Preckwinkle suggests probe into news leak of $6.45M settlement offer in Stroger Hospital death suit
Preckwinkle made the request known in a letter to Commissioner
In her letter, Preckwinkle said she was "extremely disappointed" to read about it in the newspaper.
"I am sure you are equally disappointed with this disclosure and remain open to discussing how we can further discourage such breaches of information in the future," Preckwinkle wrote in a letter to Silvestri that the Tribune has obtained.
Preckwinkle's potential leak investigation comes at a time when the news industry has been under attack, most notably by President
The controversy stems from a Tribune story first posted online
The doctor involved in the lawsuit is alleged to have been negligent in cutting Toro's artery during a pacemaker insertion and not quickly recognizing the bleed, the memo to commissioners said. The doctor also had surgical performance issues and had been placed on probation for them, the memo said.
Preckwinkle wrote Silvestri on
According to Preckwinkle, the release of "settlement authority or confidential litigation details" is "not only an unauthorized disclosure of confidential information but also likely a breach of fiduciary duty both of which are violations of the county's ethics ordinance."
She said she asked her legal counsel to consult with ethics officials to "consider undertaking a formal investigation into the alleged breach of confidentiality and fiduciary duty."
"Moreover, I respectfully request that you remind the members of the Finance Subcommittee on Litigation and any employees or officials in attendance at said meetings of the importance of maintaining the confidentiality of the Litigation Memorandum as well as the discussions that occur in closed session," Preckwinkle said. "I am sure you are equally disappointed with this disclosure and remain open to discussing how we can further discourage such breaches of information in the future."
Experts say disputes involving the unauthorized spread of information such as this one threaten the public by frightening officials and whistleblowers who would consider sharing information that's critical for citizens to know.
"Investigations like this are designed for one purpose, and that is to shut up the people who have access to this information and keep it from the public," Kirtley said.
Preckwinkle spokesman
"Whistleblowers are persons who have suspicion or knowledge of official wrongdoing," he said. "That doesn't apply here."
He said the subcommittee's discussion "was about negotiations and a possible settlement, and when settlements are reached and approved, they are made public. This issue is rooted in attorney-client privilege and is no different than such privilege in any other legal matter, whether in the public or private sectors."
Similarly, he said, "No one is threatening or attacking the press."
Though the memo to commissioners included settlement information, it also included details that otherwise might not have come to light about Toro's medical treatment.
Most settlements include clauses stating that the government doesn't admit wrongdoing. Those documents rarely provide detailed information on the case or what went wrong, and governments often fight to withhold further information.
Kirtley, the media expert, said attorney-client privilege is "abused frequently" across the country "as a way to close out the public from discussions of matters where I think there's a clear public interest."
In her opinion, it's "a matter of public interest to know about irregularities, deaths, things that go on in public hospitals."
"There's often a real lack of transparency and public accountability when we're dealing with medical" institutions, she said.
It is not clear whether the leak investigation began. Shuftan referred questions about it to the ethics department, and officials there said they couldn't comment as a matter of policy.
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