BETTER GOVERNMENT ASS'N v. Blagojevich

This case presents the question of whether the recipient of a federal grand jury subpoena, acting as a public official for the State of Illinois, has the discretion to refuse a request to disclose that subpoena, pursuant to the Illinois Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) (5 ILCS 140/1 through 11 (West 2006)). We conclude that in this case, the public official does not have such discretion.

In August 2006, defendant, Rod R. Blagojevich, in his official capacity as Governor of the State of Illinois, denied the request of plaintiffs, the Better Government Association and Dan Sprehe (collectively,…