Illinois government secrecy run amok

[steven johnson]

In Illinois, getting a public record is a frustrating labyrinth of loop holes in he state freedom of information act. Illinois governmental records routinely turned over in many other states are routinely denied here.

Your government in secret
Sun 03 May 2009 08:06
By David Kidwell
Chicago Tribune

Public servants have all the tools they need to keep a grip on information that rightly belongs to the people, whether it's a police report, a principal's disciplinary file or a spending plan, a Tribune examination has found.

Since 2005, more than a thousand citizens have filed complaints about public officials in Illinois who refused requests for public records, most often by completely ignoring them.

A review of those complaints, along with dozens of interviews, reveals a culture of secrecy shrouding the machinery of your government. Public meetings are often theater, where votes are pro forma endorsements of decisions forged in e-mails and memos you will never be allowed to see.

"In my view, it is the worst state in the country when it comes to transparency and open records," said Terry Mutchler, the first-ever head of the Public Access Bureau spearheaded by Atty. Gen. Lisa Madigan.

http://mobile.chicagotribune.com/inf/infomo;JSESSIONID=91460ACFA856DD5F99D8.2186?view=top_stories_item&feed:a=chi_trib_1min&feed:c=topstories&feed:i=46670060&nopaging=1

[mopinko]

1. and choice point owns all the vital records now.

they seem to have bought them up in many states, and run the web access to them. you can still write, or go in person, and get them for the small fee ($2-3) that they have always charged. but to order them on the web is about $15.

[ColesCountyDem]

2. Oh, so true! And let's not even start talking about...

... violations of the Open Meetings Act!

:eyes:

[mopinko]

3. a very deep pit indeed

i have been to more than a few meetings that violated it.

[ColesCountyDem]

4. Down here, it's rare that they DON'T violate it in some way.

That's what happens when Republicans run things!

:eyes: