Teacher won't be charged
<p align="justify">The Tazewell County State's Attorney won't file criminal charges against a Delavan teacher accused of hitting a child on the head, he said Wednesday.
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<p align="justify">But the child's mom said she intends to file a civil suit immediately.
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<p align="justify">Kathy Hilst, mom of a Delavan Elementary School fifth-grader, said she saw teacher Kathleen Minick hit her daughter on her head on the last day of school. It wasn't the first time Minick has hit her child, Hilst said.
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<p align="justify">Minick claims she didn't hit the child; she said she was demonstrating a playful tap she sometimes does with the kids.
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<p align="justify">"We have determined there is insufficient evidence of any criminal intent therefore we are declining to file any criminal charges," State's Attorney Stewart Umholtz said Wednesday.
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<p align="justify">The district also did its own investigation that found Hilst's claims without merit. Minick still works at the school.
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<p align="justify">Hilst said on June 8, she went to her daughter's classroom to help her unload her desk. She had recently complained to the school about a previous incident in which her daughter said Minick hit her on the head.
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<p align="justify">Minick was not there but soon came back into the room and started yelling, Hilst said.
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<p align="justify">"She gets right up behind me and says to me 'You're right, I did hit Olivia in the head at the beginning of the year, and it was a joke.' … (Then) she put her hand on top of Olivia's head and smacked (her hand) extremely hard with the other hand," Hilst said last week.
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<p align="justify">Minick said Wednesday that she was trying to demonstrate the head tap so that Hilst could understand it was harmless.
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<p align="justify">"I put my hand on her head and I (tapped) my own hand. I showed Mrs. Hilst so she would be reassured nobody was hitting," Minick said.
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<p align="justify">Minick could have still gotten her point across without hitting her daughter, Hilst said.
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<p align="justify">Hilst wants Minick fired, and she won't give up her fight anytime soon. On Monday, she spoke in front of the Delavan School Board.
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<p align="justify">"I believe (Minick) has lost her honor and her privileges to teach these kids by stepping out of her boundaries," Hilst said Wednesday.
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<p align="justify"><font><font size="1" face="ITC Franklin Gothic Std Bk Cd">Clare Jellick can be reached at (309) 686-3112 or cjellick@pjstar.com.</font></font>
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