6/27/08
The Second District of the Appellate Court of Illinois recently ruled in Stern v. Wheaton-Warrenville Community Unit School District 200, that a Superintendent’s employment contract is not per se exempt from disclosure under the Illinois Freedom of Information Act. Although a personnel file as a whole is exempt, when the file contains both information that bears on public duties and private information, a trial court must determine, through an in camera inspection, whether the requested information is exempt as a clearly unwarranted invasion of personal privacy. If so, the court must also determine whether the presence of exempt private information can be cured through redaction. The school district is pursuing an appeal of the decision.
