East Central Reporter

Iroquois County, Illinois – A Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request for search warrants and subpoenas was submitted to the Iroquois County Public Health Department in 2022. The court sealed those records on the same day as the request. This request related to a 33-count felony indictment of the former County Health Department Director.

On March 21, 2024, another FOIA request was filed with the county after court records indicated that the search warrants were unsealed on March 20, 2024. However, the county did not respond promptly and eventually denied access to these records.

Attorneys from Loevy and Loevy in Chicago filed a FOIA lawsuit against Iroquois County. They stated: “On 5/20/2024 we filed suit on behalf of Edgar County Watchdogs against Iroquois County for refusing to release copies of search warrants and subpoenas addressed to the county’s health department within the last two years. Iroquois County issued a FOIA denial claiming that release of the records would somehow interfere with a pending law enforcement investigation without providing any evidence to support its claim.”

Seven months later, the State’s Attorney responded by providing copies of the search warrants but noted there were no subpoenas issued. Jim Divine, the Iroquois County State’s Attorney, failed to redact the judge's signature on these documents.

The attorney's understanding is that once it became clear that this FOIA case could not be won because these were public records available in a public court docket, and since the county response was not compliant with mandated timelines, they released the records.

The situation highlights issues surrounding access to public records and suggests that compliance with FOIA requests could prevent legal fees for non-compliance. "Citizens should not have to sue their government to obtain public records," emphasizing transparency in government operations.