Cook County Sheriff won’t drop Craigslist suit yet

“Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart is not yet ready to drop his lawsuit against Craigslist. That’s despite the Website’s announcement that it’s taking extra steps to filter out ads for prostitution. Dart spokesperson Steve Patterson says the sheriff is “cautiously optimistic” Craigslist will follow through.

PATTERSON: We’ve heard promises from Craigslist before about changes they would make, promises to better monitor what’s going on there, and they’ve failed to live up to those promises. So, while it looks like a step in the right direction, we’re not totally comfortable just yet.”

Article:

Craigslist responds to Cook County Sheriff

The line that makes me suspect that Mr. Dart is grandstanding is this one;

“And yet, inexplicably, Sheriff Dart apparently bypassed the Illinois Attorney General’s office, and filed this complaint through a private law firm.”

Why would the sheriff use a private (more expensive, hello budget watchdogs!) law firm to file this suit unless the Attorney General refused to do so. 

Full Craigslist reponse

Craigslist prostitution lawsuit

Cook County Sheriff Thomas Dart’s lawsuit against Craigslist, wanting to shut down its escort service struck me as stupid.  Wendy Davis of MediaPost blog has a more polite but similiar take.  His lawsuit isn’t just stupid it has little chance of going anywhere.  I guess the Sheriff was looking for some headlines.