Chicago suburb drops citations against reporter for asking too many questions

CALUMET CITY, Ill. (AP) — Officials in a suburban Chicago community have dropped municipal citations against a local news reporter for what they say were persistent contacts with city officials seeking comment on treacherous fall flooding. The reversal Monday occurred days after officials in Calumet City mailed several citations to Hank Sanders, a Daily Southtown reporter whose job includes covering the suburb. Calumet City attorney Patrick Walsh sent a Chicago Tribune lawyer a letter Monday dismissing the citations. The Southtown is owned by the Tribune’s parent company. Tribune Executive Editor Mitch Pugh says the newspaper is “glad that cooler heads prevailed.”