By Sharon Schmidt
Steinmetz teachers Gina Szulkowski and Vince Caputi filed a defamation suit against Steinmetz JROTC director Cornell Davis in 2023, after his false accusations against the two threatened their jobs, reputations, and professional memberships. Steinmetz Principal Anna Vilchez used anonymous emails, found through legal discovery to be created by Davis, and other claims Davis made to the Local School Council as grounds for EEOC complaints and disciplinary action against the two.
Szulkowski is the Chicago Teachers Union delegate at Steinmetz. Caputi is a teacher representative on the LSC.
A fundraiser created by this reporter has raised nearly $7,000.
The fundraiser states: “As those of us at the February 18, 2025, union meeting at Steinmetz saw in a well-documented presentation, false and anonymous accusations made by (at least) one person in our building escalated to administrative action against our Chicago Teachers Union delegate Gina Szulkowski and Local School Council representative Vince Caputi. The attack to their jobs and reputations is breathtakingly unfair, as in their roles as our representatives they’ve only pushed for better policies and contract enforcement to benefit our whole school. While they’ve filed a defamation lawsuit, the main perpetrator against them, clearly discovered through legal subpoenas, remains in a leadership position. Gina and Vince’s fight continues. Please sacrifice a little cash to help. They’ve sacrificed so much on behalf of us. BTW: They did not suggest this fundraiser, but we know they could use financial assistance. Lawsuits are expensive.”
School Truth 
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