Labs v. Chicago Police Department

Plaintiff filed a lawsuit seeking declaratory and injunctive relief as well as attorney fees and costs and civil penalties to enforce a Freedom of Information Act she filed with the defendant. Several months after the lawsuit was filed, the parties entered into an agreed order compelling the defendant to produce the records. The circuit court subsequently denied plaintiff’s petition for attorney fees and costs and civil penalties by finding that plaintiff had not met the burden of showing the defendant acted in bad faith and plaintiff appealed. The appellate court reversed and remanded, finding that the circuit court’s order was against the manifest weight of the evidence where the defendant failed to offer a sufficient explanation for the delay and failed to obtain an extension of time in which to answer. (MARTIN and LAMPKIN, concurring)