Chicago State U. to Pay $650K in Faculty Free Speech Lawsuit

January 9, 2019

Chicago State University has agreed to pay two professors $650,000 to end a lawsuit over their blog that criticized school leadership.

The Chicago Tribune reports that professors Robert Bionaz and Phillip Beverly sued the university in 2014 for allegedly violating their free speech through repeated attempts to shut down their blog. The CSU Faculty Voice launched in 2009 and criticized university administrators.

Bionaz taught history and retired from the university last year. Beverly teaches political science.

The settlement agreement also gives the university 60 days to revamp school policies about cyberbullying and computer usage. A university spokeswoman says the university is moving forward.

The university has a long history of financial problems and has paid multiple settlements to employees who filed lawsuits against the school.

Topics Lawsuits Education Universities

Was this article valuable?

Here are more articles you may enjoy.