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Unit 5 faces 2nd lawsuit in wake of ex-teacher's abuse
By Edith Brady-Lunny
eblunny@pantagraph.com
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URBANA -- The Unit 5 and Urbana school districts and former teacher Jon White were named in a second lawsuit Tuesday accusing school officials of failing to prevent White from sexually abusing a student. | Archive: First lawsuit filed in July

Ellyn Bullock, the attorney for a former first-grader at Thomas Paine Elementary School in Urbana, is seeking $1 million for each of 30 counts. The abuse by White took place during the 2005-06 school year, according to the lawsuit.

White, who taught at Colene Hoose Elementary School from 2003 to 2005, is serving 60 years in prison for sexually abusing eight students in Urbana and two in Unit 5.

Jon White


Unit 5 defendants in the suit include Jim Braksick, former Hoose principal; Alan Chapman, former Unit 5 superintendent; Dale Heidbreder, an assistant principal at Hoose; Ed Heinemann, the current Hoose principal; and John Pye, the district’s assistant superintendent of operations and human resources.

Six people who were Urbana district employees at the time are named in the lawsuit, along with both districts.

Eighteen of the counts were filed against Urbana, 10 against Unit 5, and two were lodged against White.

White as a dangerous ‘hot potato’

Bullock said the Normal district’s failure to address White’s inappropriate behavior while he was in Unit 5 allowed the Urbana student to be subjected to sexual abuse in the classroom.

“In my mind, she represents a victim hurt by the perfect storm of wrongdoing. Normal knew Jon White was a hot potato, and Urbana took the hot potato pass” after White was forced to resign from Hoose, said Bullock.

Parents of Hoose students complained to school officials about White a year before pornography was found on White’s school computer in 2004, said the attorney representing the child referred to as “Jane Doe 3” and her family. Heinemann wrote a letter of recommendation for White after the teacher left his classroom assignment in April 2005 amid complaints from a mother that her daughter was being harassed by White.

The lawsuit alleges that Unit 5 knew that White played a game that required female students to be blindfolded and lick substances from an object and 11 other sexual-related activities. Girls were removed from the lunchroom or after-school programs by White and taken to his classroom, according to the civil lawsuit.

Among the reports ignored by Heidbreder and Braksick was a parent’s complaint during the 2003-04 school year that a boy “was terrified of White and did not want to go to his class,” the lawsuit said.

Accusations against White include battery and commission of a hate crime related to Jane Doe 3.

The five Unit 5 officials are accused of conspiring from 2003 to 2005 to violate their duty as mandated reporters of abusive behavior.

“Their agreement was that they would not make mandated reports to the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services,” said the lawsuit. Pye, Chapman, Heinemann, Heidbreder and Braksick referred to White’s reputation as a sexual harasser as “He’s a dandy,” according to the new lawsuit.

In July, Bullock filed a lawsuit in federal court on behalf of another Urbana student naming both districts. That complaint also accuses school officials of failing to take action to protect students from White.

An attorney for the districts did not immediately return a call for comment on the new lawsuit.

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Reader comments on this story - 15 total

Note: All views and opinions expressed in reader comments are solely those of the individual submitting the comment, and not those of the Pantagraph or its staff.

T wrote on Sep 18, 2008 2:51 PM:

" That's because Unit 5 has the good ole boy club and your current Sup has done nothing to correct it!!!!! "

Jarhead71 wrote on Sep 18, 2008 1:56 PM:

" Good. It is about time. Unit 5 has never addressed these incidents properly. "

country girl wrote on Sep 18, 2008 1:04 PM:

" Unit 5 and the administrators who wrote the letter of reference to Urbana should pay and have criminal charges brought against them for aiding and abetting. After they learned what he had done they should have just fired him and turned over the information to police. They wouldn't have been able to change what he had already done but would have prevented futher abuse and put the ball into the hands of the authorities. "

BigBrother wrote on Sep 18, 2008 12:02 PM:

" Are the accusations in this article are true? Did the Unit 5 administrators conspire to violate thier duty and NOT report abuses as mandated by the law? This is a question that needs to be answered in a court of law. Charges should be levied and the cases brought before a judge and jury. Failing to bring prosecution only furthers the conspiracy. "

taxi-mom-of-2-teens wrote on Sep 18, 2008 8:12 AM:

" Too bad Illinois doesn't have the same laws as other states...in some states it's illegal for administrators to pass the "hot potato" off. It's a felony offense. "

taxi-mom-of-2-teens wrote on Sep 18, 2008 8:10 AM:

" Too bad Illinois doesn't have the same laws as other states...in some states it's illegal for administrators to pass the "hot potato" off. It's a felony offense. "

Blackneto wrote on Sep 18, 2008 7:23 AM:

" Send those involved to jail too. They are guilty as those church officials that kept moving rapists from parish to parish. "

motherOFtwo wrote on Sep 18, 2008 7:03 AM:

" The parents will never see a dime of that money. Even if there is a judgement and money is awarded it will have to go into a trust until the child is "of age". That could be 18 years or older. Unit 5/Urbana made the mistakes, not a bunch of 6 & 7 year olds. "

concerned_mom wrote on Sep 17, 2008 11:41 PM:

" Sometimes the only way that employers cease to cover for horrible employees is to hit them in the wallet. I realize that 30 million is a lot of money, but White's victims will have scars for the rest of their lives and it was all preventable had Unit 5 officials done what they were supposed to do....protect children. This is the price they may have to pay for falling down on their jobs. "

jusanothacommenter wrote on Sep 17, 2008 11:11 PM:

" WoW---and to THINK that the people that live in the Unit 5 School district had their property taxes go up with a BIG chunk going to Unit 5, guess I or We can "figure" out why now...geez! "

Rick B. wrote on Sep 17, 2008 9:43 PM:

" Are these parents out of their minds?!?!...30 MILLION DOLLARS?!?! Man, I sure wish that my teacher would do a lesson with me and my classmates and I have no idea that any wrong has been done and then I have my parents put me on a stand in a civil trial to have to relive the experience in order to make them an ungodly amount of money! And these parents said that this suit wasn't about the money?! PLEASE! "

xnader wrote on Sep 17, 2008 8:25 PM:

" They all resign, get their full pensions and admit to nothing. Unit 5 has always been, when the going gets tough, the spineless get out of town. Too bad they can't put a claus in these contracts.......no $$$$$$$ in pension or do jail time for your recommendation.....your choice. Stand up and take it.....obviously no respect or integrity....clean house and kick them all to the curb..... "

buckeye wrote on Sep 17, 2008 5:24 PM:

" YOUR FIRED!!!!!!! "

noogie wrote on Sep 17, 2008 4:34 PM:

" Good! "

Voice of Reason2 wrote on Sep 17, 2008 3:17 PM:

" These ‘administrators’ should be forced to pay these fines if they happen out of their own pocket. Not fair my taxes are going to go up because these guys can’t do their job. Unit 5 is just a joke and getting worse. How many more of these are waiting to be discovered? "
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