Don Grady

Controversial former Northern Illinois University Police Chief Donald Grady II will receive $450,000 to end his lawsuit and any other legal issues with the university, the NIU Board of Trustees agreed today.

Grady was fired in 2013 over his department's handling of evidence in a sexual assault charge against a former officer. Grady sued the following year claiming racial discrimination and violation of his rights to due process. The lawsuit had been scheduled for a Jan. 9 court date.

A three-year-old FBI probe of Northern Illinois University is over, according to the school. But the FBI won’t confirm that. 

In March 2013, FBI agents searched NIU’s public safety building, removing boxes of records, but not revealing what they were looking for. It was believed to be focused on former police chief Don Grady and head of finance Eddie Williams.

Former Northern Illinois University Police Chief Don Grady has filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against the university's board of trustees. It comes a year after his firing. The Daily Chronicle reports the suit wants Grady to be reinstated with back pay and receive a public apology. 

The Daily Chronicle: Grady Files Civil Rights Lawsuit Against NIU

Don Grady is still fighting his dismissal as NIU's police chief. Earlier this year, the university fired Grady amid a department scandal. Top officials were accused of mishandling evidence in a rape case against a former officer.

There have been several new faces around campus this year, including a new president, athletic director, and now police chief. 

Tom Phillips will start the job Sept. 16th.  Phillips has been deputy chief with the University of Chicago Police Department.

NIU President Doug Baker made the announcement Wednesday morning.

Phillips served in the Military Police Corps between 1987 and 1995 before moving to Chicago, where he briefly served as a special investigator for the City of Chicago’s Office of the Inspector General.