Illinois Supreme Court rules school lawsuit possible in wake of sexual abuse

August 13, 2012

Springfield, Illinois: The Illinois Supreme Court, on Aug. 9, ruled in a 5-2 decision that McClean County school administrators can be sued for negligence in warning a neighboring district about a teacher with a record of sexual misconduct. Teacher Jon White abused at least eight girls at a school in Urbana, IL and pleaded guilty to these crimes in 2008.

White used to work for the McLean County Unit School District No. 5. He was suspended twice and forced to resign early from his job there after multiple instance of misconduct, including viewing pornography on a school computer and making indecent remarks to a fifth grader. However, when the nearby school district in Urbana sought to hire White, the McClean County district wrote him a positive letter of recommendation and did not make it clear that he was forced to resign early.

The Supreme Court ruling allows the victims to sue the McClean County school administrators. The issue was that the administration provided incomplete information about White's resignation on the employment verification form.

White is facing 60 years in prison. The lawsuit against the school district has already been filed and, due to this Supreme Court ruling, may now proceed.