CHICAGO (AP) — An Illinois appellate court has ruled that the College of DuPage Foundation is subject to the state’s open records law and ordered it to turn over a federal subpoena that the Chicago Tribune requested.
The Tribune reports the unanimous decision marks the first time an Illinois higher court has ruled in favor of releasing records in possession of a public college’s fundraising organization.
The ruling upholds an earlier ruling by a DuPage Circuit Court judge.
The newspaper sued the college and the foundation in April 2015 to obtain various documents after its open-records requests were refused while investigating college spending and contracts.
Sherman Neal, president of the foundation’s board of directors, released a statement noting board members are volunteers. He says the board was disappointed the court disregarded it when deciding who controls the foundation.