Government Law
Illinois City’s Efforts to Shush Critics Unconstitutional, Federal Judge Says
Posted Dec 24, 2008, 09:28 am CST
By Martha Neil
A municipality in suburban Chicago violated the First Amendment rights of residents when it imposed greater restrictions on those who wanted to criticize the city in public protests, a federal judge has ruled.
"One of the plaintiffs, Jose Zurita of Waukegan, won his claim that Mayor Hyde did not permit him to speak during a Jan. 20, 2004 City Council meeting until Zurita apologized to a city employee for criticizing her at a rally two days earlier," reports the Waukegan News Sun.
The ruling Monday by U.S. District Judge Milton Shadur on a summary judgment motion does not finally conclude the case, which includes a number of issues that are headed to trial, the newspaper reports.
Attorney Jim Flesch, who represents Waukegan in the case, says he considers another Shadur ruling, which supported the municipality's policy of allowing residents to attend city council meetings on a first-come, first-serve basis a victory for Waukegan.
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