CHICAGO – Current and former students of the Illinois Institute of Art allege the school did not notify them that it lost their accreditation.
Emmanuel Dunagan; Jessica Muscari; Robert J. Infusino and Stephanie Porreca, on behalf of themselves and a class of similarly situated persons, filed a complaint on Dec. 6 in Cook County Circuit Court against Illinois Institute of Art-Chicago LLC, Illinois Institute of Art-Schaumburg LLC, Dream Center Foundation, and others, over alleged violations of the Illinois Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Practices Act.
According to the complaint, on Jan. 20, the Illinois Institute of Art campuses lost their status as accredited institutions of higher education when control was transferred from Education Management Corp. to Dream Center Foundation.
The plaintiffs allege they were not informed the recent purchase could cause the schools to lose their accreditation, and, in direct defiance of the Higher Learning Commission's instruction, did not inform students when the loss of accreditation happened.
The plaintiffs allege the defendants made false representations repeatedly over the course of at least five months, misleading and deceiving students.
The plaintiffs request a trial by jury and have asked the court certify the class as requested, and award damages. They are represented by Daniel A. Edelman, Cathleen M. Combs and Cassandra P. Miller of Edelman, Combs, Latturner & Goodwin LLC in Chicago.
Cook County Circuit Court case number 18-CH-15216