Judge Dismisses Lawsuit against Shuttering LW North

NEW LENOX, IL — A Will County Judge on Monday dismissed a lawsuit filed by a citizen group seeking to keep Lincoln-Way North open.

The Lincoln-Way District 210 Board of Education voted in August to close LW North as a cost-saving measure, after the district landed on the state's financial watch list in 2015. Lincoln-Way Area Taxpayers Unite filed suit in December 2015 to stop the district from closing the school less than a decade old, calling their decision rash.

Will County Circuit Court Judge Roger Rickmon dismissed the suit, stating LWATU “failed to allege any facts upon which this court could ever find that the decision of the Defendant school board, in deciding to close Lincoln-Way North High School, was arbitrary or capricious.” The district will also be awarded its legal costs.

LW 210 issued a statement following the ruling:

"Today's ruling will allow District 210 to concentrate our full focus on addressing the issues and challenges facing our district, while fulfilling our mission to provide opportunities to maximize the academic growth of all Lincoln-Way students in the most cost effective manner," said Dee Molinare, the school district's president, in the statement. "We are committed to moving forward."