Hinsdale D86 Attorney's Status In Question
HINSDALE, IL – The Hinsdale High School District 86 appears poised to oust its current law firm, Chicago-based Robbins Schwartz.
During a discussion Thursday, school board members revealed no information on the status of Robbins Schwartz, which they hired in January. They did not even mention the firm’s name.
With the firm, legal bills have surged, with the total annual legal spending reaching nearly $700,000.
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In late July, the attorney general found the board broke state law by suspending then-Superintendent Tammy Prentiss behind closed doors last year. It should have been done in a public meeting. At the time, Robbins Schwartz was advising the board as its special counsel.
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Board member Terri Walker, the only member to publicly call out the increased legal spending, and others indicated Thursday they were open to the idea of an in-house attorney.
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“Our legal costs are exorbitant,” Walker said. Hiring an in-house lawyer “might be a way to mitigate that. I’m not suggesting that it’s the right thing to do.”
Most districts contract out for legal services. District 86’s attorney spending is far higher than other districts, even those much larger.
Members agreed to form a special committee consisting of administrators and two board members to look at what to include in a request for proposals to law firms.
That committee will have to get its work done fast. The school board is planning a special meeting next Thursday on the issue.
Last week, the board chose Oak Brook-based law firm Engler, Callaway, Baasten & Sraga to handle “select students, special education and other matters.” On the surface, that did not appear to affect Robbins Schwartz in a big way.
But given the latest development, it appears that Robbins Schwartz’s status with the district is in question.
Earlier this week, Patch emailed all seven board members asking whether Robbins Schwartz was still the board’s attorney. No one responded.
Joseph Perkoski, a Robbins Schwartz attorney who handles the District 86 account, also did not return a message for comment.
For a few months last year, board members spoke a few times about drafting a request for proposals to see what law firms had to offer. But in January, the board abruptly switched course without explanation, hiring Robbins Schwartz.
That action prompted a complaint from resident Yvonne Mayer to the attorney general. She alleged the board broke state law by failing to discuss the process for choosing an attorney in public. The inexplicable reversal, she said, indicated the board talked about the issue behind closed doors.
A Patch story earlier this week included more information on the history of the board’s relationship with Robbins Schwartz.
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