Background
NBC Subsidiary (WMAQ-TV) LLC submitted two Freedom of Information Act requests to the Chicago Police Department concerning a 2021 hit-and-run crash investigation. CPD denied the requests on the ground that the material related to an ongoing criminal investigation, although it later produced responsive records.
The circuit court found CPD had willfully and intentionally violated FOIA in its handling of the requests. After an evidentiary hearing, it also found CPD had followed a policy of withholding records from open investigations without reviewing documents individually for releasable or redactable material. But the court denied civil penalties because it found no “dishonest purpose” under prior appellate decisions.
The Court’s Holding
The appellate court reversed. Section 11(j) requires civil penalties when a public body willfully and intentionally fails to comply with FOIA, or otherwise acts in bad faith; it does not require a separate showing of bad faith or a dishonest purpose in addition to willful and intentional noncompliance.
Declining to follow Williams v. Bruscato and Thomas v. County of Cook, the court adopted the approach of Tobias and Lucy Parsons Labs. The circuit court’s unchallenged finding that CPD acted “deliberate[ly] and by design” was sufficient to establish willful and intentional noncompliance. The case was remanded for the circuit court to determine an appropriate statutory civil penalty.
Key Takeaways
- A willful and intentional FOIA violation alone warrants civil penalties under section 11(j).
- A requester need not separately prove that the public body acted with a dishonest purpose.
- CPD’s blanket withholding practice for open investigations supported the finding of deliberate, designed noncompliance.
Why It Matters
The decision rejects a more demanding civil-penalty standard that required both intentional noncompliance and bad faith. Public bodies that deliberately withhold records in violation of FOIA may face mandatory civil penalties even absent proof of a separate dishonest motive.