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mmunlcations
Publication of the Forumn
on -Co!mminicatiols Law
American Bar Association
Volu ne 35, Number 1. Fal 2019
From the Chair ............................. 2
Pro Se Access Plaintiffs: Helpful,
If Imperfect, Agents for
Change ................................ . 4
Reporting on NDAs and #MeToo:
How the Press May Obtain
Standing to Challenge NDAs ...... 7
How a Failed TV Megamerger
Changed American
Broadcasting .............................. 12
Transparency and Access:
Postcards from Chicago
BY GREGORY NARON AND NATALIE SPEARS
ope springs eternal in
he Second City, as any
Cubs fan will attest. In
HApril, the city elected
a new mayor, Lori Liglitfoot. who
campaigned on a reform agenda
that included a strong commit-
ment to government tra nsparenc.
That would contrast vividly with the
prior administration, which did not
exactly cover itself in glorv on that
score. In the past few years, Mayor
Emanuel and city agencies (includ-
ing the Chicago Police Department)
have t naciously resisted requests for
information under the Illinois Free-
dona of Information Act (FOIA)'
concerning police misconduct and
other matters of public importance,
necessitating costly litigation. At the
same time, some of the city's crimi-
nal court judges have sealed coturt
records and denied access to pro-
ceedin gs in h;gh-profile cases. in
disregard of the First Amendment
and com'tion law rights of access.
On the other hand, aside from the
hopes pinned on the new Lightfoot
administration, the news media can
be buoyed by some significant and
hard-won court victories, strongly
vindicatong the transparency policy
enshrined in the Illinois FOIA. the
U.S. Constitution, and the common
law of access.
The Struggle to Enforce Freedom of
Information Law under the Emanuel
A dmifistration
During the campaign Iprow.'ed
to have the most opei, account-
able and transpareut government
that the CitY of' Chicago has
ever seen,
Rahm Emanuel
In responding to the ACLUs
questionnaire to Chicago may-
oral candidates on the subject of
transparency in goverinent, then
candidate Lori Lightfoot pulled
no punches: 'The current adminis-
tration flout'. its obligations under
FOIA in an effort to keep people
from gaiin. access to important
information about how city gov-
ernment functions and to avoid
disclosing embarrassing or harm-
ful records.' Lightfoot came with
receipts:
This happened recently with this
adminis tration and [Chicago Pub-
lic Schools (CPS)], which for months
ignored, delayed and denied requests
friom the Chicago Tribune for doc-
uments that proved instrumental
in uncovering sexual abuse in Chi-
cago public schools. CPS attempted
to thwart the Tribune's requests
even though CPS lacked any legal
basis for withholding most docu-
ment'.s The school district relented
and produced documents only after
the Tribune threatened to sue. Fortu-
natelv the '-ribune had the resources
to fight CPS' repeated attempts to
avoid its statutory obligations.
Other public bodies, like the Chi-
cago Police Department (CPD),
simply ignore FOIA requests. CPD
Contined on page 15
Grego; Naron is of counsel and N\atalie
Spcar.s is a partner at entons US LLJP
Fall 2019 El Comnmunications Lawyer 7 1](ViewImageLocal?handle=hein.journals/comlaw35&div=1&collection=&method=preview&ext=.png&size=3)
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