Shelby Co. (ECWd) –
Nicholas Banning closes out his lawsuit with the second settlement, this one from ACH, the medical provider contracted by the Sheriff’s office for inmates at the jail.
Getting a copy did not come without having to explain the obvious.
Requested Record: “A copy of the Settlement Agreement in the Nicholas Banning case and ACH, the health care provider hired by the county -# 3:21-cv-03100-CR”
Does anyone not understand that request?
State’s Attorney response: “I have already provided you with a copy of the Settlement Agreement. I do not understand what it is you are asking for below. Please be more specific”.
Be more specific?
“I am asking for the ACH agreement. That was the health care provider hired by the Sheriff. The agreement you provided was for the county. The lawsuit was settled by both ACH and the County. There are two separate agreements.”
We can only wonder why the legal counsel for the county knew nothing of the legal case against the county, let alone that the case was settled.
The first settlement with the County was for $850,000.00 as covered in this article.
Banning agreed to settle with ACH for $250,000.00, bringing his total to $1,100,000.00.
The States Attorney had advised: “I am requesting a copy of the settlement agreement and will review your request below and the applicability of Rushton once it is received.”
Why wait to review the case law until you receive the settlements? It either applies or does not. Turns out, the law firm representing the county advised her of the applicability. (email confirming applicability at this link)
“I do believe that pursuant to the Rushton v. Wexford case that this agreement is subject to FOIA.”
The case law established in the Rushton case, by the Illinois Supreme Court, makes it crystal clear that settlement agreements with contracted entities of the government are subject to our transparency laws, which is why we provide the case name in our original request.
A copy of the ACH settlement can be viewed at this link or viewed below.
We are awaiting the deposition transcripts from this case and will share those once received. It is our understanding that people were manning the jail who were not corrections officers and were operating without proper training or policies. The rest of the story to come.
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