Secret $225,000 Sex Abuse Settlement Was Never Approved By ETHS School Board

EVANSTON, IL — Under Illinois law, when public bodies settle lawsuits, those agreements become public records under the Illinois Freedom of Information Act, also known as FOIA.

But last year, Evanston Township High School District 202 officials agreed to a $225,000 payment as part of a confidential settlement that resolved a federal civil rights suit alleging administrators turned a blind eye to sexual abuse by district employees.

That payment would have remained secret had the editor of the Evanston Patch not taken the district to court.

First filed in August 2019, the most recent version of the federal suit against the district alleged that at least two school security guards "sexually groomed, sexually harassed, and sexually assaulted" ETHS students.

Both outgoing Superintendent Eric Witherspoon and incoming Superintendent Marcus Campbell "either had actual knowledge and/or they deliberately turned a blind eye to [the security guards'] unlawful sexual conduct," according to the complaint.

That suit — Sterling et al. v. Evanston Township High School District 202 et al. — was settled in October 2021, court records revealed.

The attorney who represented the plaintiff in the case, Andrew Stroth, was bound to secrecy about the deal as part of the terms of the settlement. The agreement, which was never publicly approved by the Evanston Township High School board, also forbade the family of the former ETHS student who reported abuse by its staff from saying district officials "lack ethics or abilities, or acted with recklessness or negligence with regard to the [alleged grooming and sexual abuse]."

An Evanston Patch reporter obtained a copy of the settlement Thursday after suing the district, alleging ETHS violated the FOIA when its representative refused to provide a copy.

District official David Futransky told Patch the district had no records of the board approving the settlement or how much money it paid, because the payment had been made though the district's insurer, Lake Villa-based Collective Liability Insurance Cooperative, a division of Gallagher Bassett Services Inc. and a subsidiary of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

"The insurance cooperative handled the matter in its entirety," Futransky said, in response to a public records request last year. "The District made no payments and did not execute any document related to the dismissal of the lawsuit."

The argument advanced by district officials and their taxpayer-funded attorneys — that by privatizing governmental functions, a public body can escape the law's explicit requirement to reveal settlement agreements — has been rejected by the Illinois Supreme Court and the Illinois Attorney General's Office.

Nevertheless, the district refused to comply with the law and reveal how much money it took to settle allegations that its senior administrators knew, or should have known, about rampant sexual abuse by school security staff. In response, an Evanston Patch reporter filed a six-count complaint in Cook County Circuit Court in February.

"Because there was no good faith basis for District 202 to deny the [reporter's request], District 202 willfully and intentionally, or otherwise in bad faith failed to comply with FOIA," according to the suit.

Related:
New Allegations Added To ETHS Security Guard Sex Assault Lawsuit
Judge Partially Dismisses Civil Rights Suit Over Security Guard Sexual Abuse
ETHS Gave 'Sexual Predators Access To Unlimited Prey': Suit
ETHS Staffer Had Sexual Relationship With Student: Prosecutor

After attorneys for the district twice sought and received extensions — more time to answer the complaint — an initial case status hearing was set for June 1. But, before a hearing could take place, the ETHS board unanimously approved a settlement with the reporter on May 9.

This agreement required the district to turn over the settlement in the security guard sex abuse lawsuit, reveal the settlement's cost, including legal fees, and pay a $4,000 check to the reporter's attorneys from the firm Loevy & Loevy.

Invoices provided by the district Thursday from the law firm Dykema indicate that it billed the insurer more than $33,500, while the district's usual law firm, Franczek, billed less than $2,600 in the matter.

According to the terms of the Meadows vs. Evanston Township School settlement, the district's willingness to pay cash and provide the requested records "shall not be deemed or construed as an admission of liability by [district officials] or of [Collective Liability Insurance Cooperative] or [Gallagher Bassett Services]."

It also "cannot be construed as a waiver or release of any defense that [ETHS and its insurers] may have to a future FOIA request or challenge."

Nothing in the agreement prevents Evanston Township High School officials from keeping future settlements or separation agreements secret when they are executed by the district's insurer on behalf of administrators and the board.

Patch asked ETHS Board President Pat Savage-Williams how many other times the district has secretly settled lawsuits since she became board chair in 2015, whether she believes it is appropriate for a district to keep such settlements from the public, and if she plans to continue the policy. Any response received will be added here.

Witherspoon, who is retiring at the end of the month after 16 years as chief of the one-school district, delivered a final message Wednesday.

"Together we have faced our challenges head on," the superintendent said. "And we've made so many improvements each step of the way."