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Judge won't close hearing in Islamic State case

A federal judge in Chicago has denied a prosecution request to partially close a detention hearing for a Bolingbrook man accused of seeking to provide material support to Islamic State militants in Syria.

In a Friday ruling, U.S. Magistrate Judge Susan Cox says the government didn't provide good enough reasons to forego the "the presumption of access and openness."

Authorities arrested Mohammed Hamzah Khan in early October at O'Hare International Airport. They say he was trying to board a plane on the first leg of a trip taking him to Syria.

Prosecutors wanted the hearing partially closed to protect the identity of two minors. But Cox says those concerns didn't trump the value of public access. He said open hearings engender confidence in the judicial process.

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