Illinois
Judge OKs $9.25M settlement between Chicago schools, union
CHICAGO (AP) — A federal judge has approved a $9.25 million settlement by the Chicago Public Schools and the Chicago Teachers Union in two long-running lawsuits stemming from the layoffs of hundreds of Black educators at underperforming schools, officials said Wednesday.
Those eligible to receive payments under the settlement have until Friday to submit claims, attorneys for the teachers union said.
Eligible to receive payments are all Black persons employed as teachers or para-professionals in any school or attendance center subjected to a “turnaround” policy that targeted schools that had been put on probation due to substandard test scores and attendance from 2012 to 2014, attorneys said.
The settlement reached in December was approved Tuesday by U.S. District Judge Sara Ellis, attorneys said .
About $5.25 million of the settlement will be distributed among more than 414 current and former union members under the terms of the deal, a spokesman for the attorneys said. Attorneys sought about $3.6 million in fees and $400,000 in court costs.
“This has been a challenging but necessary court battle and part of the CTU’s determination to ensure all students and staff have the schools Chicago deserves. The named plaintiffs and other CTU members have shown great courage throughout this 10-year fight for justice,” Patrick Cowlin, a lead attorney for the teachers union, said in a news release.
A telephone message seeking comment was left for the Chicago Public Schools.
The federal lawsuits stemmed from several rounds of layoffs at 18 schools under the “turnaround” policy. The affected employees worked at schools on Chicago’s South or West sides and many were in Black communities. An disproportionate number of Black educators lost their jobs, and while the teachers were directed to apply for new jobs at CPS, not all were re-hired.
Ohio
Prosecutor: No grand jury indictment in police shooting
CANTON, Ohio (AP) — Prosecutors say an Ohio grand jury has declined to file criminal charges against a Canton police officer who shot and killed a man who was firing a gun into the air minutes into the new year.
Stark County Prosecutor Kyle Stone said his office had presented grand jurors with a “wide range” of potential felony and misdemeanor charges following an investigation by the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation, but declined to indict in the Jan. 1 death of 46-year-old James Williams.
“I understand that this is not the outcome that some people wanted, but I want to assure this community that we presented this case in a fair and just manner,” Stone said at a Wednesday afternoon news conference. He said no further action would be taken by his office.
Williams had apparently been firing celebratory gunfire skyward at his home when the officer fired multiple rounds through a 6-foot-tall (1.8-meter-tall) fence as smoke rose into the air. Footage from the officer’s body camera showed him shouting “Get down!” after he had shot Williams, who died at a hospital.
The city’s police chief said on the day of the shooting that the officer feared for his safety, and the officer said in a federal court filing that he believed his conduct “was objectively reasonable” based on probable cause and/or “in self-defense of a lethal threat,” as he observed Williams firing a high-powered rifle, the Canton Repository reported.
Williams’ family has filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against the officer and the City of Canton in federal court alleging excessive force, wrongful death, deliberate indifference to medical needs, assault and battery and intentional infliction of emotional distress.
Family attorneys said relatives of Williams, the father of four daughters and stepfather to two more, will review the state investigation files when they are made public. Although “saddened” that no charges will be brought, the family will continue efforts in civil court “to ensure accountability for those responsible for James’ death,” they said.
Ohio
Slain man’s family wants suit against deputy to proceed
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — The family of a Black man shot by an Ohio sheriff’s deputy asked a federal court on Wednesday to stop delaying their wrongful death lawsuit against the deputy.
Authorities say Casey Goodson Jr., 23, was shot in the back as he entered his grandmother’s house in late 2020. Deputy Jason Meade, who is white, has pleaded not guilty to murder and reckless homicide in the shooting.
Meade’s attorney says Goodson pointed a gun and ignored a command to drop it. Goodson’s family notes he was licensed to carry a gun, but says he was holding a bag of sandwiches at the time.
A federal judge paused the civil rights lawsuit against Meade and Franklin County until after the criminal case. The officer had argued that simultaneously defending himself in both cases would put him in a no-win situation.
With the criminal trial pushed back repeatedly, the delays are prejudicing the family’s civil case as their lawyers wait to continue the process of investigating facts, evidence and potential witnesses, said Sean Walton, an attorney for Goodson’s family. At least one person with relevant information about the day of the shooting has died, Walton said.
Franklin County’s prosecutor and board of commissioners said Wednesday they aren’t commenting on the pending cases.
At a press conference Wednesday, Walton also disclosed that Goodson’s family found his AirPods wireless headphones at the scene after other evidence had been collected and gave them to authorities. He said the family believes it’s likely Goodson was wearing the headphones and listening to music that day, and couldn’t hear any shouted commands from the officer.
Walton said the delay in the civil case has kept their attorneys from learning more about whether the evidence gathered, including Goodson’s smartphone, might provide further information about that.
Oregon
People with disabilities sue over blocked sidewalks
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — A group of Portland residents with disabilities has filed a lawsuit against the city, accusing it of failing to keep public sidewalks accessible.
The class action lawsuit filed Tuesday in federal court accuses the city of violating the Americans with Disabilities Act by allowing people to camp on city sidewalks, Oregon Public Broadcasting reported.
The Americans with Disabilities Act, known as the ADA, prohibits discrimination based on disability and requires accessible sidewalks. The suit names 10 plaintiffs, most of whom use a wheelchair, cane or walkers and say they have to go out of their way to navigate around tents.
In a news conference Wednesday near City Hall, some of the plaintiffs talked about the difficulties they’ve encountered navigating Portland streets in recent years as tents have gone up to shelter people experiencing homelessness.
Steve Jackson, a 47-year-old man who is blind, said he often accidentally steps on people. Barbara Jacobsen, a 62-year-old who uses an electric wheelchair, said she frequently has to go into the street with traffic to avoid the tents.
“The city has abandoned us and the homeless,” said Jacobsen.
A city spokesperson declined to comment on the lawsuit. The city does not usually comment on ongoing litigation.
Plaintiffs want a judge to order the city to clear sidewalks of tents and provide emergency shelters for everyone displaced as a result. The lawsuit also asks a judge to include all Portland residents with mobility disabilities and their caretakers as plaintiffs.
Texas
Judge rules against required coverage of HIV prevention drug
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — A federal judge ruled Wednesday that required coverage of an HIV prevention drug under the Affordable Care Act violates a Texas employer’s religious beliefs and undercut the broader system that determines which preventive drugs are covered in the U.S.
The ruling was handed down by U.S. District Judge Reed O’Connor, whose courtroom in Fort Worth is a favored venue for conservative opponents of the federal health care law that’s also known as “Obamacare.” He ruled in 2018 that the entire law is invalid but was later overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court.
O’Connor’s latest ruling targets a requirement that employer-provided insurance cover the HIV prevention treatment known as PrEP, which is a pill taken daily to prevent infection.
The challenge was brought by a company owned by Steven Hotze, a conservative activist in Texas who helped defeat proposed nondiscrimination protections for gay and transgender people in Houston and pushed Republicans for a law mandating that public school students use only the bathroom of the sex listed on their birth certificate. He is described in the lawsuit as operating Braidwood Management “according to Christian principles and teaching.”
The attorney who filed the suit was an architect of the Texas abortion law that was the nation’s strictest before the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in June and allowed states to ban the procedure.
“Defendants do not show a compelling interest in forcing private, religious corporations to cover PrEP drugs with no cost-sharing and no religious exemptions,” O’Connor, who was appointed by President George W. Bush, wrote.
O’Connor also ruled that a federal task force that recommends coverage of preventive treatments, which is made up of volunteer members, violates the appointment clause of the U.S. Constitution.
The impact of the ruling beyond the plaintiffs was not immediately clear. However, patient advocates and Democrats criticized the decision as a threat that reverberates beyond Texas. The Human Rights Campaign called it “an intentional attack on LGBTQ+ people.”
The Biden administration is likely to appeal. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Employers’ religious objections have been a sticking point in past challenges to the federal health care law, including over contraception.
South Dakota
State settles with tribes to ensure voting rights
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) — The South Dakota secretary of state will implement a voting rights coordinator and train state agencies to comply with federal voting rights laws as part of a settlement with two Native American tribes.
The settlement comes after U.S. District Judge Lawrence Piersol of South Dakota in May sided with two tribes, the Rosebud Sioux and the Oglala Sioux, and the Lakota People’s Law Project in a lawsuit accusing the secretary of state of not adhering to the National Voter Registration Act.
The judge ruled that the state’s agencies didn’t provide enough opportunities to register to vote or update voter registration information at places such as motor vehicle and public assistance offices in areas near Native American reservations. The law requires the agencies to help people register to vote at such offices, including ones that provide public assistance or serve people with disabilities.
The secretary of state’s office also agreed to pay $625,000 in attorney’s fees to the Rosebud Sioux Tribe, the Sioux Falls Argus Leader reported.
“This agreement requires South Dakota establish training and accountability mechanisms so voters, including Native voters, actually receive the legally required opportunities to register to vote,” Oglala Sioux Tribe President Kevin Killer said in a statement.
