Teacher Let Suspect Tutor, College Says

College of Lake County officials said they have spoken with a teacher who, without following school protocol, let an Illinois power broker charged with extortion help tutor students this June in a citizenship class.

Stuart Levine, 59, of Highland Park is accused of using his positions on state boards to extort kickbacks. He has pleaded innocent. On Wednesday, Levine’s attorney mentioned the CLC tutoring to the judge at Levine’s arraignment. He also said Levine would further teach English as a Second Language this fall.

That came as news to the college.

College of Lake County spokeswoman Evelyn Schiele Thursday said Levine was supposed to only sit in and observe in a citizenship class over the summer. But the faculty member teaching the class allowed him to serve as a volunteer tutor, going against CLC’s policy.

“He should have completed the training before being selected to be a tutor,” Schiele said. “The dean has had a conversation with her (the faculty member) subsequently that the process has to be followed.”

The teacher could not be reached for comment.

Levine has signed up for a volunteer tutor training program at CLC in September. Those who complete the program could be assigned to tutor either ESL or citizenship classes but must first pass a review, CLC officials said.

Schiele said although Levine would not be barred from attending the training class, it’s a moot point.

“I think it would be very unlikely that he would be a tutor for us as long as his current difficulties remain,” she said.