The University of Illinois is officially done with the case of Steven Salaita, the professor whose job offer there was rescinded last year. The U of I will pay out almost $900,000 to end the 14 month-long legal battle with Salaita. 

The professor whose job offer was rescinded over a series of messages about Israel on Twitter is expected to receive a lump-sum payment of $600,000, plus $275,000 in legal fees, but will not be hired by the U of I. Trustees approved the settelement 9-1 at their meeting in Chicago. The only 'no' vote came from Trustee Tim Koritz.

Since November, U of I has repeatedly denied the FOIA requests for the emails citing that producing the documents would be unduly burdensome. Salaita’s attorney Anand Swaminathan said the issue was never about burden, but rather about access.

A Champaign Circuit Court judge today has denied the University of Illinois' request to dismiss a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit filed by lawyers for Steven Salaita.