RCFP: Illinois state legislators threaten public records reform

there are more than a half-dozen proposals before the state legislature that would create new obstacles to accessing records, The State Journal-Register reported.

The amendments range from increasing the amount of money that agencies can charge for public records to "making awards of attorney's fees optional in cases in which requestors successfully sue public agencies," the story said.

One created an online database to locate buried bodies, which is exempt from public disclosure. The second, and most controversial, bars the disclosure of evaluations of teachers, administrators, and superintendents.

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