Elyse Hoffenberg released surveillance footage of herself kissing a local mayor before political opponents could leak it.
The married Illinois township clerk, 51, published the compromising clip on Wednesday after alleging a blackmail plot aimed at forcing her from the Cook County Commissioner race. Hoffenberg, a Democrat who serves as Lyons Township Clerk, said she acted “in the interest of transparency” when she beat her enemies to the punch.
The footage, obtained by the Chicago Tribune, shows Hoffenberg and Bridgeview Mayor Steven Landek, 70, inside the closed Lyons Township clerk’s office in Countryside shortly before 6:45 p.m. On July 13. Hoffenberg appears to lean back during the kiss and smiles afterward before the pair continue talking and walk out of the frame.
Hoffenberg has insisted there was no romance behind the caught-on-camera moment. She claimed the lip-smack was “a ‘lighthearted, friendly and non-romantic moment among colleagues'” and that she immediately told Landek the gesture was “inappropriate and unprofessional,” according to Patch.
The clerk, who is married to lawyer Jeff Hoffenberg, 51, has turned her fury on her political rivals. She accused Republican Liz Gorman of orchestrating the leak, pointing to Gorman’s Aug. 3 Freedom of Information Act requests for the video footage. Hoffenberg also named Lyons Township supervisor Chris Getty, 43, a Democrat launching an independent congressional bid, as part of the plan to access the footage for damaging purposes.
“My political opponents attempted to extort me regarding this video, saying they would drop their threats to release it if I end my campaign,” she said. “I am certain that our community will find this kind of old-school politics of harassment abhorrent, and I won’t be bullied.”
Gorman, 61, denied trying to blackmail Hoffenberg. She said she never contacted Hoffenberg and never demanded anything in exchange for withholding the video.
Hoffenberg said the video won’t affect her campaign, adding: “I am staying focused on my campaign to bring strong leadership to this community, and I look forward to continuing this work.”
The incident has thrown a spotlight on Landek, a former state senator and longtime Democratic leader who has not publicly addressed the footage. The 70-year-old mayor has served Bridgeview for years and remains a significant figure in south suburban Chicago politics.
Hoffenberg’s decision to release the video herself represents a preemptive strike against what she characterized as a classic political shakedown. By publishing the footage, she sought to rob her opponents of leverage while casting herself as a victim of dirty tactics.
The clerk’s marriage to Jeff Hoffenberg, also 51, adds a personal dimension to the controversy, though her campaign has sought to frame the story around political intimidation rather than marital infidelity. Her insistence that the kiss was non-romantic and immediately rebuked forms the core of her defense.
The clash has also exposed rifts within Democratic circles, with Getty’s alleged involvement suggesting intra-party warfare as he pursues an independent bid for Congress. The supervisor’s role, as described by Hoffenberg, points to an unusual alliance between a Democratic township official and a Republican operative against a fellow Democrat.