CARBONDALE - Southern Illinois University can't withhold public access to the employment contracts of SIU President Glenn Poshard and other officials, an Illinois appeals court ruled.

A lower court earlier sided with the school in the lawsuit, filed when SIU rejected a request under the state's Freedom of Information Act. The law requires disclosure of most public documents.

SIU argued that it had already disclosed Poshard's salary, housing allowance, pension and benefits. The university said actual contracts contain private information that should be protected and cited a 2005 appeals court ruling in a separate case.

But in its ruling Thursday, the appeals court disagreed, highlighting a sentence from the state disclosure law: "The disclosure of information that bears on the public duties of public employees and officials shall not be considered an invasion of privacy."

The Illinois Appellate Court issued the ruling in a case filed by the Anna Gazette-Democrat and The Southern Illinoisan.

SIU took its argument from a 2005 case, Copley Press Inc. v. Board of Education for Peoria School District No. 150, wherein case law stated a personnel file "can reasonably be expected to include documents such as a resume or application, an employment contract, policies signed by the employee, payroll information, emergency contact information, training records, performance evaluations and disciplinary records."

SIU hasn't decided whether to appeal the ruling to the Illinois Supreme Court, Poshard said.

"The university must decide whether or not to appeal this ruling to ultimately clarify for the public employees what constitutes the appropriate balance between the public's right to know and the privacy rights of public employees," Poshard said in a statement.

Poshard said he and university officials will decide early next week how to respond to the ruling.

Donald Craven, Illinois Press Association general counsel, said he is pleased with the ruling.

"To me, it states the obvious that employment contracts entered into by public bodies are public documents, yet most public bodies in the state apparently don't understand the law. Now, hopefully they will," Craven said.

Craven said confidential pieces of information contained in the employment contracts can be blacked out, but that shouldn't mean the whole document can be kept secret.

Craven also serves as legal counsel for The Southern Illinoisan in various matters.

Mike Lawrence, director of the Paul Simon Public Policy Institute at SIUC, said the appellate court ruling is a "victory for transparency in public institutions."

Lawrence's contract had also been included in the Gazette-Democrat's FOIA requests, and he said he was willing to turn it over anyone who asked him.

Lawrence made good on the request a few weeks ago, when he provided a copy of his contract upon the request of a Chicago Tribune reporter, he said.

Also included in the requests were the contracts of former SIU Carbondale Chancellor Walter V. Wendler and late SIU President James Walker.

Terry Mutchler, public access counselor with the Illinois Attorney General's office, said the number of schools, city councils and universities attempting to restrict employment contract information under the "personnel file" argument have grown in recent years.

"I've personally handled seven to 10 cases where we've really had to fight with public bodies to get the information," Mutchler said.

The most recent case was with Chicago State University in which officials were trying to withhold public access to travel vouchers and employment contracts, she said. The university eventually released the documents without litigation, she added.

This week's ruling with SIU, if it sticks, will be good for open government, she said. "In short, we've got a court saying you can't hide the ball from the public."

- The Southern reporter Scott Fitzgerald and The Associated Press contributed to this article.