Stern v. Wheaton-Warrenville Community Unit School District 200

SUPREME COURT CASES

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State: Illinois

Court: Supreme Court

Docket No: 107139 Rel

Case Date: 05/21/2009

Preview:Docket No. 107139.

IN THE SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS
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MARK O. STERN, Appellant, v. WHEATON-WARRENVILLE COMMUNITY UNIT SCHOOL DISTRICT 200, Appellee. Opinion filed May 21, 2009.

CHIEF JUSTICE FITZGERALD delivered the judgment of the court, with opinion. Justices Freeman, Thomas, Kilbride, Garman, Karmeier, and Burke concurred in the judgment and opinion.

OPINION The principal issue in this appeal is whether a school superintendent's employment contract is exempt from disclosure under section 7 of the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA or Act) (5 ILCS 140/7 (West 2006)). We hold that it is not exempt from disclosure, and affirm in part and vacate in part the judgment of the appellate court (384 Ill. App. 3d 615), and remand for further proceedings. BACKGROUND On January 26, 2006, plaintiff, Mark Stern, a resident of Wheaton, Illinois, submitted a FOIA request to defendant, Wheaton-

Warrenville Community Unit School District 200 (the District), requesting, inter alia, a copy of the employment contract of the District's then school superintendent, Dr. Gary Catalani. The District's records keeper, Denie Young, denied Stern's FOIA request, stating that because the contract is contained in the superintendent's personnel file, it is exempt from disclosure. Stern sought assistance from the Illinois Attorney General's office. In response, the Attorney General's Public Access Counselor sent a letter to Catalani, stating in relevant part: "Please be advised that employment contracts are public information both under the Freedom of Information Act, 5 ILCS 140, and the Illinois Constitution. The Act specifically identifies as public records, `all information in any account, voucher, or contract dealing with the receipt or expenditure of public or other funds of public bodies.' 5 ILCS 140/2(c). Access to certain kinds of public records also is guaranteed by article VIII, section 1(c) of the Illinois Constitution of 1970, which provides that `reports and records of the obligation, receipt and use of public funds of the State, units of local government and school districts are public records available for inspection by the public according to law.' " Stern thereafter renewed his FOIA request for a copy of the superintendent's employment contract. In a letter dated April 25, 2006, from the District's legal counsel, Stern's request was denied. Stern appealed that decision to the school board president, Andrew Johnson. Johnson denied the appeal. Stern again contacted the Attorney General's office. In response, the chief of the Attorney General's Public Access and Opinions Division sent a letter to the District's legal counsel, reiterating the Attorney General's position that the record sought by Stern is a "public record" that the school district is obligated to furnish under FOIA, and asking that the District reconsider Stern's requests. The District declined to do so. Thus, on November 21, 2006, Stern filed a complaint against the District in the circuit court of Du Page County seeking injunctive relief under FOIA.

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In his complaint, Stern detailed the history of his FOIA requests, the District's denials, and the Attorney General's involvement. Although adhering to his position that the employment contract must be disclosed, Stern argued in the alternative that the District waived any statutory exemption when it disclosed the employment contract to other individuals, including members of the news media. The District moved for summary judgment, arguing that no material issues of fact existed and that, pursuant to Copley Press, Inc. v. Board of Education for Peoria School District No. 150, 359 Ill. App. 3d 321 (2005), an employment contract that is found in a personnel file is per se exempt from disclosure under section 7(1)(b)(ii) of FOIA (5 ILCS 140/7(1)(b)(ii) (West 2006)). In support of its motion, the District provided an affidavit from Dr. Lori Belha, the District's Assistant Superintendent for Human Resources, in which she attests that Catalani's employment contract is part of his personnel file and physically maintained therein. In opposition to the District's summary judgment motion, Stern argued that the Copley case is inapplicable because it involved a FOIA request for disciplinary records, not an employment contract. Stern also argued that the personnel file exemption does not apply because the superintendent's employment contract "bears on [his] public duties" (5 ILCS 140/7(1)(b)(ii) (West 2006)) and must be disclosed. Stern further advanced the Attorney General's position: because the contract deals with the expenditure of public funds, disclosure is required under section 2(c)(vii) of FOIA (5 ILCS 140/2(c)(vii) (West 2006)) and article VIII, section 1, of the Illinois Constitution (Ill. Const. 1970, art. VIII,

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