PARK RIDGE — The University of Illinois has reached a settlement with a Chicago-area alum who made T-shirts that said "Make Illinois Great Again" on the back and have a drawing of Chief Illiniwek on the front.
The UI, which has been criticized for not doing enough to remove Chief-related merchandise since retiring the Chief in 2007, sued UI alum Ted O'Malley in March for violating its trademarks for the word "Illinois" and a copyrighted photo commissioned by the UI of the Chief holding up his arms.
"As of June 20, 2018, the parties arrived at a settlement, in principle, that will resolve this matter completely," wrote David Becker, an attorney for the UI.