Judge orders emails released in Chicago Public Schools case

CHICAGO (AP) - A Cook County judge has ruled the city of Chicago must provide the Chicago Tribune with emails sought regarding the criminal investigation into and firing of a former Chicago Public School chief.

The Chicago Tribune reports (http://trib.in/2a8PEv3 ) that Judge Anna Demacopoulos ruled Tuesday regarding the newspaper's 2015 Freedom of Information Act request. The Chicago Law Department said the city would comply.

The newspaper had sought 25 email chains containing correspondence to or from Mayor Rahm Emanuel and senior aides about Barbara Byrd-Bennett. The city had withheld six emails and redacted parts of the other 19.

Byrd-Bennett pleaded guilty in October to one federal court of wire fraud. Charges alleged she helped steer more than $23 million worth of no-bid contracts to education companies in exchange for bribes and kickbacks.

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Information from: Chicago Tribune, http://www.chicagotribune.com