Contractor sues city of Berwyn, its mayor, and former city worker Sarah Lopez over racial slur
Phil Robbin says he was racially harassed by a city employee while working a permitted tree-removal job, and that investigators never interviewed him after he reported it.
A Black contractor, Phil Robbin, has sued the city of Berwyn, Illinois, its mayor, and former city employee Sarah Lopez, alleging he was racially harassed while working a permitted job in May 2022, according to ABC7 Chicago. The lawsuit was filed October 5, 2022.
Robbin was parked in an alley while removing a tree from a customer's yard when Lopez, a Berwyn school board member driving a marked city vehicle, ordered him to move his truck, according to ABC7's reporting. When Robbin objected and cited his valid permit, the outlet reported Lopez became verbally aggressive and directed racial slurs at him.
The available reporting does not detail the specific slurs used or lay out every count in the lawsuit; ABC7's account focuses on the confrontation, the city's response, and the aftermath for Lopez's employment rather than the full legal filing.
What happened after the confrontation
Lopez falsely told police she had received multiple calls complaining about Robbin's truck, then later acknowledged no such calls existed, according to ABC7. Robbin was recorded telling her, "You don't know who you're F-ing with! I'm calling the police!" while Lopez, according to the same reporting, told officers, "I am so sick and tired of these people!"
Lopez was fired from her position as a city blight inspector in August 2022 and subsequently resigned from the school board, ABC7 reported.
The city's response and what's unresolved
In a statement to ABC7, the city of Berwyn said: "The Mayor and the City categorically and unequivocally deny the allegations in Mr. Robbins complaint made against them. The City expressly and explicitly condemns all forms of racism." Robbin's central grievance, per the outlet's reporting, is that city investigators never interviewed him when he first reported the incident in May — a gap the lawsuit is meant to address, though the retrieved coverage does not specify what relief Robbin is seeking or the current status of the case.
US In News compiled this archived account from contemporaneous coverage by ABC7 Chicago. It restores a story originally published on this site in October 2022; figures are as reported at the time.