SPRINGFIELD – Illinois State Police superintendent Brendan Kelly obtained Supreme Court review of circuit and appellate court decisions that would allow applicants for firearm cards to read their own files.
On Sept. 28, the Justices allowed him to appeal a decision of Fifth District appellate judges in favor of plaintiff Kenneth Burgess.
The Fifth District affirmed Madison County Circuit Judge Christopher Threlkeld, who ordered Kelly to produce records that Burgess requested.
Threlkeld, current candidate for circuit judge, adopted an opinion of former circuit judge David Dugan in a previous case.
Dugan left Madison County to preside in U.S. district court and the plaintiff in his case, Sandra Hart, died.
In 2018, Hart asked state police for all documents relating to her applications and any legal disabilities that might have caused her to be ineligible.
State police denied the request under state law on freedom of information.
They relied on an exemption for names and information of people who applied for cards or for licenses to carry concealed weapons.
Hart retained Thomas Maag of Wood River, who sued state police.
Dugan granted summary judgment to Hart in 2019, finding the law prevented dissemination of personal information and not release of a denial.
“A contrary interpretation would yield an absurd result,” Dugan wrote.
Kelly petitioned Fifth District judges for review and after they granted it, Dugan stayed his order.
Burgess sued state police in 2020, after they revoked his card.
Maag attached Dugan’s decision as authority and Threlkeld adopted it.
Kelly appealed and Fifth District judges consolidated the cases.
Hart died and the news reached Fifth District judges after Maag filed her brief.
They struck the brief, finding Maag had no authority to file it.
They ruled for his living client, finding the exemption for names of people who applied for cards didn’t apply to Burgess.
Justice Mark Boie wrote that legislators could have used the singular term, person, but elected to use the plural term, people.
"To state that ‘people’ indicates a single individual would render the word ‘people’ meaningless," Boie wrote.
He found the exemption didn’t apply if subjects of the information consented in writing, and he found Hart and Burgess indicated consent.
He found attempting to appeal a decision without knowing its basis would cause inconvenience to the individual and state police.
He found it would be impossible for an individual to deny or demonstrate the removal of a liability that was the basis for a decision.
Attorney General Kwame Raoul represents state police.