Excerpt: The Milwaukee County Board approved a $45 million settlement of the county's pension lawsuit against Mercer Tuesday, following a nearly two-hour closed-door session. The vote in favor of settling the case in mid-trial was 18-0. There was no public discussion of the settlement, but supervisors broke into applause after the vote. The Pension Board approved the settlement on an 8-0 vote shortly after supervisors acted. Members of the board exchanged hugs with some of the lawyers who handled the case following that vote. The county expects to receive about $32 million after paying its attorneys and litigation costs, officials said. The funds, by previous resolution, will go to the county's pension fund.  MORE >>