Election officials in Chicago's 24th precinct attempted to bar the news media from access today, in direct violation of Election Board policy.
For some 40 minutes, a woman identifying herself as an investigator for the Chicago Board of Elections barred photographers and reporters from entering the polling place at the Spertus Institute, 610 S. Michigan Ave., where candidate Gery Chico was about to vote.
When an official at Board headquarters attempted to intervene by telephone, she again refused.
It was not until Elections Board spokesman Jim Allen called a second time that she finally relented.
But even after reporters and cameras were granted grudging access, other investigators circulated, demanding credentials and other documentation.
