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In an email late last month, the village’s attorney, Benjamin Schuster, cited the Juvenile Court Act, saying only juvenile courts can authorize the release of information about youths suspected of crimes.

Schuster’s email was in response to Patch’s request for the report of the arrest of 18-year-old James Hernandez of Brookfield in the same May 2023 incident. Hernandez was identified as a student charged with battery.

Schuster said the village was declining the request for the report because it also contains information about the juvenile.

“(T)he record must be withheld in full from individuals who do not have the authority to receive such a record unless the requester obtains permission from the Juvenile Court to obtain the record,” Schuster said.

That does not explain the village’s decision to withhold age and gender information about the person arrested on first-degree attempted murder and aggravated battery charges.

It also does not explain why the village gives hardly any details about what happened in the incident.

Patch has found examples in both Elmhurst and Western Springs where the police gave more information about crimes involving youths as suspects.

Last October, Elmhurst issued a news release about its arrest of a 17-year-old boy from Chicago in a burglary. The city gave details about the crime.

Two years ago, Western Springs released information about its charges against four 16-year-old boys who were cited on disorderly conduct charges. The boys were accused of throwing eggs out the window when they crashed into a tree.

In December, Western Springs reported the arrest of a 15-year-old boy who police said was found with a loaded .22-caliber gun at the Garden Market shopping center. He was with three other youths.

If the alleged crime had happened one village over – in La Grange – less information would have been given to the public under the village’s current practices.

In his recent email, Schuster provided a copy of an attorney general’s determination last year that the village must withhold the report on the 18-year-old Hernandez in its entirety because information on the juvenile was included, citing the Juvenile Court Act. The attorney general’s letter was in response to a complaint filed by a reporter for the Riverside-Brookfield Landmark newspaper.

Last month, Thomas Weitzel, former Riverside police chief, tweeted that the village was seeking to protect its image by keeping the information on the May 2023 incident under wraps.

In an email to Patch, Weitzel said the police can identify the gender, age and hometown of juveniles but cannot reveal their names or exact addresses.

“The high school is concerned about its reputation, and the village is avoiding getting involved, perhaps out of an abundance of caution to avoid criticism,” said Weitzel, who retired three years ago. “Some agencies are reluctant to share information because it involves juveniles. They tend to err on the side of caution, but in most cases, it’s unnecessary. It’s about being open and transparent. Being open and transparent in policing means being so at all times, not just when it’s convenient.”
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