Maine West tab for hazing investigation: $115,000

Maine Township High School District 207 spent about $115,000 on an investigation that found staff members responded appropriately to hazing allegations, a spokesman said Saturday.

The bill stems from an independent probe launched in January by Hinshaw & Culbertson LLP. The district hired the Chicago-based law firm to review its response to reports that male athletes were subjected to hazing at Maine West High School in Des Plaines.

District spokesman David Beery said the final tab came in “within range” of what school officials expected.

“We didn't know exactly, but we knew it was going to be an extensive investigation,” he said Saturday.

In May, the firm's lead investigator, former Assistant U.S. State's Attorney Sergio Acosta, announced findings that Maine West staff members responded appropriately when two 14-year-old soccer players came forward last fall with allegations they were sexually assaulted at school as part of a hazing ritual.

One coach was ultimately charged with misdemeanors, and charges against six juveniles were dropped. A lawsuit also is pending against the district and two former coaches accused of doing nothing to stop the abuse the students said they endured.

Adding to the district's cost was a series of anti-hazing focus groups commissioned at its schools earlier this year.

For that job, it hired Community Matters, a California-based consultant, which delivered a 24-page report with recommendations in June.

The cost of that report was not immediately available.