Illinois city tickets reporter for asking too many questions, in latest First Amendment dustup

By JOHN O’CONNOR
AP Political Reporter

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) — Officials in a suburban Chicago community have issued municipal citations to a local news reporter for what they say were persistent contacts with city officials seeking comment on treacherous fall flooding. The Chicago Tribune reported Friday that the tickets from Calumet City allege “interference/hampering of city employees” by Hank Sanders, a reporter for the Daily Southtown. It’s the latest of several recent First Amendment dustups between city officials and newspapers around the country. Earlier this week a publisher and reporter were arrested in Alabama. And in August, police in Kansas raided a newspaper and its publisher’s home. Calumet City is a city of 35,000 located 24 miles (39 kilometers) south of Chicago.