Sunshine Week Illinois: Links package

Links to Sunshine Week Illinois stories. Will be updated as stories are added and posted.

ILLINOIS MAINBAR:

'Champion of open government' routinely fails to respond in time

SPRINGFIELD -- Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan says she is a champion of open government. But a Springfield State Journal-Register analysis of more than two years of records requests received by Madigan's office shows that the state's highest law enforcement officer routinely answers requests for information later than the law allows. By Bruce Rushton of the State Journal-Register.

http://www.gatehousenewsservice.com/regional_news/midwest/illinois/x1126218300

WITH:

The cost of open government

Break-out box showing how much the public access office costs state taxpayers.

http://www.gatehousenewsservice.com/news/special_reports/x1379336911

No reform push from Madigan despite years of promises

SPRINGFIELD -- Six years after Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan vowed to push for FOIA reform during her first campaign for attorney general, her office refuses to say when she'll present a package to lawmakers to fix a law widely regarded as toothless and full of loopholes. By Bruce Rushton of the State Journal-Register.

http://www.gatehousenewsservice.com/news/special_reports/x513688842

Need info from comptroller? Just ask

SPRINGFIELD -- State Comptroller Dan Hynes gets tens of thousands of requests for information each year. But his staff rarely requires the curious to file written requests under the state Freedom of Information Act. By Bruce Rushton of the State Journal-Register.

http://www.gatehousenewsservice.com/news/special_reports/x1092585970

AG's office barred attorney from using FOIA as part of client's defense

SPRINGFIELD -- Defense attorney Bruce Locher says he was being a vigorous advocate for his client when he used the state Freedom of Information Act to gather evidence he hoped would persuade a judge that a Medicaid fraud case against a Macomb pediatrician was one of selective prosecution. He ended up with a court order authored by an assistant state attorney general barring him from using FOIA. By Bruce Rushton of the State Journal-Register.

http://www.gatehousenewsservice.com/news/special_reports/x1092585960

Sunshine Week Illinois: Massive FOIA request from Blagojevich volunteer raised eyebrows, but was met

SPRINGFIELD -- Attorney General Lisa Madigan doesn't always miss deadlines in responding to public-records requests. Take the case of Jacob W. Butcher, a University of Illinois student who filed a Freedom of Information Act request on Jan. 8, 2007. http://www.gatehousenewsservice.com/regional_news/midwest/illinois/x1993303059

FROM SUBURBAN LIFE PUBLICATIONS:

Part one: Suburban Life Publications sent freedom of information requests to 60 municipal governments, asking for the December 2007 electric bill for city hall. The municipalities were graded on their responses and adherence to the law.

http://www.gatehousenewsservice.com/archive/x513688999

Part two: Freedom of Information experts weigh in on how Illinois is doing on open records. This includes evaluations of some local government practices.

http://www.gatehousenewsservice.com/regional_news/midwest/illinois/x2015303788

Part three: In 1986, the federal government passed a law that required county offices of emergency management to provide, upon verbal request, a copy of the county's Community Emergency response Plan, or CERP. Each county in the coverage area was asked for their CERP. A couple of offices gave up the information without incident. One office flatly rejected the request, cited Sept. 11, and escorted the reporter off the premises.

http://www.gatehousenewsservice.com/archive/x1379337103

OTHER ILLINOIS STORIES:

Public safety cited as reason to hide phone numbers

PEORIA -- For the month of January, the cell phone bill of Tazewell County State's Attorney Stewart Umholtz totaled $49.92. But absent from the bill were the pages detailing the numbers of dialed and received phone calls as well as the time spent on each conversation. Umholtz's cell phone number and account number, though listed, were blacked out with a marker. By Frank Radosevich II of the Peoria Journal Star.

http://www.gatehousenewsservice.com/regional_news/midwest/illinois/x2015304747

Editorial: You are entitled to know what your officials are up to

No matter how long we are in the business, we are still shocked at the gall of some public officials. An editorial from the Rockford Register Star.

http://www.gatehousenewsservice.com/regional_news/midwest/illinois/x691150505