BLOOMINGTON, IL. (ECWd) –
A lawsuit was filed on September 30, 2016, naming the City of Bloomington as Defendant. The suit alleges the city is withholding nonexempt public records in violation of the Freedom Of Information Act.
Bloomington has a recent history of FOIA violations.
The records sought were part of a murder investigation in which a person was convicted and is now serving time. According to the suit, this is an effort by the FOIA requesters to establish that Jamie Snow was wrongfully convicted of murder in 2001.
The records sought include recorded investigative interviews, wiretap orders, dispatcher recordings, proof of reward money payments, photos, and leads sheets used.
In one of the denials, the city is claiming it cannot reproduce cassette tapes and redacts names/birthdates, which is simply a made-up reason to deny the request. A simple usb device to record onto a computer from cassette tape, along with free audio software could easily reproduce and redact the interviews.
Loevy and Leovy is the attorney for Plaintiff.
[gview file=”https://edgarcountywatchdogs.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/Bloomington-FOIA-Suit.pdf”]
2 Comments
tam
Posted at 14:50h, 16 OctoberLast week nationally syndicated Crime Watch Daily did an investigative piece on the Jamie Snow case. You can view the entire episode at the link below. McLean County initially agreed to interview and then backed out. http://crimewatchdaily.com/2016/10/13/jamie-snow-conviction-exoneration-project-brings-new-details-in-old-murder-case
tam
Posted at 14:46h, 16 OctoberExactly! There are numerous ways to redact audio. That is a ridiculous excuse. Why so much resistance?