After delaying paying damages in a whistleblower lawsuit, Chicago State University was ordered Tuesday to pay nearly $4.3 million — about $1 million more than a jury awarded — to a school official who was fired after accusing the school’s former president of misconduct.
And that amount could climb, as the cash-strapped public university has to pay roughly $20,000 a month in interest until the judgment is paid.
A Cook County jury awarded former Chicago State attorney James Crowley more than $3 million in 2014, but the school avoided payment while it challenged the verdict. With the appeals process now exhausted and the school firmly rebuked by the higher courts, Judge James McCarthy on Tuesday ordered the university to pay the original jury award and legal fees, plus 6 percent interest earned since the verdict three years ago.
The judge also said that because it was unreasonable for Crowley to return to his job, the university had to pay about $250,000 in "front pay" — money he would have earned if he had worked between the time of the jury decision and Tuesday’s order.
The total cost does not include the fees Chicago State paid to its own attorneys over the years.
Crowley said he hopes a newly appointed university board of trustees brings the case to a close rather than spending more money "by adopting the vengeful crusade of the prior administration.
"For seven years, this lawsuit has been through every possible level of the Illinois courts without one finding in favor of (former university President) Wayne Watson or his administration," Crowley said. "The only thing they’ve accomplished is to cost the taxpayers more and more money."
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The order marks the final legal hurdle for Crowley, who has worked temporary jobs since filing the state’s first-ever whistleblower claim under a new state ethics act. Crowley claimed he was fired after he refused to withhold documents about Watson’s employment that a faculty member had requested under the Illinois open records law. He also said he was retaliated against after reporting questionable university contracts to the attorney general’s office.
Wednesday will mark seven years since university police escorted him off-campus, he said.
Watson stepped down as president at the Far South Side campus in 2015 and holds the title of president emeritus.
Courts have criticized Chicago State throughout the case. In an unusually harsh ruling, a three-judge panel of the Illinois Appellate Court found that Chicago State launched "a campaign designed to both economically harm … and inflict psychological distress upon" Crowley. The panel called the university’s behavior "thoroughly reprehensible" and suggested Watson and his top lieutenants acted with "malice and deceit."
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The university appealed to the Illinois Supreme Court, which declined to consider the case.
In his order, McCarthy again criticized Chicago State officials.
"The Ethics Act specifically provides that the deneme Bonusu employee may be awarded all remedies necessary to make the state employee whole," McCarthy wrote, adding that Chicago State could have stopped the judgment from increasing "but rather chose to delay payment to its former employee." The judge called the university’s handling of the lawsuit "yet another example of the management style and judgment exercised by the officials at Chicago State."
It’s unclear when Crowley will receive the money because the school’s insurance carrier has argued it is not obligated to cover the judgment. The insurance underwriter, Illinois National Insurance Co., informed university officials last year that Chicago State’s policy does not cover claims stemming from a "fraudulent or dishonest act or a willful violation of any statute, rule or law," according to a letter obtained by the Tribune.
At all stages of this case, the jury, trial judge and appellate court determined that Chicago State leaders had "committed a number of willful and dishonest acts in an attempt to advantage themselves …" and therefore "no (insurance) coverage is available," the letter added.
Chicago State spokeswoman Sabrina Land did not respond to questions about when the university would pay the money.
Instead, she sent a statement maintaining the university’s position that the judgment was "an unusual and high verdict in an employment case." University attorneys had argued that Crowley was fired for misusing university resources, giving preferential treatment to students in awarding a scholarship and paying for conference travel for a student.
"The University continues to express its disappointment with this 2014 verdict. Our highest priority is to focus on productive and important matters such as our students, staff and university operations," she said.
Crowley attorney Anthony Pinelli said that while the judge didn’t set a deadline for Chicago State to pay, it is in the university’s interest to end the matter quickly.
"(McCarthy) said they had the power to end this by writing the check and chose not to do it," Pinelli said. "The liability grew as a result of that and continues to grow every day."
The judge’s order comes about four weeks after the university settled a separate whistleblower case with the school’s former chief financial officer for $1.3 million.
Former CFO Glenn Meeks alleged in a 2014 lawsuit that he was fired after reporting concerns about Watson’s personal relationship with an employee, who he alleged was hired and promoted after submitting a falsified resume. Meeks also said he complained about administrative salaries, rising legal expenses, and an increase in staff and expenses in the enrollment management department even as enrollment had been declining.
The university agreed to the settlement in late December as the case was nearing a trial date.
jscohen@chicagotribune.com
sstclair@chicagotribune.com
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