Mims v. Cook County States Attorney's Office et al
| Tiffani El Dawn Mims |
| Cook County States Attorney's Office, Lynn McCarthy, Christopher Martin and Chad Gearing Howe |
| 1:2026cv06413 |
| June 1, 2026 |
| U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois |
| Georgia N Alexakis |
| Civil Rights: Jobs |
| 28 U.S.C. ยง 1331 Federal Question |
| Plaintiff |
Docket Report
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| Filing 13 MINUTE entry before the Honorable Georgia N. Alexakis: Because Plaintiff paid the filing fee and is not proceeding in forma pauperis, she is not entitled to service at government expense, Fed. R. Civ. P. 4(c)(3), nor has she demonstrated that she cannot pay the required deposit to the U.S. Marshal. Plaintiff therefore must: (1) retain a private process server to serve Defendants; (2) employ the services of the U.S. Marshal to serve Defendants; or (3) arrange for service in another manner that comports with the Fed. R. Civ. P. 4. If Plaintiff elects to employ the services of the U.S. Marshal, she must pay a required deposit of $65.00 for service of a summons and submit a completed USM-285 service form for each Defendant to the Clerk. Payment can be made in the form of a cashier's check, certified check, corporate check, or money order made payable to "US Marshals Service" and mailed to the following address: 219 S. Dearborn Street, Ste 1168 / Attn: Civil Division / Chicago, IL 60604. Any payment to the U.S. Marshal must include the case number. For the sake of efficiency, the Court appoints the Marshal to serve Defendant, but notes that the Marshal will not take further action until the deposit has been paid and the USM-285 service forms are received. The Clerk also is directed to (1) issue a summons for service of the complaint, one for each Defendant; and (2) send Plaintiff 4 blank USM-285 (Marshals service) forms and a copy of this order.The Clerk is also directed to send a copy of this order to the U.S. Marshal. Mailed notice. (vkm, ) |
| Filing 12 SUMMONS Issued (Court Participant) as to Defendants Cook County States Attorney's Office, Chad Gearing Howe, Christopher Martin, Lynn McCarthy (axm, ) |
| Filing 11 MINUTE entry before the Honorable Georgia N. Alexakis: As reflected in the Notice of Correction #10 , the Court did not have the benefit of Plaintiff's amended motion to file the complaint under seal #9 before it directed the Clerk of Court to unseal this matter #8 . The Court has now reviewed Plaintiff's amended motion and stands by its earlier directive that the complaint be unsealed and that this matter proceed in public view. Plaintiff's amended motion #9 is therefore denied. In her motion, Plaintiff acknowledges that there is a strong presumption in favor of public access to materials that affect the disposition of federal litigation. #10 at 3 (citing United States v. Blagojevich, 662 F. Supp. 992, 1002 (N.D. Ill. 2005)). Plaintiff fails to identify any facts that overcome that presumption. "In civil litigation only trade secrets, information covered by a recognized privilege (such as the attorney-client privilege), and information required by statute to be maintained in confidence (such as the name of a minor victim of a sexual assault), is entitled to be kept secret." Baxter Int'l, Inc. v. Abbott Lab'ys, 297 F.3d 544, 546 (7th Cir. 2002); see also In re Specht, 622 F.3d 697, 701 (7th Cir. 2010) ("Documents that affect the disposition of federal litigation are presumptively open to public view, even if the litigants strongly prefer secrecy, unless a statute, rule, or privilege justifies confidentiality."). The related rule in criminal litigation, which involves different rules of procedure and additional statutory and constitutional considerations, operates differently. See, e.g., United States v. Corbitt, 879 F.2d 224, 228, 228 n.2 (7th Cir. 1989) (holding that the presumption of access does not apply to "documents which have traditionally been kept secret for important policy reasons") (quoting The Times Mirror Co. v. The Copley Press, Inc., 873 F.2d 1210, 1219 (9th Cir. 1989)). But this is a civil case, so Plaintiff must show that the information that she wishes to seal are "trade secrets, information covered by a recognized privilege, [or] information required by statute to be maintained in confidence." Baxter, 297 F.3d at 546. She has not done so. The fact that she has alleged that she has suffered or may suffer some harm from the disclosure of her complaint does not suffice, see Baxter, 297 F.3d at 547; see also id., 297 F.3d at 548 ("[Defendant] therefore may have a claim against [Plaintiff] if it can show injury [resulting from disclosure of confidential information]. But it does not have any right to keep third parties from learning what this litigation is about."). The Clerk is directed to mail this order to Plaintiff and to make a copy of this order available for the Plaintiff to pick up in person at the Clerk's office. Mailed notice. (vkm, ) |
| Filing 10 NOTICE of Correction regarding SEALED MOTION by Plaintiff Tiffani El Dawn ( Document #9 was not filed in a timely manner by the Clerk. Document was received by the Clerk on 6/10/2026 but not placed on the electronic docket for the Court until 6/17/2026.) (tg, ) |
| Filing 8 MINUTE entry before the Honorable Georgia N. Alexakis: Pursuant to the Court's 6/5/2026 minute entry #7 , the Clerk of Court is directed to unseal this matter. Initial status hearing is set for 8/24/2026 at 9:30 a.m. in person in Courtroom 1719. By 8/17/2026, the parties shall file a Joint Initial Status Report that complies with the Court's standing orders, which can be found on the Court's website. If the defendant(s) have not been served by the initial status hearing date, Plaintiff must contact the Courtroom Deputy to reschedule the status hearing and the date for filing the Joint Initial Status Report. Mailed notice. (vkm, ) (Main Document 8 replaced on 6/12/2026) (td, ). |
| Filing 7 MINUTE entry before the Honorable Georgia N. Alexakis: The Court denies Plaintiff's motion for leave to file her complaint under seal #5 . Plaintiff has not rebutted the presumption that her complaint should be filed publicly. Plaintiff has not identified any statute, rule, or privilege that justifies confidentiality. She has articulated no persuasive rationale to that end either. See In re Specht, 622 F.3d 697, 701 (7th Cir. 2010) ("Documents that affect the disposition of federal litigation are presumptively open to public view, even if the litigants strongly prefer secrecy, unless a statute, rule, or privilege justifies confidentiality."); City of Greenville, Ill. v. Syngenta Crop Prot., LLC, 764 F.3d 695, 697 (7th Cir. 2014) ("[L]itigants who enjoy publicly subsidized dispute resolution should expect public oversight."). By 6/10/2026, Plaintiff may elect to withdraw her complaint and voluntarily dismiss this matter. If Plaintiff elects to proceed with this matter, the Court will direct the Clerk to unseal the complaint. The Court sets a status hearing for 6/11/2026 for tracking purposes only. The matter will not be called and no appearance is necessary. Mailed notice. (vkm, ) (Main Document 7 replaced on 6/12/2026) (td, ). |
| Filing 6 NOTICE by Tiffani El Dawn Mims re MOTION by Plaintiff Tiffani El Dawn Mims to file complaint under seal #5 (tg, ) (Main Document 6 replaced on 6/12/2026) (td, ). |
| Filing 5 MOTION by Plaintiff Tiffani El Dawn Mims to file complaint under seal (tg, ) ( added on 6/4/2026: #1 Proposed Order) (tg, ). (Main Document 5 replaced on 6/12/2026) (td, ). (Attachment 1 replaced on 6/12/2026) (td, ). |
| Filing 3 PRO SE Appearance by Plaintiff Tiffani El Dawn Mims (tg, ) (Main Document 3 replaced on 6/12/2026) (td, ). |
| Filing 2 CIVIL Cover Sheet (tg, ) (Main Document 2 replaced on 6/12/2026) (td, ). |
| Filing 1 COMPLAINT filed by Tiffani El Dawn Mims; Jury Demand. (Attachments: #1 Received Summonses)(tg, ) (Main Document 1 replaced on 6/12/2026) (td, ). (Attachment 1 replaced on 6/12/2026) (td, ). |
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