Haligus Road Accident

Gus Philpott
Woodstock Advocate
April 20, 2008

It was necessary to file a second Freedom of Information Act request this month to attempt to learn the current status of the investigation by the McHenry County Sheriff's Department into the October 26, 2007, fatal accident on Haligus Road involving four students from Marian Central Catholic High School.

Nearly six months have passed, and yet no charges have been filed against the driver.

When the reporting sergeant did not return a telephone call for an update, I filed another FOIA request. Six months is far too long for this to drag on. What possible reason could there be for not filing at least the very basic traffic charge(s)?

The first FOIA request resulted in a partial copy of the accident report. This month's request resulted in a same-day written response that the requested information is exempt from inspection, copying or disclosure because the "case is pending at this time."

Does anyone else think that the investigation into this accident should have been completed months ago and charges filed?