Rahm: Illegal recording of reporters "much ado about nothing"

On at least two occasions, city of Chicago spokespersons secretly recorded telephone conversations with the reporters without their consent. That's illegal in Illinois--but Mayor Rahm Emanuel doesn't think it's a big deal.

The Chicago Tribune has more:

Pressed on the issue, Emanuel said his priorities included children's health and education, and he repeated his view on the unauthorized recordings: "much ado about nothing."

The issue reached a public forum last week when a court filing in a wrongful death lawsuit against the city raised questions about whether a city spokeswoman had recorded Tribune reporters without their consent as they conducted a phone interview with Chicago police Superintendent Garry McCarthy in October 2011.

And in separate incidents this past September, city spokespeople twice recorded a Tribune reporter as he conducted phone interviews with a top city official involved in Emanuel's controversial speed camera program. The spokespeople acknowledged that they independently recorded the interviews without asking the reporter for consent.

Gerould Kern, senior vice president and editor of the Tribune, declined to comment Friday about the recordings. Instead, he cited the letter sent by Tribune Co. attorney Karen Flax to Patton, demanding that city officials cease recording Tribune reporters without consent. The letter also asked that the city preserve copies of all recorded conversations and turn them over to the Tribune.

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