Citizens/Media Can Get Public Officials’ Arrest Records

The bunny slope is right in front of where one may eat at Galena's Chestnut Mountain.

The bunny slope is right in front of where one may eat at Galena’s Chestnut Mountain.

Our family went to Galena mid-week and, besides seeing skiers on Spring Break for the first time at Chestnut Ridge, I found a press release from the Public Access Division of the Illinois Attorney General’s Office.

It was in The Gazette, a paper filed with ads for local candidates for Galena Alderman and school board candidates.

Of particular interest was a paragraph about a binding opinion which told of a newspaper seeking arrest records of a local public official.

The paper was turned down and appeal the decision of the local police department.

The reason?

It was an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy.

Here's the paragraph saying that police arrest reports of public officials must be made available under the Freedom of Information Act.

Here’s the paragraph saying that police arrest reports of public officials must be made available under the Freedom of Information Act.

The Public Access Division disagreed and issued a rare binding opinion concluding “most information in the report must be disclosed under FOIA because arrests are a matter of public record, outweighing an individual’s privacy rights,” according to the article.


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