November 2, 2007
At the request of Dave Bennett, Executive Director of the Illinois Press Association, IHSA Executive Director Marty Hickman met with Dave Bennett; Sue Schmitt, Publisher of the Springfield State Journal Register; and Don Craven, an attorney for the Illinois Press Association to discuss the concerns of the Illinois Press Association relative to the IHSA media policies. The meeting was held at the IHSA office in Bloomington, August 9, 2007. At the conclusion of the meeting, all parties agreed that Illinois Press Association Executive Director Dave Bennett would communicate the concerns of the Illinois Press Association in writing to IHSA Executive Director Marty Hickman and that that the dialogue would continue in an effort to address the concerns of the Illinois Press Association.
As of today, and prior to receiving yesterday’s correspondence indicating a lawsuit had been authorized by the Illinois Press Association Board, neither Dave Bennett, Sue Schmitt, nor Don Craven has conveyed any concerns to the Executive Director of the IHSA as agreed upon at the meeting August 9, 2007. Attached is a release of all written communication between the IHSA and the Illinois Press Association. IHSA Executive Director Marty Hickman commented, “We are disappointed that the Illinois Press Association did not wish to continue dialogue in this matter. We made a good faith effort to continue the discussions. It is disappointing since we all agreed that they (Dave, Sue and Don, on behalf of the Illinois Press Association) would follow up with a letter outlining their concerns.”
Link to all written correspondence between the IHSA and the Illinois Press Association.