Judge sides with Northwest Herald in libel case

WOODSTOCK – A judge on Wednesday sided with the Northwest Herald in a libel lawsuit filed in the case of a woman who was arrested and gave police her sister’s name.

That incorrect name appeared in a January 2007 issue of the Northwest Herald.

Judge Maureen P. McIntyre – in a summary judgment – dismissed the lawsuit brought by Carolene A. Eubanks, a Lake in the Hills resident, against the newspaper. Eubanks' name was published in the newspaper's police blotter Jan. 2, 2007.

Lake in the Hills police had actually arrested Eubanks’ sister, Elgin resident Barbara J. Bradshaw.

 Police subsequently learned Bradshaw’s true identity and sent a notice to the newspaper regarding the blotter item. But it arrived via e-mail at a satellite office during a holiday weekend, when the office was not staffed.

“We ran a blotter item and ran a correction,” said Don Craven, general counsel for the Illinois Press Association, who represented the Northwest Herald.

Craven added that under the law, accuracy and newsworthiness is what matters when it comes to newspapers. Lake in the Hills police had sent the newspaper the incorrect information, and the correct information arrived after office hours.

“A newspaper is a sacred conduit between government and the citizens,” Craven said. “The courts will protect newspapers even when newspapers publish false information in fulfilling that role. The information we received was newsworthy.”

 Jeannie M. Ridings, the attorney representing Eubanks, could not be reached for comment.