Furstenau, city reach settlement

A judge's signature is all that is needed for it to be over.

In a joint statement issued Wednesday afternoon, Councilman Richard Furstenau and the city announced each has signed an agreement settling a civil rights lawsuit the councilman brought against the city.

"We submitted our dismissal papers today, and we're hoping the judge will sign the order," said attorney Terrence Sheahan of the firm Freeborn & Peters, who represents the city in the case.

A court date of July 10 has been set for the case's dismissal. However, federal Judge Charles Norgle could sign the documents before then.

"I felt we didn't need to spend any more money on it," Furstenau said. "I can see where this was going to end up, and I've stopped because of it."

Furstenau said it looked like the case could end up in appellate court, which would only continue it for a longer duration of time and incur more costs to the city, "which I wasn't prepared to do."

Two years after the federal case was filed, the parties filed a joint motion to dismiss the case with prejudice, meaning no party can come back and re-file it, attorneys said. As part of the settlement, each party will pay its own legal bills.

While the city has not received the final attorney bills, so far it has incurred slightly more than $1 million in legal fees, City Manager Doug Krieger said Wednesday.

"Obviously, the lawsuit has taken up significant resources in terms of dollars as well as time," Krieger said. "We certainly look forward to putting this in the rear view mirror so we can expend our resources on a more constructive and productive endeavors."

Not what they had in mind

Furstenau and his attorney, Shawn Collins, said that while they are not happy with the outcome, given the situation, it was the best decision.

"I'm obviously disappointed with the results, but under the circumstances, this was the appropriate thing to do," Collins said. "... I respect and admire his decision."

Collins said the resolution is not what he and Furstenau had in mind at the beginning.

"Dick and I had hoped we would have had a trial in front of a judge long before now," Collins said.

He said Furstenau was hoping to prove his point quickly.

Furstenau, who has served on the City Council for a decade, was arrested after an incident Jan. 1, 2006, on Chicago Avenue near the city's downtown, at the start of the parade commemorating Naperville's 175th anniversary of incorporation. He was accused of shoving Naperville police officer Michael Hull with the back of his hand in a dispute over cars being towed near the parade route. He was acquitted of the charge in May 2007.

"I never hit a cop. I never touched a cop," Furstenau said Wednesday. "I'm a 65-year-old man whose never broken the law in more than a traffic (citation)."

Furstenau's suit, filed five months later, contends police and city officials "mounted an orchestrated campaign to jail, silence and politically destroy" him because of positions he has taken while serving on the council, including his questions about Police Department spending.

'Right thing to do'

In March, the city announced it had reached the settlement agreement with Furstenau, but in April, both sides filed motions asking Norgle to enforce different versions of the settlement agreement after a disagreement over whether council members should be barred from speaking about the case. On June 17, Norgle ordered the parties to sign a version of the agreement that does not have the gag order.

"I'm happy this is over," Sheahan said. "I'm happy the council stood on principle and had the courage to fight this because it was the right thing to do."

Furstenau said will serve the residents of the city.

"I will continue to do the job I was elected to do, and continue to do (the job) for the taxpayers," he said.