Illinois Public Access Opinion 16-006

Illinois Public Access Opinion 16‑006
First page of the binding opinion, addressed to the attorneys representing CNN and the Chicago Police Department
Date effective	August 9, 2016
Author(s)	Lisa Madigan, Illinois Attorney General
Subject	Illinois Freedom of Information Act
Purpose	Determine whether the Chicago Police Department lawfully withheld police officers' private emails regarding the murder of Laquan McDonald
Official website
Public Access Opinion 16‑006

Illinois Public Access Opinion 16‑006 is a binding opinion of the Illinois Attorney General pursuant to the state's Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). Issued in 2016 in the aftermath of the police murder of Laquan McDonald, the opinion addressed a public records request from Cable News Network (CNN) for private emails by officers of the Chicago Police Department (CPD) related to the incident. After the CPD denied CNN's request, the Attorney General's office, led by Lisa Madigan, ruled that the police officers' private emails about McDonald's murder were subject to public disclosure, even though those emails were communicated on accounts outside of the police department's email servers.

A prior appellate court decision in City of Champaign v. Madigan had established that communications about public business on personal electronic devices may be subject to disclosure. However, the scope of that decision applied only during public meetings convened by a city council or other public body, and it was unclear how it would apply to employees. In Public Access Opinion 16‑006, the Attorney General found that the police officers were acting on behalf of the police department, making their messages public records of the police department. Nonetheless, CNN never received the emails that it had requested, even after it went to court to enforce the Attorney General's opinion.