Stern v. Wheaton-Warrenville Community Unit School District 200

State: Illinois

Court: 2nd District Appellate

Docket No: 2-07-0424 Rel

Case Date: 08/12/2008

Preview:No. 2--07--0424 Filed: 8-12-08 ______________________________________________________________________________ IN THE APPELLATE COURT OF ILLINOIS SECOND DISTRICT ______________________________________________________________________________ MARK O. STERN, ) Appeal from the Circuit Court ) of Du Page County. Plaintiff-Appellant, ) ) v. ) No. 06--CH--2194 ) WHEATON-WARRENVILLE ) COMMUNITY UNIT SCHOOL ) DISTRICT 200, ) Honorable ) Edward R. Duncan, Jr., Defendant-Appellee. ) Judge, Presiding. ______________________________________________________________________________ Modified Upon Denial of Rehearing PRESIDING JUSTICE GILLERAN JOHNSON delivered the opinion of the court: Mark O. Stern appeals the trial court's order granting summary judgment in favor of Wheaton-Warrenville Community Unit School District 200. Stern sought to enjoin the District from denying his requests for the superintendent's employment contract under the Illinois Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) (5 ILCS 140/1 et seq. (West 2004)). This appeal presents issues of first impression in this district: whether the employment contract is exempt from disclosure under the FOIA and whether the superintendent's disclosures of his contract to third parties waive the District's claim of exemption. We determine that there are issues of material fact regarding whether any portion of the contract is exempt under the FOIA and whether any claim of exemption was waived. Thus, we reverse and remand for further proceedings.

No. 2--07--0424 I. BACKGROUND On January 26, 2006, Stern submitted a request to the District under the FOIA, seeking a copy of the District's employment contract with Gary Catalani, its superintendent. The District denied the request, stating that the contract was contained in Catalani's personnel file and that it was therefore per se exempt from disclosure under the FOIA. Stern obtained a nonbinding Attorney General opinion that the employment contract was not exempt and sent a new request for the contract. See Long v. Long, 15 Ill. App. 2d 276, 284 (1957) (opinion of the Attorney General may not be binding, but is persuasive). The District again denied the request. Stern appealed to the president of the school board, who upheld the District's determination. Stern obtained a second Attorney General opinion stating that the contract was not exempt from disclosure and that disclosure was also required under article VIII, section 1, of the Illinois Constitution (Ill. Const. 1970, art. VIII,

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