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MEDIA RELEASE
For Immediate Release
August 25, 2011
Contact: Holly Goldin
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847-512-6038
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LAWSUIT UPDATE: APPELLATE COURT CONSOLIDATES WILMETTE AND OAK PARK SCHOOL DISTRICT APPEALS
(Wilmette, IL...) There are two recent developments in the appeal of the lawsuit filed against District 39 by Herbert Sorock and Taxpayer’s United of America (TUA). The original lawsuit was dismissed with prejudice on June 23, 2011, with the judge rejecting the plaintiffs' allegations against District 39 with respect to ballot language used in the April 5th referendum. The individual members of District 39’s Board of Education were dismissed from the case earlier on May 23, 2011. On July 6, 2011, Herbert Sorock and TUA filed an appeal and later filed two motions. One motion sought to place the appeal on an accelerated docket and was denied by the Appellate Court. The other motion, which the Court granted, sought to consolidate the appeal of the case against District 39 with a similar appeal in the case against Oak Park School District 97. The appeal also challenges the dismissal of the individual board members.
Karen Donnan, President of the District 39 Board of Education, commented, “District 39 has prevailed on all of the issues at the Circuit Court and the same is true for Oak Park District 97. Consolidating our two cases will serve to move the appeals forward in an efficient and expedited manner. As a result, we did not object to the plaintiffs’ motion. We are confident that the judgments of the lower court will stand. The District has already spent more than $35,000 of taxpayer money successfully defending this case. The appeal means that we are forced to spend additional dollars that should be spent on the education of the children in our community. We hope the process moves quickly so we can put this lawsuit behind us.”
On a related note, the District was recently informed by the Cook County Clerk’s Tax Extension Department that the voter-approved limiting rate increase will be implemented this year, as anticipated, with the new rate reflected in tax bills due this fall.
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MEDIA RELEASE
For Immediate Release
July 14, 2011
Contact: Holly Goldin
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847-512-6038
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Lawsuit Update: Appeal Filed in Limiting Rate Referendum Lawsuit
(Wilmette, IL...) On July 6th, Herbert Sorock and Taxpayers United of America filed an appeal with the First District Appellate Court. This appeal is of Judge Rita Novak’s June 23rd decision dismissing with prejudice the lawsuit alleging that District 39 misled voters with respect to the ballot language used in its April 5th referendum. The appeal also challenges Judge Novak’s decision of May 23rd dismissing the individual members of the Board of Education from the case. The appeal can be found here (PDF, 38 kB).
Commenting on this latest development, Karen Donnan, President of the District 39 Board of Education said, “It is most unfortunate that the District must continue to respond to this charge. The referendum passed by a significant margin. Now we have a community member who has aligned with an outside anti-tax group, and together they are trying to overturn the will of our voters. The District has already spent $32,000 of taxpayer money successfully defending this case. This appeal means that we are forced to spend additional dollars that should be spent on the education of the children in our community.”
Mrs. Donnan further stated, “Judge Novak heard both sides of the case and ruled that the District followed the law in the wording of our ballot. Furthermore, as we have said all along, the Board acknowledged from the beginning of the referendum process that the legally required ballot language was potentially confusing, so we were extremely careful and transparent in communicating to the public the precise impact on residents’ tax bills. At its May meeting, the Board passed an amended levy to capture the voter-approved rate increase; the amended levy was for the exact amount we had communicated to the community.”
Judge Novak’s June 23rd ruling is available here (PDF, 110 kB); the complete transcript from the June 23rd hearing is available here (1.3 MB).
Click here to download a copy of this press release in PDF format (125 kB).
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MEDIA RELEASE
For Immediate Release
July 5, 2011
Contact: Holly Goldin
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847-512-6038
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DISTRICT 39 BOARD TO ASSESS FINANCIAL COSTS OF LAWSUIT
(Wilmette, IL...) On June 23, 2011 Judge Rita Novak dismissed with prejudice the lawsuit filed by Herbert Sorock and Taxpayer’s United of America against District 39 challenging the ballot language and results of the April 5th limiting rate increase referendum. You can read a verbatim transcript of the hearing before Judge Novak held on June 23rd here (PDF, 1.4 MB).
Last week, Judge Mary Mikva dismissed a similar lawsuit filed against Oak Park School District 97, also with prejudice. You can read the judge’s order in the Oak Park case here (PDF, 2.4 MB).
District 39 Board President Karen Donnan commented, “We are pleased that both of these cases have been dismissed. The dismissal of the District 97 lawsuit, following Judge Novak’s dismissal of the District 39 case, reinforces and validates our Board’s actions in fully informing the community of the impact of a successful referendum and acting consistently with our statements. We continue to believe the case against District 39 was meritless. The Board has asked Superintendent Ray Lechner for a complete accounting of all money spent in defense of this lawsuit, and we will be considering our options for recouping these costs.”
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MEDIA RELEASE
For Immediate Release
June 13, 2011
Contact: Holly Goldin
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847-512-6038
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LAWSUIT UPDATE:
Hearing on June 23, 2011 to proceed
(Wilmette, IL...) District 39 today filed its reply to Herbert Sorock's and Taxpayers United of America's June 8, 2001 response to the District's motion to dismiss the lawsuit filed against the District. With these briefings submitted, the case will proceed as scheduled with a hearing before Judge Novak on June 23, 2011.
Superintendent Ray Lechner commented, “We are looking forward to the June 23rd hearing and are confident this will lead to a quick resolution.”
The following documents are related to this lawsuit:
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MEDIA RELEASE
For Immediate Release
June 7, 2011
Contact: Holly Goldin
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847-512-6038
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LAWSUIT UPDATE:
Plaintiffs' Motion To Consolidate Denied
(Wilmette, IL...) There has been a new development in the lawsuit filed against District 39 by Herbert Sorock and Taxpayers United of America (TUA). In a move with the potential to delay the proceedings, on May 31, 2011, Herbert Sorock and TUA filed a motion to consolidate the District 39 case with a similar case filed against Oak Park School District 97. The motion to consolidate was filed in lieu of the plaintiffs’ response to District 39’s motion to dismiss; the plaintiffs’ response was due that same day. Sorock’s and TUA’s motion can be found here. Requiring an additional court appearance, District 39 opposed the consolidation since it held the potential to delay resolution of the District’s motion to dismiss. The delay may also have interfered with the commencement of the County’s tax extension process. A copy of the District’s response to the motion to consolidate can be found here.
In denying the motion to consolidate from Sorock and TUA, Judge Moshe Jacobius stated that while the two cases were based upon a challenge to the same statutory provision, they were separate cases with different parties, and that there was not sufficient basis for consolidation.
With this ruling, the lawsuit is expected to proceed as previously announced with a hearing before Judge Rita M. Novak on June 23, 2011. Regarding this latest development, District 39 Superintendent Ray Lechner commented, “We are pleased that the judge ruled in our favor. We are doing everything possible to make certain that we follow the wishes of the voters who approved the tax rate increase. I look forward to a speedy resolution of this matter.”
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MEDIA RELEASE
For Immediate Release
May 24, 2011
Contact: Holly Goldin
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847-512-6038
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Judge Denies Motion for Temporary Restraining Order Filed Against Oak Park School District 97
(Wilmette, IL…) District 39 has been closely watching as a lawsuit filed against Oak Park School District 97 progresses. The situation in Oak Park is similar to that in District 39; a referendum recently passed, followed by the filing of a lawsuit by an Oak Park resident and Taxpayers United of America alleging that the language used on Oak Park’s ballot misled voters. Just as in District 39’s case, the Oak Park lawsuit sought a temporary restraining order to prevent the voter-approved tax levy from moving forward.
Today, the Oak Park case progressed as Judge Mary Mikva denied the temporary restraining order sought by the resident and Taxpayers United of America. Judge Mikva’s ruling now allows District 97 to approve and file its amended levy. District 39 approved and filed its amended levy before the filing of the motion for temporary restraining order against it. District 39 Superintendent Ray Lechner commented, “Oak Park’s situation is similar to ours; we have reason to believe that our case will be decided in a consistent way as it unfolds. We are encouraged that the judge in this case ruled favorably for Oak Park.” Click here to read the judge’s order in the Oak Park case.
District 39 had its first court appearance yesterday before Judge Rita Novak who dismissed with prejudice the claims against the individual members of District 39’s Board of Education, leaving only the district as a defendant. For the remainder of the case, the judge set a briefing schedule on the District’s motion to dismiss with a hearing date of June 23, 2011 on the District’s motion and the Plaintiffs’ motion for a temporary restraining order. Judge Novak’s order can be found here.
A copy of the District 39’s motion filed on May 23, 2011 is available here, which provides detail of the District’s case.
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MEDIA RELEASE
For Immediate Release
May 23, 2011
Contact: Holly Goldin
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
847-512-6038
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District 39 Files Motion to Dismiss
Judge Dismisses Claims Against District 39 Board Members
(Wilmette, IL…) Following the filing of a lawsuit last week by Herb Sorock and Taxpayers United of America, District 39 filed its motion to dismiss the lawsuit this morning. A copy of the motion is available for download here (1.5 MB), which provides detail of the District's case.
Today, Judge Rita Novak dismissed with prejudice the claims against the individual members of District 39’s Board of Education, leaving only the district as a defendant. For the remainder of the case, the judge set a briefing schedule with a hearing date of June 23, 2011 on the District’s motion to dismiss and the Plaintiffs' motion for a temporary restraining order. The Judge’s order can be downloaded here (61 kB).
"The District is pleased that the individual Board members have been dismissed from the suit. The plaintiffs had no legal support for naming them in this action,” said District 39 Superintendent Ray Lechner. “The Board is looking forward to a ruling on this matter as it has acted consistent with Illinois law and the will of the majority of voters in the community."
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Lawsuit Information
2012-12-7 Sorock Order Granting Voluntary Dismissal (
Motion to Voluntarily Dismiss Appeal 12-2-12 (
