La Grange Area Agencies Can't Bad-Mouth Each Other

LA GRANGE, IL – An agreement between Lyons Township High School and an area agency bars them from bad-mouthing each other.

Earlier this month, the high school and the Lyons Township Treasurer's Office, which handles area schools' money, settled long-running litigation. The treasurer's office is to give the school $1.3 million.

The boards for both agencies approved the settlement earlier this month. Patch obtained the document through a public records request.

The agreement includes a non-disparagement clause, which is not unusual.

"The Parties and their representatives will be free to explain to the public the terms of this settlement and this Agreement and the justifications for them, as long as adherence to the non-disparagement of the Parties is maintained," the document reads.

The rule applies to each agencies' present and future officials, employees and board members.

The two sides have engaged in verbal combat for nearly a decade. In 2021, a court allowed the school to separate from the treasurer's office, so it could manage its own money. The battle began after a scandal in which the then-treasurer, now a convicted felon, stole $1.5 million from the treasurer's office.

Last January, board member Michael Thomas disparaged the treasurer's office behind closed doors, suggesting it was part of a conspiracy to undermine a proposed land deal. He provided no direct evidence.

The recording of the closed meeting was never supposed to get out. But the attorney general found the board illegally closed the doors to discuss the land deal and required the board to release the audio.