Bill would define settlements of lawsuits as public information

When the Daily Southtown was denied access to information on how many thousands of dollars the city of Harvey paid out to settle lawsuits against the city's entrenched police department, the newspaper hired media attorneys and waged a legal battle in court.

But the average taxpayer may no longer have to lawyer up.

A vote in a state committee is expected today on a bill that would clearly define settlements of lawsuits against public bodies as public information.

Sponsored by Rep. Kevin Joyce (D-Chicago), the bill seeks to open the settlements under the state's Freedom of Information Act so people can see who was involved and how much was paid out.

"I've seen enough in the south and southwest suburbs -- school boards, questionable hirings, police settlements -- and tax dollars are being spent to settle these cases, and many cases are sealed," Joyce said. "The public has a right to know about where their tax dollars are being spent and why a case had to be settled and who's wrong."

Beth Bennett, of the Illinois Press Association, the group that lobbied for the bill, said the legislation could reduce lawsuits and legal bills, providing the settlement information to taxpayers who can't afford to hire a lawyer and go to court.

"This is a citizens' issue," she said. "John Q. Citizen doesn't have the financial resources to invest to get this kind of information."

Newspaper companies -- including the Daily Southtown -- have filed suit to obtain public documents requested under the Freedom of Information Act that have not been handed over.

The Southtown sued Harvey in June to gain access to public records, after the city failed to comply with numerous freedom of information requests for documents, including a spate of lawsuit settlements.

A Cook County judge ordered the city in December to hand over any remaining records to the newspaper.

Bennett said public bodies rarely win such lawsuits.

"So what we have had to do is go to the court to enforce Freedom of Information," she said. "We shouldn't have to keep going to court to access this information."

Settlement documents revealed that Harvey's payouts ranged from $5,500 for a parking lot scuffle with a police sergeant to $257,000 for a man who claimed he was severely beaten by a posse of officers. The dollar figures include money paid to attorneys for the plaintiffs, but do not account for the tens of thousands billed for each case by outside law firms representing the city.

Harvey paid $1.5 million to several outside law firms in the first year of Kellogg's term alone. And an audit of the city's 2004-05 fiscal year said $1.96 million was spent on "claims against the city" that year -- more than 10 percent of the city's total spending from its general fund.

The bill, which already has been introduced three times, would exempt access to personal or proprietary information about parties involved in the settlement, according to the press association.

Attorney Cliff Kosoff, who has represented many municipalities against such lawsuits, said the disclosure could encourage other possible plaintiffs to refuse to settle for less.

"It kind of sets the bar for some plaintiffs, and it doesn't necessarily reflect the liability exposure," Kosoff said. "So many cases are settled for a lot of reasons other than the actual liability or whether or not a public body did something wrong."

For example, insurance companies pressure cities to settle to keep legal costs as low as possible.

The vote on House Bill 511 is scheduled for 1 p.m. today. Should it pass the House committee, it will be heard by the full House in the coming weeks, Joyce said.

He said the language of the bill has been edited again and again to try to appease opponents.

"When something goes wrong in government, the sun has to be shone on that immediately," he said. "Let's let people know right away who the parties were and how much taxpayer dollars were spent on settling this case.

"In some of the cases, they'll say, 'This was smart move -- you just saved us a lot of money.' "

Lauren FitzPatrick may be reached at
lfitzpatrick@dailysouthtown.com
or (708) 633-5964.