Fox Valley briefs

Huntley settles Horizon suit:

After 10 years of litigation, the court battle between Huntley and Horizon Group Properties is over. Under a settlement agreement between the two parties, Huntley has refinanced $14 million in bonds that were used to fund infrastructure in the village. The refinancing will allow the village to pay off the bonds faster - and possibly enable Horizon to get paid for a series of bonds the developer holds. In exchange, Horizon has dropped its litigation against the village. "There is no litigation outstanding between the village and Horizon," Village Manager Dave Johnson said. "There has been a lot of time and resources spent on the litigation. There are better things to be spending our time and resources on."

District 300 retools policy:

Community Unit District 300's policy committee will retool a proposed conflict of interest policy. The policy, as originally drafted, would have barred the district from doing more than $5,000 in business with firms that donated to school board campaigns. Critics of the policy say it is not needed because pay-to-play has not been an issue in the district. Policy chairman John Ryan said the proposed policy will be revised to only cover transactions under $25,000. Ryan said existing state law and district procedures already address contracts for more than that amount.

Interim Westminster superintendent named:

The elders of Westminster Presbyterian Church and the Westminster Christian School recently announced the appointment of Patrick Bertsche as interim superintendent for the 2009-2010 school year. Bertsche, who will replace outgoing Superintendent Chad Dirkse, will begin working full time on July 1, but school officials report he already has begun some training. His appointment, officials said, will allow the school to continue to move forward while the search for a permanent replacement continues.