Will Shorewood Cops Lose FOIA Appeal?

If the attorney general’s recent ruling on a Freedom of Information Act appeal is any indication, the Shorewood Police may not get the answer they are hoping for.

The sister of a missing St. Charles man, Stephanie McNeil, won her appeal against the DuPage County Sheriff’s Department. She claimed that Sheriff Zaruba failed to reveal public information about the case.

Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan agreed, ruling that the sheriff's office should turn over the documents.

That case involved the disappearance of John Spira who was 45 when he vanished in February 2007.

In a parallel situation, the Shorewood Police have denied the public’s right to know details about the murder of David Wolfson in 1987. Patch and all documents relevant to the 24-year-old case. 

The police provided only a nine-page report, of which nearly six pages were blacked out. The police cited exemptions to the act including use of confidential informants, that the Wolfson case remains an open investigation, and that specialized investigative techniques were used that would irreprerably damage the department if made public.

Acting Chief Aaron Klima said that the pages redacted from the report are names of people the police interviewed. He said they were confidential informants and he did not want Patch talking with them.

He further said he was acting on the advice of village counsel David Silverman. Coincidentally, the attorney is a former Shorewood police officer and happened to process the Wolfson crime scene in 1987.

When questioned, Silverman said that he cannot imagine any circumstance in which a police department should ever give a case report in an open investigation.

According to Madigan, the Spira case is one such circumstance.

Like McNeil, Patch appealed to the attorney general. Madigan’s response was to pursue an investigation of the matter. She required that the Shorewood Police turn over the case file to her.

The police responded on Aug. 24, a spokesperson from the attorney general’s office confirmed.

After Madigan’s office reviews the documents, they will request a response from Patch, the spokesperson explained. Those steps should be completed within two weeks. After that, a final decision will be made.