News
< Birmingham, Alabama- “60 Minutes” Reporter Subpoenaed in Fraud Trial | Main | 2005 Emerging Voices Reception >
Springfield, Illinois: New Policy Could Gag Whistleblowers
January 18, 2005
PEN USA’s First Amendment Committee is concerned by a new directive prohibiting employees of the Illinois State Police from talking to news reporters. Although it was meant to “reinforce existing confidentiality rules,” we, and other critics of this policy, see it essentially as a gag order on potential whistleblowers.
Story Continued...
The directive was issued late last month by Police Director Larry Trent, after WLS-TV in Chicago reported on alleged misconduct by state troopers who guard Gov. Rod Blagojevich. The television report, which aired in November, questioned the size of Blagojevich’s security force on out-of-state trips, and revealed that workers drove state vehicles across the country to accompany the governor. The report detailed how bodyguards allowed unauthorized people to drive or ride in state vehicles, how the unit’s commander had his weapon stolen, and how a supervisor failed to report drinking on the job by the governor’s driver.
Lt. Gov. Pat Quinn and the Illinois News Broadcasters Association were quick to criticize Trent’s policy. “Since his election in 2002, Governor Blagojevich has claimed to be a champion of open government, your gag order directly contradicts the governor’s claim,” Illinois News Broadcaster Association president Steve Scott wrote in a letter to Trent.
Quinn also wrote a letter to Trent, stating, “State government should do everything possible to protect those with the fortitude to speak out about wrongdoing. The officer who informs the media about possible officer misconduct may be subject to greater discipline than someone committing the misconduct!”
PEN USA’s First Amendment Action Committee feels this new policy does not reinforce confidentiality laws, but rather, puts a gag on those who ought to speak out against the sort of misappropriations they might see on the job. We depend on whistleblowers to come forward and reveal corruption which is kept hidden inside “private” spheres. This policy explicitly denies any employee of the police department their right to speak out, and thus becomes a “gag order.” This defies First Amendment protections.
Recommended Action:
Write Police Director Larry Trent, suggesting that the new policy amounts to a gag order and should be overturned.
Police Director Larry Trent
Illinois State Police
Office of the Director
125 E. Monroe St., Room No. 103
P.O. Box 19461
Springfield, IL 62794-9461
(217)782-7263