Chicago Tribune Sues Rahm Emanuel For Using Private E-Mail Account For Official Communications

It looks like Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel and Hillary Clinton have something in common. The Chicago Tribune says Mayor Emanuel is violating the state's open records law because he uses a private e-mail account and text messages to conduct official city business and it's suing him to make those records public. The Tribune's lawsuit says its public records requests from Mayor Emanuel's office "have been met with a pattern of non-compliance, partial compliance, delay and obfuscation." It accuses Emanuel of using his private cell phone and personal e-mail account to do the public's business without scrutiny, leading to a "lack of transparency."

This is the second lawsuit The Tribune has filed against Emanuel this year. It earlier sued him for refusing to produce e-mail communications discussing a no-bid contract for the Chicago public schools that is currently the subject of an ongoing federal investigation. "We are seeking the release of public records on matters of great interest to citizens, but the city refuses to divulge them," Tribune Editor Gerould Kern said in a statement. "Regrettably, the city's denial is part of a pattern of resistance to releasing public documents covered by the Illinois Freedom of Information Act. We are compelled, therefore, to go to court for the second time in three months to force the city's compliance."

The Illinois Attorney General's Office has taken the position that written communications public officials make about public matters using their private e-mail accounts and cell phones are subject to the state's public records law. Other legal scholars disagree on whether the law extends to such communications.