State Supreme Court rules against Cook County judge's secrecy in Van Dyke case

The Illinois Supreme Court ruled Wednesday that a Cook County judge can no longer have court filings directly routed to his chambers in the controversial murder case involving Chicago Police Officer Jason Van Dyke, who shot Laquan McDonald 16 times.

Media organizations, including the Sun-Times, sued over the controversial move by Cook County Judge Vincent Gaughan.

The Supreme Court ordered that legal filings in the Van Dyke case should be filed in the clerk's office and should be sealed only if parties in the case make such a request, which is typically how such matters are handled.

The seven media organizations wanted to lift the "decorum order" issued by Gaughan that kept dozens of documents in the case out of the public eye.

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