Megachurch Sex Lawsuit Filed in Will County: Court Supervision

A lawsuit against an imprisoned preacher from Crete and an Indiana megachurch topped the week's court news.

A former megachurch preacher sentenced to 12 years in federal prison in March for carrying on a sexual relationship with a teenage member of his congregation was sued in Will County court. In addition to preacher Jack Schaap, 55, of Crete, the First Baptist Church of Hammond was named as a defendant in the lawsuit. The parents of a teenage girl Schaap had sex with while he was pastor of the First Baptist Church of Hammond filed the lawsuit. The suit identifies the parents as "John Doe and Mary Doe," and the teen as "Jane Doe." The suit gives Jane Doe's date of birth as June 27, 1995. Here's what else was going on at the area's courthouses: Check out all these stories and more on our Facebook page.

•  1 Comment
• Photos (11)

Court Supervision: 11 Days in Jail For Sex With 16-Year-Old Boy

A former Plainfield North gym teacher pleaded guilty to meeting a teen for sex. And that was just one of the things going on in court this week.

More than two years after the police caught her in a car with a half-dressed student from the high school where she was a teacher, Ashley Blumenshine copped a plea. Blumenshine, a 30-year-old former Plainfield North gym teacher, will have to do 11 days in jail. She will also spend two years on sex offender probation and 10 yeas on the Illinois sex offender registry. She tearfully apologized before she was taken into custody to start doing her time. Let's look at what else was going on in the area's courthouses this past week: Check out all these stories and more on our Facebook page.

•  58 Comments
• Photos (13)

Village Attorneys Want Court To Sanction Kurtz

Village attorneys file sanctions requesting that attorney who represented a former employee in an unsuccessful age discrimination lawsuit be disqualified from case and pay attorney fees to village.

Oak Lawn’s village attorneys from the law firm Peterson Johnson and Murray want a judge to sanction the attorney who represented a former village attorney in a discrimination lawsuit. A jury delivered a verdict on Jan. 31 in favor of the village after deliberating less than two hours after a four-day trial. Hinsdale-attorney Dana Kurtz represented the former village employee in her age discrimination lawsuit against the village, whose position as a business regulation officer was eliminated in 2008 in a round of budget cuts. The employee alleged she was fired due to her age after the village finance director told members of the village board in executive session that he “wanted to hire someone younger.” The former employee was seeking $500…

•  3 Comments
• Photos (1)

Jury Verdict Favors Village in Age Discrimination Lawsuit

Jury returns speedy verdict saying village staff and elected officials did not discriminate against former employee terminated during budget cuts because of her age.

A jury decided that the Village of Oak Lawn did not engage in age discrimination when it terminated a village employee one day shy of her 60th birthday in April 2008. Diane Cipolla filed an age discrimination lawsuit against the village in February 2011, seeking $500,000 and other damages from the village. Sign up for the Oak Lawn Patch newsletter and breaking news alerts. Cipolla, now 64, was employed as a business regulation officer between 1996 and 2008 for the village finance department when she was terminated for “budgetary concerns.” Cipolla alleged she was terminated idue to her age and that village finance director Brian Hanigan told members of the village board in executive session that he “wanted to hire someone younger.” The …

•  19 Comments
• Photos (1)

OakLawnGuy

10:50 am on Monday, February 4, 2013

I was thinking the same thing, and of course your comment, supported by your extensive expertise in vetting law firms and attorneys (such as Brennan's) convinced me. ;-/   more ›

Family Settles Bed Sore Lawsuit Against Troubled Nursing Home

Evergreen Health Care Center which nearly had its license revoked in 2010 by the state for repeated violations of patient neglect, says troubled past is behind it.

With her last dying breath, the last word to pass through Samuel Lee Beard’s lips was “home.” By her family’s accounts, the final months of the 77-year-old stroke patient’s life while a resident at Evergreen Health Care Center, a nursing home and rehabilitation with a spotty regulatory history, were pure hell. Connect to Patch: Evergreen Park / Oak Lawn / Beverly-Mt. Greenwood Completely immobilized by a stroke, Beard’s skin was eaten by bed sores when she died in May 2007. The woman’s granddaughter, Vania Beard, maintained the sores were the result of not being turned properly while in the care of the Evergreen Park nursing home. Last month, Beard’s granddaughter reached a $575,000 settlement with the owners-–Evergreen Health Care Center …

•  7 Comments
• Photos (1)

UPDATED: Frankfort's Aurelio's, Parent Company Settle Infringement Suit

Details weren't disclosed, but Aurelio's Is Pizza Franchise and the owner of the chain's Frankfort location came to terms over a lawsuit claiming the owner sold improperly prepared frozen pizzas under Aurelio's name, the Chicago Tribune reports.

An Aurelio's Pizza franchise owner and the restaurant's parent company reached a settlement over a trademark infringement lawsuit that accused the Frankfort location of selling counterfeit pizzas at a fundraiser for the Homewood-Flossmoor High School girls’ field hockey team, according to a Chicago Tribune report. Kirk Mauriello, director of franchising for the Homewood-based Aurelio’s Is Pizza Franchise, wouldn't go into details about the settlement but said the company and Joseph Pascale, owner of the Frankfort franchise agreed to terms that would keep that location in the chain's system, the Tribune said. Mauriello said the company had received complaints and questions regarding the ingredients used in the pizzas Pascale provided for …

•  23 Comments
• Photos (1)

Darnell

6:52 am on Tuesday, October 9, 2012

Thank You Frank,, your comment said it all! It's pizza people,,Jeebus, get a life!!!   more ›

Aurelio's Files Infringement Lawsuit Against Franchise Operator

Lawsuit contends that the owner of the Frankfort Aurelio's improperly cooked up frozen pizzas under Aurelio's name and has a history of misusing the company's federally registered trademark.

A local Aurelio’s Pizza franchise operator has been accused of selling counterfeit pizzas at a fundraiser benefiting the Homewood-Flossmoor High School girls’ field hockey team. A lawsuit filed last week by Aurelio’s is Pizza, the restaurant’s parent company based in Homewood, contends that Joseph Pascale, owner of the Frankfort location, intentionally committed trademark infringement, dilution and counterfeiting when he contracted with Teresa Food Inc. to make machine-manufacture frozen pizzas with unauthorized ingredients. The pizzas were then wrongfully sold as Aurelio’s brand pizzas at a Homewood-Flossmoor High School athletic fundraiser on Oct. 7, according to Kirk Mauriello, Aurelio’s director of franchising. It "hurts our brand …

•  22 Comments
• Photos (1)
• Documents (1)

Richards Student Sues D218 After Classroom Science Experiment Goes Awry

A Richards High School student alleges that he lost vision in his eye after a bottle exploded in a chemistry class last week and is seeking $150,000 in damages. D218 has no comment on the lawsuit filed last Friday.

Oak Lawn Sued for Age Discrimination

Former village employee says she was terminated by the village in 2008 because her supervisor wanted to hire someone younger. Illinois Department of Human Rights finds charge "lacking in substantial evidence."

A woman who says the Village of Oak Lawn fired her because her supervisor wanted to hire someone younger is suing the village for age discrimination. Diane Cipolla filed an age discrimination complaint in Cook County Circuit Court on Feb. 14. Cipolla is seeking $500,000 and other damages from the village. According to the complaint, Cipolla worked for the village as a business regulation officer in the Finance Department from 1996 to 2008. She was the oldest employee in her department and one of the oldest employees working for the village. The complaint says Cipolla had a good work record and received “excellent performance reviews.” She was just days away from her 60th birthday when she was terminated on April 23, 2008 for “budgetary …

•  2 Comments
• Photos (1)

Anti-Black Rental Bias Costs Orland Park Landowner $35,000

A housing discrimination lawsuit was settled Wednesday between the landowner, would-be tenants and the U.S. Justice Department. Orland Park man refused to rent to blacks.

An Orland Park property owner agreed to pay $35,000 in damages, among other penalties, after he was sued for refusing to rent a house to a black man. Two lawsuits were filed against Terence Flanagan in 2009, both stemming from accusations that he refused to rent an Orland Park house to a black man named Kemal Majied. Majied and the South Suburban Housing Center, a Homewood-based non-profit that works to uphold fair housing practices, filed one suit. The U.S government filed a second suit, and both claimed Flanagan had violated the Fair Housing Act. As part of the settlement, Flanagan admitted to comments he made to two white women, one sent from the SSHC and the other from the U.S. Department of Justice, that he prefers to not rent to …

•  28 Comments
• Photos (1)
• Documents (2)

NotBuyingIt

3:20 pm on Monday, November 19, 2012

Unfortunately, you also sound like a bigot. The fact that you are calling Tea Partier's racists shows that you just as guilty of stereotyping that group as you have been stereotyped by others. Yes, these things Do go on everyday, and you are just as guilty as the rest. Here is the Wiki definition of "bigot": Bigotry may be based on real or perceived characteristics, including age, disability, …   more ›