In the case of Jamal Shehadeh vs The City of Taylorville, filed in the Appellate Court of Illinois, Fifth District under the court case ID 5-22-0829, a decision was delivered on March 22, 2024. The plaintiff, Jamal Shehadeh, alleged that the defendant violated the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) by denying his request for copies of all communications between two police chiefs after January 1, 2022.
Shehadeh submitted his FOIA request to the city clerk of Taylorville on March 1, 2022. He specifically sought paper copies of all communications from and to Dwayne Wheeler and D.J. Mathon since January 1, 2022. However, on April 5, 2022, the City's FOIA officer denied his request stating that such communications are not "public records" within the statutory definition under FOIA and are exempt from disclosure.
The trial court dismissed Shehadeh's complaint with prejudice as it found his categorical request for all communications between two police chiefs on any topic unduly burdensome. The court noted that most or all of these communications would be exempt from disclosure and Shehadeh either would not or could not articulate a more focused request.
Shehadeh is seeking for judgment against The City of Taylorville for allegedly violating FOIA when it denied his request for copies of all communications between two police chiefs after January 1, 2022. He also argues that civil penalties were warranted.