Elgin Community College: Public Relations Office Obstructs Newsgathering

Student journalists at  The Observer, the independent student newspaper at Illinois’s Elgin Community College, reported that ECC administrators have been limiting college employees’ ability to speak to the media. The paper also reported that student journalists were forced to sit in a designated press area rather than generally open seating at public meetings, limiting their ability to report on the proceedings. On July 13, 2026, FIRE’s Student Press Freedom Initiative wrote ECC, explaining the college’s restrictive policy and practices violated both student journalists’ and employees’ First Amendment rights. On July 20, ECC responded that the college had begun reviewing the relevant policies.