A McHenry County newspaper won a five-figure settlement against the sheriff's office over a Freedom of Information Act violation.
On top of a $5,000 civic penalty, Judge Thomas Meyer ruled the McHenry County Sheriff's office has to pay about $80,000 in attorneys fees for First Electronic Newspaper publisher Pete Gonigam's lawyer.
Brandy Quance is the assistant state's attorney in McHenry County who represented the sheriff's office in the case. She said the ruling was based on another disclosure of information in the report.
"A portion of this report -- the entire report did not go over, but a portion of the report had to go over is because the FOIA exemption had been waived by showing it to an outside reporter," Quance said.
Gonigam requested a full report on an internal investigation against former Undersheriff Andy Zimke, but that request was denied. Zimke was accused of telling a campaign donor that he was under investigation by the Drug Enforcement Administration.
Quance says further details of the sheriff's internal investigation on Zimke cannot be disclosed.
Quance says the judgment was stayed for 35 days, meaning the sheriff’s office will pay the fees sometime after that.