Green v. Chicago Tribune Company

675 N.E.2d 249 (1996)

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Nature of the Case

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Facts

D staffers photographed P's son while he was undergoing emergency treatment at Cook County Hospital for a bullet wound. D never asked P's permission to photograph Calvin. Calvin died, and medical personnel moved him to a private hospital room to await the coroner. A reporter for D asked P for a statement regarding her son's death. She refused to make a statement. D staffers entered the private hospital room and took further unauthorized photographs of Calvin. While photographing Calvin, they prevented P from entering the room. When P did enter the room, D staffers listened to her statements to Calvin. D published a front-page article, about Chicago's record homicide rate. The article included the following quotes from P's statements to the just-deceased Calvin on December 31: 'I love you, Calvin. I have been telling you for the longest time about this street thing.' 'I love you, sweetheart. That is my baby. The Lord has taken him, and I don't have to worry about him anymore. I accept it.' 'They took him out of this troubled world. The boy has been troubled for a long time. Let the Lord have him.' D also published one of the unauthorized photographs taken of Calvin after he died. In a January 3, 1993, article 1, D published one of the unauthorized photographs taken of Calvin while undergoing medical treatment. P sued D for invasion of privacy. The trial court dismissed P's action, and P appealed.