Judge spikes families' second try at settlement conference in U-46 suit

A federal judge has spiked the Elgin families' retry at a settlement conference in the Elgin Area School District U-46 racial bias suit, even before school board members had determined whether to refute or accept an offer.

Magistrate Judge Michael T. Mason "came out with that totally on his own," said Patti Whitten, who represents U-46.

Lawyers spoke briefly to the board about a new, two-page settlement offer from the plaintiffs before Monday night's board meeting, Whitten said.

"We're still discussing things," she said.

Mason denied the plaintiffs' April 28 request for a court-scheduled conference, the second in a week's time on the basis that "they have not followed instruction of this court."

After Mason denied the plaintiffs initial April 19 request for a settlement conference, he told the parties that the court would be available to hold a future settlement conference "if both parties agree that it would be productive in this matter."

However, he noted, "(the plaintiffs) provided this new demand to defendants the same day that they renewed their motion."

Both sides participated in a conference call with Mason's clerk late last week.

Whitten said district lawyers informed the court that they needed more time to review the settlement offer.

Carol Ashley, the lawyer representing the Elgin families, declined to reveal last week what was contained in the two-page offer. According to the April 28 court filing, "Plaintiffs' proposal ... addresses in simple and concrete fashion the issues the plaintiffs believe need to be resolved in order to arrive at a settlement that addresses the needs of the minority students in District U-46 but is also a fair proposal."

If both sides agree to participate in a settlement conference, they are to "jointly contact Judge Mason's chambers to schedule a date," the judge ordered.

A December 2008 settlement conference failed after nearly four hours of talks. Lawyers from both sides declined to elaborate on specifics, citing judge's orders. An attempt at talks also failed in December 2004, before the lawsuit was filed.

Sparked by 2004 boundary changes, the suit charges that U-46 violated the rights of black and Latino students by placing them in older, more crowded schools; forcing them to ride buses farther and more often than their white peers; and giving them inferior educational opportunities.

It has cost cash-strapped U-46 to date more than $8.7 million in legal fees.

Divided over five years, that cost works out to be $4,767 a day to the district.