleague at Local One, sent a photo of someone’s testicles, Esparza responded in the group text: “Is that the 2017 eclipse???” Another image showed a very dark-skinned Black man in an orange prison suit with a message reading: “NEW LOCAL ONE BA, BOBBY PEAK.”
When the Crusader emailed Hughes the story and screenshots of text messages from the lawsuit, she was stunned. She said she was unaware of the case and had never been informed by Esparza. “I’m blown away by what you just shared,” Hughes said. “I can’t say enough of how unsettling this is.”
Hughes said three people recommended that the Museum give its “Change Agent Award” to Esparza, but that she made the final decision based on the information presented to her. She declined to disclose the names of those individuals.
“I’d rather not say at this time. But I stand on my own conviction based on the information I was given [about Esparza],” Hughes said.
Before approving the award, Hughes said she was told Esparza was recommended because of his “advocacy and integrity in pushing for Black representation in labor unions.”
The Crusader later texted Hughes asking whether Esparza paid for the award or contributed financially. She did not respond by press time Wednesday, May 8, for the Crusader’s print edition.
As for the “Change Agent Award,” Hughes said she will consult with the Museum’s Board about the possibility of rescinding it. “I cannot speak for everyone,” she said. “But I cannot say enough how unsettling this is. We had no idea about this man’s background.”
Disclaimer: All allegations referenced in this article are drawn from publicly filed legal documents. No findings of fact have yet been made by the federal court. The defendants deny wrongdoing, and the case remains pending.
Updated May 7, 2025, with an Editor’s note.
To read the first story “After state commission complaint dismissal, Federal lawsuit filed in alleged Local One Union harassment case” click here.