Judge extends U-46 suit discovery deadline one more time

Enough is enough, a federal judge has said of extension pleas in the lawsuit accusing Elgin Area School District U-46 of racial bias.

In a written ruling, Magistrate Judge Michael T. Mason agreed to extend discovery deadlines one last time - warning parties to make haste in preparing for trial.

The case has been pending since February 2005.

Based on what both sides have since told Mason in meetings in his private chambers, "it is clear that settlement is highly unlikely at this time," the judge wrote. "The parties must not delay further in their completion of discovery and preparation for trial."

The lawsuit arose out of the district's 2004 decision to redraw U-46's attendance boundaries. The group of Elgin families who filed the suit claim the new boundaries violated the constitutional rights of black and Hispanic students by placing them in crowded, older schools; busing them farther and more often than white students; and providing them inferior educational opportunities.

The case was granted class-action status last August.

Now, if the families prevail, about 17,000 current U-46 students as well as thousands of former students could see remedies and program changes.

Over the years, both the Elgin families and the district have asked for - and been granted - numerous extensions for fact and expert discovery, phases of the pretrial exchange of evidence.

As of last month, U-46 had spent $7.8 million in legal fees. With a steady stream of motions filed after the class-action ruling, much of that tab has been racked up in the past year.

Mason acknowledged the tedium in his order, writing that "to this Court's knowledge, the parties have done nothing to attempt to limit the temporal period of the universe of information relevant to this litigation."

The parties took part in one daylong settlement conference last December, but no agreement was reached.

The district must provide supplemental data to the plaintiffs by Sept. 14; data must be added to opening expert reports by Oct. 5; rebuttal reports must by exchanged by Dec. 7; and expert depositions must be completed by Jan. 1, 2009.

"No further extensions will be granted," Mason said.