Illinois Appellate Court
Civil Court
FOIA
Discovery
Plaintiff Association made FOIA requests for data used in study of eyewitness ID procedures used by certain police departments. Chicago and Joliet Police Departments declined to produce most information. Report of study concluded that sequential, double-blind lineup procedures resulted in overall higher rate of unknown false IDs than simultaneous lineups. Release of lineup photos, with identifying data redacted, is not unwarranted invasion of personal privacy; and production of documents from closed and open investigative files not unduly burdensome, as parties can confer to narrow request. Vital public interest in progress in problem of mistaken eyewitness identification outweighs burden of document production.