Iroquois Co. (ECWd) –
The Iroquois County Public Health Department has denied our request for records a second time and now faces another Freedom of Information Act lawsuit for records the courts have ordered unsealed.
On August 16, 2022, we requested search warrants and subpoenas issued to the health department. The same day, a court order was issued to seal certain records. The requested records were in direct relation to the indictments handed down against the former director of the health department, Dee Schippert which we covered in this article.
After the indictments were made public and the court ordered one of the records unsealed we submitted another duplicate FOIA request and once again the health department denied the request, all while ignoring the fact the courts had already ordered at least one of the requested records to be unsealed as found in the court docket entry of 3/20/2024 ( “The State makes a motion to unseal the Search Warrant. The motion is allowed”)
The other record we requested is not exempt as claimed as the case law on subpenas is clear so we are not sure why they refused to provide that record. Considering a court order released one record and the other is exempt based on case law, it appears they have wilfully violated the FOI Act.
Our recent filing can be downloaded at this link or viewed below. We will update on this matter as it moves through the court system.
2024 FOIA complaint
5 Comments
Friedemann Gilde
Posted at 16:17h, 04 JuneYou two are having too much fun in only 4 days of June. Keep it up!!
MARK WALDEN
Posted at 18:53h, 04 JuneCHARGE THEM TRY THEM AND HANG’EM HIGH!
Botwott
Posted at 08:30h, 05 JuneHow Many years ago did I message about irregularities at the health department?
The County board needs to be investigated also.
They defended the health department and never audited the health department funds.
Kirk Allen & John Kraft
Posted at 09:10h, 05 JuneThe county audits normally include the health department. The county board is not in charge of the health department but rather a separate board of health appointed by the county board.
Cindy
Posted at 09:18h, 10 JuneYou are not sure why they denied your request? I know why! Because they are S-T-O-O-P-I-T! No one reads their oaths of office. No one understands what their tasks are or why they are even in an office. AND everybody thinks if they are feeling peckish about what a person says to them they can legitimately feel insulted (after all they are in charge of other people’s lives for the good of all, don’t cha know!), and they can just stamp their foot and say, “I ain’t gonna do it!”
The whole setup of a public health department is a complete joke created by miscreants to force people to “follow” their misguided and/or nefarious “rules”.
Can we all stop pretending that liars and criminals know better than the average mook on the street?