The watchdog for theCook County Circuit Court Clerkhas been asked toprobe whether one oftheoffice’s employees improperly accessed court records and sent them to Ald. Jim Gardiner (45th Ward),who faces allegations that he has used his office to retaliate against political opponents, WTTW Newshas learned.

Gardiner did not respond to a request for comment from WTTW News.

“The Circuit Court Clerk’s Office was recently made aware of an allegation that an employee may have accessed a court document and improperly used it for a non-clerk or court related function,” according to a statement fromExecutive ClerkPatrick Hanlon. “The matter was referred to the Circuit Court Clerk’s Office of Inspector General for an investigation.”

Text messages publishedby The People’s Fabric, an anonymous blog that has targeted Gardiner with a series of articles and requests for records using the Freedom of Information Act, show that Gardiner obtained recordsshowing that 45th Ward resident James Suh had been charged withunlawful use of a weapon in 2008.

Suh said he was in possession of a “pocket knife.”

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Those text messages show that Gardiner urged a former staffer to leak those documentsafter noting that Suh had accused him of overstepping his boundaries.

The messages were sent the morning after Suh helpedorganize a protest of Gardinerfor blockingthe approval of a proposed development near Six Corners in Portage Park.Gardiner also encouraged his former aide tolocatea mug shot of Suh.

Soon after he was elected to replace former Ald. John Arena (45th Ward) in February 2019,Gardiner blocked the approval of a258-unit senior living facility. That lefta huge hole at the heart of the shopping district at Irving Park Road, Cicero Avenue and Milwaukee Avenue, angering Suh and others.

“Not very long after, in a semi-public forum, there was someone who made a veiled reference to knowing about my record,” Suh said.

Suh, the owner of Car Care Auto Spa at 3618 N. Cicero Ave., was also critical of Gardiner on Facebook.

The circuit court clerk's office declined to identify any employees who are being probed in connection with the release of Suh.

Charles Sikanich,who earns $101,000 annually as Gardiner’s wardsuperintendent,is the son of a woman whoworks in thecircuit courtclerk’s office and would have easy access toSuh’srecords.

Sikanich could not be reached for comment.

Thecircuit court clerk’s office is not required to respond to Freedom of Information Act requests.

Suhwas one of six residents to sue Gardinerin June after the alderperson blocked them fromthe Facebook page he uses in his role as an elected official.

In her first public commentsafter Gardiner’s texts were published, Mayor Lori Lightfoot said it was “never, ever acceptable”for an elected official to even suggest “that someone is going to be deprived of city services because of who they supported or didn’t support in an election.”

As first reported by Block Club Chicago, more than 20 members of the Chicago City Council signed a lettercondemning Gardiner’s text messages.

In addition, 13 members of the Cook County Democratic Party have called for Gardiner, who also serves as the 45th Ward Democratic committeeperson, to be investigated by the party’s rules committee.

Contact Heather Cherone:@HeatherCherone| (773) 569-1863 |[email protected]

Follow Paris Schutz on Twitter:@paschutz