Subject: [SocialistWorker.org] A blow to academic freedom
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View original article here:
http://socialistworker.org/2012/07/16/blow-to-academic-freedom
Statement
======== A BLOW TO ACADEMIC FREEDOM ==========================================
July 16, 2012
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An Illinois court recently dealt a serious blow to one of the country's most
pivotal legal battles for academic freedom. On June 19, Judge Randye Kogan
dismissed a defamation suit brought by Professor Loretta Capeheart to
challenge an attempt by her employer, Northeastern Illinois University
(NEIU), to silence her. Adding to the severity of the decision, Judge Kogan
may require Capeheart to pay the university's legal fees.
In a statement, the *Justice for Loretta Capeheart Campaign* [1] explains
what's at stake if the decision is allowed to stand.
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THE ADMINISTRATION of Northeastern Illinois University (NEIU) is petitioning
a Cook County Court to demand NEIU Professor Loretta Capeheart pay them
$80,000 in attorney's fees and costs.
On June 19 a Cook County judge upheld NEIU's use of the Illinois Citizens
Participation Act to claim immunity for former Vice President Melvin Terrell.
In 2008, Capeheart filed charges against Terrell for defamation of character.
The Citizens Participation Act (CPA) was developed to punish large and
wealthy institutions attempting to use courts to silence individuals who
speak out on abuses of power and other discriminatory policies. However, in
this instance the CPA has been used to perform the very opposite. Instead of
protecting Professor Capeheart's right to question administrative decisions
at a public university, the CPA has been perverted to protect the very
powerful NEIU administration and one of its leading representatives.
Harold Washington College Professor, Héctor Reyes, described the dire impact
this will have on the CPA:
>This is precisely what the Illinois Citizen Participation Act was enacted to
>prevent. Yet NEIU got the court to use the CPA to sanction this outrage. If
>this decision is left to stand, the CPA has been shred to pieces, with the
>additional damage of granting government officials a license to crush any
>citizen with impunity.
>
North Central College Professor, Steve Macek, added:
>The fees NEIU's lawyers are asking for are completely outrageous, given that
>they are only supposed to cover the CPA portion of the case. What is truly
>scandalous here is that the NEIU administration is prepared to spend $80,000
>on legal fees to silence one of its own faculty members.
>
The fees NEIU is demanding Professor Capeheart pay are well beyond her
financial means and designed to intimidate potential whistleblowers from
stepping forward at a time of widespread upheaval and scandal at NEIU.
Since 2007 NEIU has shown it will go to any lengths to punish Professor
Capeheart for challenging unethical actions of its leading personnel and
discriminatory policies. Now, NEIU is demonstrating it is prepared to abuse
its power further by destroying the CPA and gutting civil liberties.
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THE CPA is designed to protect individuals from the burden of legal costs by
placing the costs on powerful institutions if it is found that the lawsuit is
a "strategic lawsuit against public participation" (SLAPP).
Bizarrely, NEIU has succeeded in claiming that the slander perpetrated by its
vice president was "in pursuit of public participation" and that therefore
Capeheart's lawsuit in defense of her reputation "SLAPPed" the VP. Therefore,
according to NEIU, Capeheart should now be punished by being forced to pay
their institutional legal fees.
This represents an outrageous perversion of the CPA that not only immunizes
institutions wishing to publicly abuse any person pursuing public engagement,
but prevents individuals from any legal defense without great risk of
unbearable financial harm.
Professor Capeheart responded by saying:
>My world was turned upside down in February of 2007, when NEIU Vice
>President Melvin Terrell falsely stated that I was the subject of a student
>complaint of stalking. This statement robbed me of my personal security and
>dignity.
>
>But, the recent decision that my attempts to regain my dignity and security
>were frivolous attempts to silence public engagement will not only damage me
>personally, but my family and my community.
>
>NEIU has used a law meant to protect someone just like me, someone wishing
>to have an impact on governmental policy, to turn me into a villain in need
>of punishment. This punishment robs my family of its future and my community
>of its rights to engage in public debate. It is frightening politically and
>personally. At this moment, I can't seem to untangle the personal and the
>political.
>
The Justice for Professor Loretta Capeheart Campaign will continue to
organize support and solidarity to challenge the abuse of the CPA and NEIU's
petition for legal expenses. In addition, the campaign will challenge NEIU's
attempt to block an appeal of the judge's rejection of the defamation suit.
Professor Capeheart deserves justice and dignity. The outcome of her struggle
will impact public participation, academic freedom for all educators, civil
liberties, campus activism and the rights of public sector workers
nationwide.
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What you can do
Visit the Justice for Loretta Capeheart [2] website for updates on the case.
Post a link to the website on Facebook and Twitter, and send it to your
friends and coworkers. Sign the petition [3] calling for justice for Loretta.
Send e-mails, phone calls and letters to NEIU President Sharon K. Hahs,
S-Hahs@neiu.edu [4], 773-442-5400 and President Sharon K. Hahs, 5500 N. St.
Louis Avenue, Chicago, IL 60625.
Support the campaign financially. You can make a donation to the legal fund
via Paypal at the Justice for Loretta Capeheart [5] website, or by sending a
check to Thomas D. Rosenwein, Glickman, Flesch & Rosenwein, 230 W. Monroe
St., Suite 800, Chicago, IL 60606, Memo: Loretta Capeheart Defense.
Show your solidarity by passing resolutions in your union, your faculty
senate or other organization through which you can gain support. Send
messages of support to justice4loretta@gmail.com [6].
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[1] http://justice4loretta.com/
[2] http://justice4loretta.com/
[3] http://www.petitiononline.com/j4lc/petition.html
[4] mailto:S-Hahs@neiu.edu
[5] http://justice4loretta.com/
[6] mailto:justice4loretta@gmail.com
