The president of Chicago’s DuSable Black History Museum and Education Center, Perri Irmer, has responded to a whistleblower lawsuit that shook the institution months ago with allegations that she and other leadership misused funds.
In December, Kim Dulaney, the museum’s former vice president of education and programs, filed a whistleblower and retaliatory discharge lawsuit in the Cook County Circuit Court, alleging that she was fired after repeatedly raising concerns about the museum’s operations under president and CEO Perri Irmer.
The Chicago Crusader reports that Irmer has filed a 15-page response seeking dismissal of the lawsuit. In it, her attorneys argue that Dulaney failed to meet a requirement of the Illinois Whistleblower Act because she did not refuse to participate in the museum’s allegedly unlawful conduct, including the alleged misappropriation of funds within the education and programs department.
Dulaney had served as vice president of education and programs since 2022 before being terminated by Irmer on October 3, a dismissal the museum president characterized as part of an institutional “restructuring”. According to a statement issued by Dulaney’s legal team at the time, she had spent the preceding year reporting concerns to the museum’s HR department, leadership, board of directors, and multiple government agencies regarding the alleged misuse of restricted funds, improper financial practices, and workplace misconduct.
In support of her allegations against museum leadership, Dulaney pointed to a $5,000 grant awarded to her department by the University of Chicago. She alleged that only $600–$700 of the grant was used for Juneteenth children’s programming, while the remainder could not be accounted for. According to the lawsuit, Irmer did not provide an explanation when Dulaney raised concerns about the discrepancy.
Dulaney’s lawsuit also includes accusations that Irmer and the museum permitted alcohol to be sold on the premises without a liquor license. Furthermore, she accuses Irmer and the museum of violating the Illinois Whistleblower Act and retaliating against Dulaney through her termination. It seeks reinstatement, back pay, front pay, compensatory and punitive damages, civil penalties under the Illinois Whistleblower Act, and attorney fees. The suit also requests injunctive relief—a court order barring the museum from committing further alleged violations.
Irmer’s motion to dismiss argues that this allegation “lacks the factual and legal details necessary to state a claim. … Nor does she allege basic facts that would permit a meaningful analysis of her allegation, such as the specific event at issue, the date on which it occurred, or even the jurisdiction in which it was held.”
The motion further contends that Dulaney “vaguely references unspecified federal laws governing not-for-profit corporations” and “alludes to potential violations of the Illinois Grant Accountability and Transparency Act without citing any specific provision.”
Meanwhile, the DuSable Museum, which is represented separately from Irmer, filed a 24-page response earlier this year similarly denying Dulaney’s allegations and, in some instances, stating that it lacked sufficient knowledge to admit or deny the claims in her complaint.
In February, attorney Patricia Holmes conducted an internal investigation of the museum. Its findings were not addressed in either Irmer’s response or the museum’s filing.
