Illinois
Agreement in works to settle Northwestern hazing lawsuits that led to coach’s firing
CHICAGO (AP) — Former Northwestern University football players are finalizing an agreement with the school to settle lawsuits alleging hazing and abuse that led to longtime coach Pat Fitzgerald’s firing, a school spokesman and attorneys said Tuesday.
The prestigious private university in suburban Chicago has been reeling from the scandal that engulfed the athletic department. Former football players filed the first lawsuits in 2023, alleging sexual abuse and racial discrimination on the team. Similar allegations then spread across multiple sports.
“Northwestern and the student plaintiffs recently engaged in a mediation process that resulted in the settlement of the student plaintiffs’ claims,” a Cook County Circuit Court filing by attorneys for Northwestern said last week. “The settlement documentation is currently being finalized.”
Details of the proposed settlement weren’t made public.
“While the terms of the provisional settlement are confidential, we intend to continue to work through the remaining outstanding issues to finalize a settlement that will hopefully allow both sides to move forward in a positive way,” attorneys Patrick Salvi and Parker Stinar said in a statement Tuesday on behalf of former football players who sued the school.
Fitzgerald, who has denied wrongdoing, is also suing the school for $130 million. Last year, a judge consolidated his complaint and the student lawsuits for the discovery process. Dozens of students are providing testimony that will be used for both cases, according to court documents.
“The settlement would fully resolve the student plaintiffs’ claims against Northwestern and Fitzgerald,” Northwestern spokesman Jon Yates said Tuesday. “It will not, however, resolve Fitzgerald’s claims against Northwestern.”
Fitzgerald was initially suspended then later fired after an investigation. The school concluded that he had a responsibility to know that hazing was occurring and should have stopped it.
Fitzgerald alleges the school illegally terminated his employment and damaged his reputation, among other things. His case is set to go to trial in November.
“Despite extensive written and testimonial discovery, there remains no evidence to show or suggest that Coach Fitzgerald was aware of any hazing at Northwestern,” his attorneys said in a statement Tuesday. “While the settlement resolves the claims brought by the players, Coach Fitzgerald’s claims against Northwestern remain.”
Northwestern hired former U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch in July 2023 to lead an investigation into the culture of the school’s athletic department. The school says it has since taken steps to improve, including adding more anti-hazing training requirements for athletes.
Illinois
Trial of ex-deputy who shot unarmed Black woman in her home is moved to another city
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) — The murder trial of a former Illinois sheriff’s deputy who fatally shot Sonya Massey, an unarmed black woman, in her Springfield home last summer will be moved out of the capital city to Peoria because of intense publicity, a judge ruled Tuesday.
Circuit Judge Ryan Cadagin granted the request by defense attorneys for Sean Grayson, who personally appeared in court, shackled at the waist, for the first time in months. Prosecutors offered no objection to moving the trial.
Grayson, 30, faces charges of first-degree murder, aggravated battery with a firearm and official misconduct for the July 6, 2024, shooting of Massey, 36, who had called 911 to report a suspected prowler. It has garnered international attention as an example of police shootings involving people of color.
In their motion to change the trial’s location, Grayson’s lawyers, Mark Wykoff and Daniel Fultz, argued that international news coverage, activists’ rallies, and a $10 million civil-court settlement between Sangamon County and Massey’s family all have contributed to “an overwhelming and emotional response” in a “close-knit community.”
“The high-profile nature of the case, combined with continuous media coverage, has shaped public perception, making it difficult to separate fact from speculation ... ,” the motion read. “Virtually everyone in the county is aware of the case, and many have already formed strong opinions regarding the defendant’s guilt or innocence.”
Cadagin set a hearing April 23 to schedule a trial date.
Grayson is being held without bond despite a state appellate court ruling that the Pre-Trial Fairness Act, which eliminated cash bond in Illinois, dictates that he should be released with certain conditions. The matter is before the state Supreme Court.
New Jersey
Man loses bid to cash in $59,500 in chips from defunct casino
ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (AP) — A man cannot redeem nearly $60,000 in chips from a now-defunct casino that he bought at an online auction because they were “pilfered” by an employee of a company who was supposed to destroy them, a New Jersey appellate panel has ruled.
The man tried to cash in the 389 chips in January 2023 with the state Treasury Department’s Unclaimed Property Administration, which was responsible for covering the redemption value of outstanding chips the Playboy Hotel and Casino had issued to patrons while in operation from 1981 to 1984. As part of its closing, the casino had transferred funds to the UPA to cover such redemptions.
The man told the UPA he had bought the chips — which were worth $59,500 — at an online auction and did not know their source. New Jersey State Police eventually determined that the casino had hired a company that was supposed to destroy the chips after it closed, but a former employee of that company “had pilfered several boxes of unused chips” sometime around 1990 and put them in a bank deposit box, the appellate panel noted.
The ex-employee told authorities that he later declared bankruptcy and forgot about the bank deposit box. The bank where the chips were stored opened the box in 2010 and confiscated the chips, eventually sending them to the auction house from which Hawkins purchased them.
The UPA rejected the man’s claim in June 2023, noting the chips had not been issued to patrons in the normal course of casino operations.
The man appealed the decision, claiming in part that the UPA had relied on insufficient evidence and acted arbitrarily and capriciously, But in its ruling issued April 1, the appellate court said the man was not entitled to the funds because he did not present chips that had been issued by the casino.
Agreement in works to settle Northwestern hazing lawsuits that led to coach’s firing
CHICAGO (AP) — Former Northwestern University football players are finalizing an agreement with the school to settle lawsuits alleging hazing and abuse that led to longtime coach Pat Fitzgerald’s firing, a school spokesman and attorneys said Tuesday.
The prestigious private university in suburban Chicago has been reeling from the scandal that engulfed the athletic department. Former football players filed the first lawsuits in 2023, alleging sexual abuse and racial discrimination on the team. Similar allegations then spread across multiple sports.
“Northwestern and the student plaintiffs recently engaged in a mediation process that resulted in the settlement of the student plaintiffs’ claims,” a Cook County Circuit Court filing by attorneys for Northwestern said last week. “The settlement documentation is currently being finalized.”
Details of the proposed settlement weren’t made public.
“While the terms of the provisional settlement are confidential, we intend to continue to work through the remaining outstanding issues to finalize a settlement that will hopefully allow both sides to move forward in a positive way,” attorneys Patrick Salvi and Parker Stinar said in a statement Tuesday on behalf of former football players who sued the school.
Fitzgerald, who has denied wrongdoing, is also suing the school for $130 million. Last year, a judge consolidated his complaint and the student lawsuits for the discovery process. Dozens of students are providing testimony that will be used for both cases, according to court documents.
“The settlement would fully resolve the student plaintiffs’ claims against Northwestern and Fitzgerald,” Northwestern spokesman Jon Yates said Tuesday. “It will not, however, resolve Fitzgerald’s claims against Northwestern.”
Fitzgerald was initially suspended then later fired after an investigation. The school concluded that he had a responsibility to know that hazing was occurring and should have stopped it.
Fitzgerald alleges the school illegally terminated his employment and damaged his reputation, among other things. His case is set to go to trial in November.
“Despite extensive written and testimonial discovery, there remains no evidence to show or suggest that Coach Fitzgerald was aware of any hazing at Northwestern,” his attorneys said in a statement Tuesday. “While the settlement resolves the claims brought by the players, Coach Fitzgerald’s claims against Northwestern remain.”
Northwestern hired former U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch in July 2023 to lead an investigation into the culture of the school’s athletic department. The school says it has since taken steps to improve, including adding more anti-hazing training requirements for athletes.
Illinois
Trial of ex-deputy who shot unarmed Black woman in her home is moved to another city
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) — The murder trial of a former Illinois sheriff’s deputy who fatally shot Sonya Massey, an unarmed black woman, in her Springfield home last summer will be moved out of the capital city to Peoria because of intense publicity, a judge ruled Tuesday.
Circuit Judge Ryan Cadagin granted the request by defense attorneys for Sean Grayson, who personally appeared in court, shackled at the waist, for the first time in months. Prosecutors offered no objection to moving the trial.
Grayson, 30, faces charges of first-degree murder, aggravated battery with a firearm and official misconduct for the July 6, 2024, shooting of Massey, 36, who had called 911 to report a suspected prowler. It has garnered international attention as an example of police shootings involving people of color.
In their motion to change the trial’s location, Grayson’s lawyers, Mark Wykoff and Daniel Fultz, argued that international news coverage, activists’ rallies, and a $10 million civil-court settlement between Sangamon County and Massey’s family all have contributed to “an overwhelming and emotional response” in a “close-knit community.”
“The high-profile nature of the case, combined with continuous media coverage, has shaped public perception, making it difficult to separate fact from speculation ... ,” the motion read. “Virtually everyone in the county is aware of the case, and many have already formed strong opinions regarding the defendant’s guilt or innocence.”
Cadagin set a hearing April 23 to schedule a trial date.
Grayson is being held without bond despite a state appellate court ruling that the Pre-Trial Fairness Act, which eliminated cash bond in Illinois, dictates that he should be released with certain conditions. The matter is before the state Supreme Court.
New Jersey
Man loses bid to cash in $59,500 in chips from defunct casino
ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (AP) — A man cannot redeem nearly $60,000 in chips from a now-defunct casino that he bought at an online auction because they were “pilfered” by an employee of a company who was supposed to destroy them, a New Jersey appellate panel has ruled.
The man tried to cash in the 389 chips in January 2023 with the state Treasury Department’s Unclaimed Property Administration, which was responsible for covering the redemption value of outstanding chips the Playboy Hotel and Casino had issued to patrons while in operation from 1981 to 1984. As part of its closing, the casino had transferred funds to the UPA to cover such redemptions.
The man told the UPA he had bought the chips — which were worth $59,500 — at an online auction and did not know their source. New Jersey State Police eventually determined that the casino had hired a company that was supposed to destroy the chips after it closed, but a former employee of that company “had pilfered several boxes of unused chips” sometime around 1990 and put them in a bank deposit box, the appellate panel noted.
The ex-employee told authorities that he later declared bankruptcy and forgot about the bank deposit box. The bank where the chips were stored opened the box in 2010 and confiscated the chips, eventually sending them to the auction house from which Hawkins purchased them.
The UPA rejected the man’s claim in June 2023, noting the chips had not been issued to patrons in the normal course of casino operations.
The man appealed the decision, claiming in part that the UPA had relied on insufficient evidence and acted arbitrarily and capriciously, But in its ruling issued April 1, the appellate court said the man was not entitled to the funds because he did not present chips that had been issued by the casino.
