Illinois Clerk Releases Kiss Video Calling It Friendly Despite Extortion Claims

A married Illinois lawmaker is releasing surveillance footage of a kiss she says was purely friendly with a local mayor. Her opponents, however, are calling it extortion and harassment.

Elyse Hoffenberg, 51, serves as the clerk for Lyons Township. She was caught on camera sharing a two-second kiss with Bridgeview Mayor Steven Landek, 70, inside the township office on July 13. The video, first shared by the Chicago Tribune, shows the pair smiling and talking before the moment occurs.

Landek turns to face Hoffenberg, holds her face with both hands, and kisses her lips. She tilts her head back to meet him and smiles afterward. They continue chatting as they walk away from the camera, with Landek seemingly leading the way out of frame.

Hoffenberg is running for Cook County Commissioner as a Democrat. In a statement to the Daily Mail, she says the kiss was a "lighthearted, friendly and non-romantic moment among colleagues." She claims her political opponents tried to extort her with the video. They allegedly told her they would drop threats to release it only if she ended her campaign.

"My political opponents attempted to extort me regarding this video," Hoffenberg said. "I am certain that our community will find this kind of old-school politics of harassment abhorrent, and I won't be bullied."

She insists the footage lacks context but stands by her description of the event as professional banter gone viral. She did not offer further detail on what other information was missing from the clip. Her focus remains on bringing strong leadership to the community.

Landek reportedly apologized immediately after the kiss, according to Hoffenberg. She told Patch that she called the gesture inappropriate and unprofessional right away.

Hoffenberg is married to Jeff Hoffenberg, also 51. He works as a managing partner at Chicago-based law firm Levenfeld Pearlstein, LLC and sits on the Village of La Grange Plan Commission. The couple has multiple children together, though they keep their family life private. Details about their children's ages and genders were not available immediately.

The controversy has drawn sharp accusations from Hoffenberg's rivals. She accused Republican Liz Gorman, who is running against her for a Cook County Board seat, of using dirty tricks. She also pointed the finger at Chris Getty, a Democrat serving as a Lyons Township supervisor. Getty allegedly leaked information about the video to Gorman after improperly accessing the surveillance footage himself.

Gorman denied all allegations in an interview with the Daily Mail. "I categorically deny that I extorted Elyse Hoffenberg," she stated.

The incident highlights how quickly private moments can become public disputes when cameras are involved. Hoffenberg says she will not back down despite the pressure. She plans to keep fighting for her campaign while facing these new challenges.

Elyse Hoffenberg insists she never spoke to Elyse or anyone from her campaign regarding this issue. She says she never asked for anything in return for keeping the video quiet. The trouble started after Liz Gorman, a political opponent of Hoffenberg, filed a Freedom of Information Act request on August 13. This move came to light through reports from newspapers covering the story.

Gorman asked for every clip filmed inside the township clerk's office between July 6 and July 20. The window was set from 1pm until 8pm according to Patch. She specifically included Chris Getty in her demand. Getty is a Democrat running for Congress as an independent candidate. Gorman told the Daily Mail she copied him because Hoffenberg handles all FOIA requests for the township. That arrangement created what she called an obvious concern about a conflict of interest.

Hoffenberg denied the first request, calling it unduly burdensome. She claimed the footage totaled more than 100 hours from multiple cameras. She asked Gorman to narrow her search instead. Gorman then filed a separate request asking for specific clips from July 13 between 5pm and 7pm, plus recordings from July 16 from 4:30pm to 7pm. Hoffenberg was surprised by how specific this second demand became. She suspected someone accessed the files without permission.

The township's camera system told her that Getty had downloaded five recordings within the time Gorman requested. Hoffenberg filed a complaint with the Illinois attorney general's office on Sunday asking for an investigation into the alleged leak. This happened after three trustees called for an emergency meeting to vote on an independent probe. They looked into claims of surveillance and political harassment. The meeting was set for Monday night but canceled late that morning. No one clearly explained why it stopped.

Hoffenberg, who runs for Cook County Commissioner as a Democrat, claims the kiss was a lighthearted moment among colleagues. She stated it was friendly and non-romantic in nature. She added that she told the mayor immediately after the gesture happened that it felt inappropriate and unprofessional. Landek then apologized according to her account. Gorman said she only received a cherry-picked version of the surveillance footage on Friday morning. Hoffenberg had shared that partial file with the Tribune before then.

Getty denies leaking information to Gorman entirely. He told the Tribune he encouraged Hoffenberg to turn over the footage after being copied on the request. There is no truth to her allegations, he said. I have advised her all along that you must comply with producing these public documents, and I view them as such. The Daily Mail has reached out to both Landek and Getty for comment. Gorman noted she is still waiting for several other FOIAs to be fulfilled completely.