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WNIJ's summary of news items around our state.

Illinois FOP President: No Good Coming From Police Private Emails Decision

Illinois Fraternal Order of Police

The Illinois Attorney General ruled earlier this month that private e-mail from Chicago police about the shooting of Laquan McDonald must be released. The president of a police organization says it brings more questions than answers about officer privacy.

Lisa Madigan said Chicago police officers must release private e-mails as requested by a CNN reporter back in January regarding the shooting death of Laquan McDonald. Chris Southwood, president of the Illinois Fraternal Order of Police, says he sees no good coming from Madigan’s opinion from a right-to-privacy standpoint.

“I understand the thought behind, well, hey, if an individual’s working and they’re talking about a work-related issue, I understand the thought that that should be reviewable,” Southwood said. “But I just don’t see how you can separate that with all the other issues, or how you can weigh that against the other right-to-privacy issues.”

Southwood asks, would this apply to other public employees? Who would search through these private e-mails and determine what’s work-related and what’s personal? And what about people who send e-mails to the officers in question?

“I guess what I’m trying to say is, you know, if it applies to all of these people -- or if it doesn’t apply to all these people -- why are we singling out police officers?” Southwood said.

Rockford police chief Daniel O’Shea says he urges his officers to only use work e-mail for work. He says he tells them to avoid using personal e-mail for work purposes to avoid a situation like the current one in Chicago.

Southwood and O'Shea say they think the opinion most likely will be appealed.