Attorney General looking into how Island Lake discussed chief move

The Illinois attorney general's office is investigating if Island Lake officials are improperly withholding documents requested under the Freedom of Information Act by the Daily Herald.

The documents sought are e-mails concerning the suspension of Interim Police Chief Anthony Sciarrone. Mayor Debbie Herrmann told village trustees via e-mail Feb. 15 she had placed Sciarrone on leave. Multiple officials confirmed the e-mail was sent to the entire six-member board.

If the office's public access counselor decides the village improperly withheld the documents from the newspaper, it can issue a binding opinion and order the village to turn over the e-mails.

The counselor could also help resolve the matter through mediation or decide no violation occurred.

The Daily Herald requested copies of Herrmann's e-mail, all electronic responses from the trustees to Herrmann about the suspension and copies of any follow-up e-mails between trustees and the mayor on the subject.

E-mails are considered public documents under the Freedom of Information Act. E-mails also fall under the Illinois Open Meetings Act, which ensures elected officials discuss government business publicly.

If a majority of a quorum of a board discusses an issue in an e-mail thread, the exchange constitutes a governmental meeting and can be a violation of state law.

The Daily Herald filed the Freedom of Information Act request Feb. 17, and the request was rejected Feb. 22. A standardized form indicated the request was denied because the requested records "relate to a public body's adjudication of employee grievances or disciplinary cases."

The notice was signed by Deputy Village Clerk Jen Gomez, who is the village's appointed FOIA officer.

However, the Island Lake village board has never been involved in Sciarrone's suspension, nor was the panel informed of it beforehand. Trustees have repeatedly asked Herrmann to explain her motives for suspending Sciarrone, and she has refused to explain herself to them or to the public.

Likewise, board members said they are unaware of any complaints about Sciarrone, other than the mayor's.

In a separate FOIA request, the Daily Herald requested copies of Sciarrone's performance reviews for 2008 and 2009, the years he served as chief. Gomez responded by saying no such documents existed.

In a telephone message last week, Herrmann told the Daily Herald she hasn't conducted a performance review for Sciarrone since she became mayor in May 2009. She didn't know if the previous mayor, Tom Hyde, conducted such reviews for Sciarrone.

In a March 3 letter, Cara Smith, the attorney general's public access counselor, informed the village "further inquiry is warranted in order for us to determine whether a violation of FOIA has occurred" regarding the request for the e-mails.

The office also will determine how to remedy the situation if a violation occurred, Smith wrote.

If the public access counselor issues a binding opinion, it must do so within 60 days of receiving the documents needed to make such a decision.

The office has requested the e-mails from the village. The village has seven days from receipt of the letter to turn over the documents.