A federal judge has refused to dismiss a whistleblower lawsuit filed by a former Markham police officer who claims she was fired after reporting that the city’s police chief ordered her to release a convicted murderer she arrested after allegedly finding a loaded handgun in his car during a traffic stop.
The ruling allows former Markham patrol officer Kayla Heller to continue pursuing claims that Police Chief Jack Genius and the City of Markham retaliated against her after she reported the incident to the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office and the Illinois State Police.
The lawsuit stems from an incident first reported by CWB Chicago in December 2025, when we revealed that Heller had been fired shortly after we asked Genius why he ordered her to release convicted felon and current U.S. Senate candidate Tyrone Muhammad without charges.
In a 14-page order issued Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Franklin Valderrama denied the defendants’ request to throw out the lawsuit, finding that Heller had presented enough of a case for her claims to move forward to discovery.
Heller says she was hired by the City of Markham in August 2024, graduated from the police academy, and began working as a probationary patrol officer in December 2024, receiving excellent performance evaluations throughout her probationary period.
Then, on October 8, 2025, she stopped Muhammad, who was allegedly driving a Chrysler 300 with registration suspended because of an insurance violation. After serving 20 years for a 1994 murder in Chicago, Muhammad now leads Ex-Cons for Community and Social Change (ECCSC). He has also announced his candidacy to replace retiring U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin.
Throughout the traffic stop, Muhammad spoke on his phone with a person Valderrama identified as Tracy Bey, the operations director of ECCSC and a one-time candidate for alderman in Chicago’s 4th Ward.
According to Heller’s complaint, she called for Muhammad’s vehicle to be towed after he could not provide proof of insurance. During the required inventory search before impoundment, she found a loaded Smith & Wesson handgun in the vehicle’s center console, a discovery that was captured on bodycam video CWB Chicago secured via a public records request.
After checking with police dispatch, Heller learned Muhammad did not possess either a Firearm Owners Identification card or an Illinois concealed carry license. She informed him he was under arrest on a felony weapons charge and transported him to the Markham police station, according to the lawsuit.
But shortly after arriving at the station, Heller received a call from Genius ordering her to release Muhammad without filing charges and to release his car from the impound lot without towing or storage fees, according to Valderrama’s order. Heller instead issued Muhammad a citation for the suspended registration and released him. According to the complaint, two SUVs with government license plates escorted Muhammad’s vehicle from the impound lot the following evening.
Heller alleges she reported the incident the next morning to the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office and the Illinois State Police because she believed Genius had engaged in unlawful conduct. The lawsuit claims the department turned its attention to Heller.
According to the complaint, command staff questioned her extensively during an internal interrogation about her whistleblower complaint rather than any alleged misconduct by Genius. She also alleges that the command staff repeatedly asked her whether a Markham sergeant encouraged her to report the incident or helped her contact prosecutors after the arrest.
The complaint also alleges the sergeant, who had expressed interest in becoming Markham’s next police chief, was later demoted because Genius believed he encouraged Heller to go outside the department’s chain of command.
On December 8, 2025, CWBChicago emailed Genius to ask why Muhammad had been released without felony charges. Genius did not respond, but later that same day, according to the complaint, Heller was ordered to report to Genius’ office and was told she was being terminated for failing to complete her probationary period successfully, even though less than two weeks remained before the probation ended.
Heller claims the city also failed to pay more than $10,000 in accrued vacation and sick time after her termination.
Among other arguments, the city contended Heller’s whistleblower complaint was made as part of her duties as a police officer, not as a private citizen, and therefore was not protected by the First Amendment. Valderrama rejected that argument at this stage of the case. The judge concluded Heller plausibly alleged she reported the matter outside her official job duties by contacting outside agencies rather than following internal reporting channels.
Heller is seeking reinstatement, back pay, lost benefits, compensatory damages exceeding $100,000, attorney fees, statutory interest, and other relief.
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