D86's Motion for Sanctions Against Dianne Barrett Denied by Judge

DuPage County Judge Thomas Dudgeon dismissed Monday morning a District 86 motion for sanctions that would have forced board member Dianne Barrett or her lawyers to cover the district's legal costs related to a court hearing earlier this spring. 

District 86 attorneys had sought sanctions against Barrett after her lawyers from the Center for Open Government made a case during a May 15 hearing in Wheaton for board members' right to unfettered student-record access despite the fact that Dudgeon had already ruled against Barrett on that issue last year.

After looking back on the history of the case, Dudgeon said, he did not find the Barrett side's behavior disruptive enough for sanctions.

"I think [sanctions] should be used in only the most egregious of circumstances," Dudgeon said.

The judge later said, "I don't think this is conduct sufficiently egregious for sanctions."

Dudgeon has been reassigned to family court and, after ruling on the motion Monday, passes the long-fought Barrett case along to Judge Paul Fullerton, his replacement in chancery court.

Fullerton will take on a case that has a new focus and is not showing any signs that a conclusion is imminent.

By filing a third amended complaint against District 86 earlier this year, Barrett is now challenging a board policy approved in March demanding that all board members who request records not available to the public demonstrate how those records will help them fulfill their duty as a board member.

The policy in question can be read in full here on the district's website.