Court Rules Former School Board Member’s Lawsuit Will Remain Dismissed

Nearly two years of litigation against Lemont-Bromberek School District 113A is over - after the Illinois Appellate Court  Jan. 25 ruled a lawsuit filed by former school board member Janet Hughes was rightfully dismissed by the Circuit Court.

Hughes filed the lawsuit April 28, 2011 in Cook County Chancery Court, alleging she was denied access to certain confidential documents and information that she claimed were necessary to perform her duties as a school board member.

In the lawsuit, among other assertions, Hughes claimed defendants (former 113A Superintendent Tim Ricker, former Board President John Wood and Board Member Lisa Wright) “flatly refused access to verbatim recordings of closed session meetings, and denied her access to District financial records.”

Hughes’ term on the school board expired less than one week after she filed the suit in April 2011. The former board member’s write-in bid for re-election was unsuccessful after her name was removed from the ballot in January for failing to properly bind her nominating petition.

In November 2011, in response to a motion filed by District 113A, the Circuit Court dismissed the lawsuit. The court ruled that the case was moot because Hughes was no longer a board member – and further ruled that even if Hughes were still a board member, Illinois law did not support her claimed right of unfettered access to school district documents.

Hughes appealed the Circuit Court’s decision to the Illinois Appellate Court, which issued the Jan. 25 ruling confirming that the lawsuit had been rightfully dismissed by the lower court.

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