Native American lawyers sue U. of I....

March 16, 2005

EXCERPT: In the first legal challenge to Chief Illiniwek, a Native American group is claiming the University of Illinois' refusal to get rid of the mascot violates the Illinois Civil Rights Act....The Illinois Native American Bar Association, in a suit filed Tuesday in Cook County Circuit Court...The suit seeks an injunction to stop the chief. Attorney Richard Hutchinson said the 30-member law group -- of which he is a member -- is an "aggrieved party'' under the Civil Rights Act because members "suffer personally and professionally from the racist policy.'' Also aggrieved are two other plaintiffs on the suit, Hutchinson said: Stephen Naranjo, a Native American student at the U. of I.'s Chicago campus, and Roger Fontana, a Cherokee and a Champaign resident.

...Tom Hardy, a U. of I. spokesman, said the university complies with all laws banning discrimination. He said the Office of Civil Rights in the U.S. Department of Education ruled in 1995 that Chief Illiniwek did not violate the federal Civil Rights Act of 1964.