Could insurance cover some College of DuPage's legal bills?

College of DuPage officials are exploring whether insurance can help pay for some of the nearly $1.7 million in legal fees the school has racked up since spring.

COD's legal expenses increased significantly in April when federal authorities launched an investigation into the Glen Ellyn-based school, which had come under fire for its administrative practices.

Then, in May, a new majority that gained control of COD's elected board of trustees started pursuing a series of internal investigations that led to the firing of three top administrators, including former President Robert Breuder.

Board Chairwoman Kathy Hamilton said costs associated with the federal and internal investigations are the main reason the school's legal bills climbed to their current levels.

"Reformers always get stuck paying the bills," said Hamilton, adding that the new board - seated on April 30 - is cooperating with law enforcement and working to fix administrative problems at the school.

While the board has set aside $3.4 million to cover its legal expenses during the current fiscal year, officials say the college also is negotiating with its insurance provider to see if it will pay a portion of the costs.

"There's definitely a possibility that some of this will be covered by insurance," Hamilton said.

Still, the growing legal bills have at least one trustee raising concerns.

Trustee Dianne McGuire, a holdover from the old board, has voiced displeasure over the use of attorneys from Rathje & Woodward, which provides general legal counsel.

The Wheaton-based law firm has billed COD a total of $305,776 for work done between May 1 and Sept. 30, according to documents obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request.

McGuire said attorneys with the firm have billed the college for attending board agenda planning meetings, preparing agendas and preparing scripts for Hamilton to use at meetings.

"This is not work attorneys typically do," McGuire said. "This is work administrators and the board chair and vice chair are supposed to do."

But Hamilton says the fees paid to Rathje & Woodward are in line with what the school previously spent for general legal counsel. She said the biggest legal cost for COD has been responding to federal subpoenas and providing the wide array of documents authorities are seeking.

The federal subpoenas sought years of records related to college trustees, Breuder and other senior management personnel, COD Foundation members and entities professionally associated with COD Foundation members. The foundation is the college's fundraising arm.

The law firm Schiff Hardin was hired by Breuder when the federal probe of COD began in April.

One of the federal subpoenas sought information dating to Jan. 1, 2009. That includes bank, credit card and debit card records, personnel records, emails, payment records, meeting minutes and recordings, calendars, and records relating to services, contracts or bids.

A second subpoena issued to the college's Suburban Law Enforcement Academy demanded emails, class rosters, instructor grade certifications, and academic and grade transcripts.

Because Schiff Hardin already had started the process of responding to the federal subpoenas, the decision was made not to change law firms after three new trustees were seated. They are part of a new majority on the board led by Hamilton.

Schiff Hardin has billed the college a total of $737,771 for the work it did between April and Sept. 30. The firm billed the school $114,839 for September alone.

When the new board was seated, it hired Schuyler, Roche & Crisham to conduct internal investigations of the college.

The Chicago-based firm has billed COD a total of $626,086 for work done between May and September, records show.

A review of the Schuyler, Roche & Crisham invoices show that the firm charged $70,358 for the months of July and August to investigate Breuder in the lead-up to his firing last month by the board. The firm billed COD another $27,660 for the month of August to deal with "Robert Breuder contracts."

Breuder was set to retire in March and receive a $763,000 buyout package. By firing him, the college doesn't have to pay the buyout deal and saved five months of his $495,357 annual compensation package.

"The expenditure (for legal fees) is outweighed by the clawing back of the severance package and the nonpayment of his salary since he was fired," Hamilton said. "There's also the benefit of not having his influence on decisions."

But Breuder has filed a federal lawsuit claiming he was wrongfully terminated. He is seeking more than $2 million in damages.

As a result, some critics complain that the cost of firing Breuder is going to far exceed the amount of his severance deal.

There were other legal costs associated with the firing of two other high-ranking administrators - Thomas Glaser and Lynn Sapyta. Glaser served as the school's senior vice president of administration and treasurer, and Sapyta was assistant vice president of financial affairs and controller.

Schuyler, Roche & Crisham charged COD $45,415 for the months of July and August for matters related to Glaser. It billed the school $21,365 during that same span for matters related to Sapyta.

In the meantime, officials said the legal expenses will be reduced after the internal probes are resolved and the federal investigators complete their work.

"We are at an inflection point," Hamilton said. "We're rounding the corner."