Michael Divincenzo faces eight misdemeanor charges related to reports of physical assaults at Maine West High School in Des Plaines in 2012, according to Cook County State’s Attorney Anita Alvarez.
A former varsity boys soccer coach and teacher at Maine West High School faces multiple criminal charges related to reports of bullying and hazing, Cook County State’s Attorney Anita Alvarez stated on Wednesday. Michael Divincenzo was charged with eight misdemeanor counts including three counts of battery, one count of hazing and four counts of failure to report abuse as mandated, in incidents on June 1, 2012, Aug. 31, 2012 and Sept. 26, 2012, according to court documents. Divincenzo is accused of threatening freshmen students to have the varsity players stick their thumbs up their buttocks if they did not communicate properly during a soccer drill, according to the charges. Freshmen team players were held down by varsity players against …
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A former Maine West High School soccer coach, Michael Divincenzo, faces multiple misdemeanor charges related to reports of hazing at the Des Plaines high school, the Chicago Sun-Times reported.
Michael Divincenzo, the former varsity boys soccer coach named in a bullying and hazing lawsuit filed by current and former students and their families, was charged on May 15 with multiple misdemeanor charges related to the reports of hazing incidents, the Chicago Sun-Times reported. The criminal charges are separate from the civil lawsuit, which was filed by four current and former students. Antonio Romanucci, an attorney representing the students and their families, released the following statement in response to the criminal charges filed against Divincenzo: "The fact that Coach Divincenzo has been criminally charged brings no joy to the families whose children were brutally sexually abused while educators stood idly by allowing it to…
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The attorney representing Maine West High School students in a hazing lawsuit stated a report from Maine Township High School District 207 does not address key issues.
The lawyer representing four current and former Maine West High School students and their families in a bullying and hazing lawsuit stated there were significant omissions in a report on hazing incidents in the school district. Maine Township High School District 207 hired an attorney to complete an independent investigation into hazing incidents and policies within the district, and report back to the board of education. That process concluded and D-207 released a copy of a report on the investigation and a statement about it this week. The report stated D-207 and Maine West staff responded properly and appropriately to reports of hazing in September 2012. Antonio Romanucci, the attorney representing the four students in the bullying and …
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An independent investigator hired by Maine Township High School District 207 to review hazing incidents and policies within the district reported his findings to the board of education.
An independent investigator hired by Maine Township High School District 207 to review hazing incidents and policies within the district reported that district officials responded appropriately. Sergio Acosta, an attorney at Hinshaw & Culbertson, stated that D-207 and staff at Maine West High School in Des Plaines responded properly and promptly when reports of hazing were made in September 2012, according to a statement from D-207. "The Board is pleased to learn that administrative employees at both the building and District office levels responded appropriately to the hazing allegations," D-207 stated. "The Board isalso pleased to receive Mr. Acosta’s recommendations which will be carefully considered for implementation as part of the …
Two outgoing members are saluted and five members are sworn in; the board has a new president.
The Maine Township High School District 207 board of education said goodbye to two members and hello to two new members at its Monday meeting. The board honored Edward Mueller and Eldon Burk, who both stepped down, for their service. Sean Sullivan, who had served as president, gave the oath of office to Mary Childers, Jin Lee, Eric Leys, Margaret McGrath and Carla Owen. Leys and McGrath were re-elected on the April 9 ballot, and Childers and Lee were elected for the first time. Carla Owen had been appointed to the board last year and won election on April 9. The board then elected new officers, choosing McGrath as its new president and Donna Pellar as vice president. The newly-reorganized board carried on with the rest of the meeting…
The benefit was held April 4 at the Rosewood Restaurant.
The fifth annual Maine Township High School District 207 Educational Foundation Benefit Dinner, “A Night For The Books,” was held at the Rosewood Restaurant on Tuesday, April 4, and it certainly was one. The benefit helped raise $13,000 for District 207's foundation and was attended by 163 guests. Featured was entertainment by the Maine East Chamber Choir, the Maine West Jazz Band and the Maine South Chamber Orchestra. Recognized were the many District 207 Educational Foundation grant recipients, whose innovative and engaging learning activities have been supported since the last benefit. Recent grants helped groups of Maine West students take a service trip to a Native American reservation in the Black Hills, install a wind turbine on …
Vote totals, up-to-date results and more election information.
Maine Township residents voted for Maine Township High School District 207 Board of Education members and other public officials on Tuesday. We’ll update this page with current election results and other information about what’s happening. Like Des Plaines Patch on Facebook and follow us on Twitter to keep up with the latest on the election. Related: Financial Future, Hazing Lawsuit, More from D-207 Candidates The following election results are from the Cook County Clerk’s website. Updated at 7 a.m. on April 10: D-207 Board Member, Two-Year Term, Vote for One: D-207 Board Member, Four-Year Term, Vote for Four: Updates: We'll post election updates here, on Facebook and on Twitter. Udate, 5:56 p.m. on April 9: Eldon Burk was getting ready to…
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After being plagued with Internet outages, the district will now have three Internet service portals, so that if one goes down, the others will kick in, and Internet service will continue uninterrupted at Maine East, West and South High Schools.
Maine Township District 207 High School board members okayed funds Monday to improve Internet service in the district's three high schools: Maine East, Maine South and Maine West. The improvements should address both some recent Internet outages and Internet service slowdowns. They will also set the stage for the fall semester debut of Google Chromebooks, which incoming freshmen will use to read their texts, write papers, do research and more. "For about $1,300 (more) per month, we're greatly increasing our (Internet) capacity and increasing our redundancy and reliability," said Dr. Hank Thiele, the district's chief technology officer, after the meeting. Earlier: Chromebooks plan raises concerns Because federal funding covers 49 percent…
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A lawyer defending four teens who reported sexual abuse criticizes the deal D-207 cut with Michael Divincenzo, a former high school coach. DiVincenzo continues to deny wrongdoing, but he has stopped contesting his firing.
A former Maine West High School soccer coach fired over hazing allegations has dropped his appeal of the termination and agreed to cooperate with Maine Township High School District 207 in its defense of a lawsuit. Michael Divincenzo said his decision to drop the challenge to his firing should not be construed as an admission of guilt. “I know that I have done nothing wrong and intend to vigorously contest the allegations in the pending civil case,” Divincenzo stated. “This has been a difficult decision that was made in the best interests of my family.” Current and former students sued District 207 and school officials alleging that bullying and hazing was allowed to go on for years. One of the four Maine West students suing school …
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Maine Township High School District 207 Board of Education candidates wrote about their qualifications and more in election questionnaires.
On April 9 Maine Township residents will have an opportunity to elect members of Maine Township High School District 207’s Board of Education. We asked candidates for D-207’s board about their backgrounds, qualifications, plans if elected and more in election questionnaires. Seven candidates — Eldon Burk, Mary Childers, Jin Lee, Margaret McGrath, Carla Owen, Jeffrey Spero and Sean Story — are running for the four open, four-year terms. Eric Leys is running unopposed for a two-year term. It is of interest that Edward Mueller, whose votes have earned him a reputation as a taxpayer watchdog, is retiring from the board as of this election. The board of education candidates answered the question, what would your priorities be if elected to …
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Sam
1:21 pm on Thursday, May 16, 2013
In the May 16th Suntimes, the charges were dropped against the students who were involved because their peers (victims) didn't want to press charges. So are these kids saying it wasn't as bad as they claimed? If that's the case what is the coach being charged for? Did the coach force his team to hold down other students on the team and sodomize them? They interviewed 100 people regarding the … more ›