Judge Denies Class-Action Status On School Closure Lawsuits
By Chuck Sudo in News on Aug 12, 2013 6:30PM
The Chicago Teachers Union’s attempts to prevent the closings of 50 schools narrowed further Monday after a federal judge ruled last Friday against assigning class-action status to civil rights lawsuits filed by the union on behalf of parents in May.
Judge John Lee ruled on a procedural matter and found the issues with the schools targeted for closure were too different to treat as a single case. Lee’s ruling makes the closing of the schools all but certain with less than two weeks to go before the start of the new school year. Lee did keep open the possibility, however, that he could stop the closings of individual schools in the lawsuits.
Last month a Cook County judge ruled against a motion filed by CTU to keep 10 schools open based on hearing officers reports recommending the schools remain open.