June 25--The Chicago Tribune sued the city of Chicago on Wednesday in a dispute over the news organization's public records request for emails from the office of Mayor Rahm Emanuel.
The complaint, filed in Cook County Circuit Court, said the Tribune sought 25 email chains that may be related to a multimillion-dollar no-bid Chicago Public Schools contract now at the center of a federal criminal investigation.
The lawsuit alleged that the city's response violated the Illinois Freedom of Information Act by withholding six of the email chains entirely and redacting portions of the remaining 19 without detailing the reason for each redaction.
According to the suit, the city defended its action by saying some of the contents of the email chains fell within several exemptions allowed under FOIA. But the Tribune questioned whether the exemptions were proper and complained that the city had made its redactions in white, leaving unclear how much text it had decided not to disclose.
The suit seeks an injunction to force the city to disclose the requested records in their entirety -- with the exception of personal telephone numbers and email addresses.
A spokesman for the city's Law Department said the city stood by its response.
"The city produced all requested, nonexempt records in response to the Tribune's FOIA request in full compliance with the law," the statement said.
asweeney@tribpub.com
