Sunshine Week: Huge backlog hampers Freedom of Information appeals in Illinois - News - Rockford Register Star - Rockford, IL

SPRINGFIELD — After the scandal that sent Gov. Rod Blagojevich to prison in 2012, legislators adopted a raft of reforms that included creating a referee to intervene when bureaucrats reject citizens’ requests for government records…..

The office can claim more than 80 percent of its cases closed, but the AP found that nearly 1,200 of the open cases have gone unanswered for at least two years.

The numbers concern legislators who pushed for the added layer of appeal. A Freedom of Information advocate says the delay means denial for citizens counting on prompt government information — and who believe the records are illegally being kept secret.

“The intent was to facilitate responses to the public at large seeking information,” said Sen. Kwame Raoul, a Chicago Democrat. “If you have (the appeals office) overburdened, that doesn’t carry out the spirit of the law.”

Ann Spillane, chief of staff to Democratic Attorney General Lisa Madigan, acknowledged the backlog but defended the bureau’s work: Counting disputes over the open-meetings law, 85 percent of the pleas it handles have been settled.

In 2013, the public access counselor received a monthly average of 285 appeals on FOIA and open meetings in 2013; this year, it’s 349, according to the attorney general’s office.

The appeals are not just the domain of snooping journalists or buttoned-down law firms. Four of 5 come from individual taxpayers — 2,320 of the total that are unresolved.

The bureau has 10 lawyers and is interviewing to hire as many as five more, but turnover is constant, Spillane said. And because of the budget crisis, even with a growing backlog, the attorney general will focus on preserving the budget instead of asking for more.

“It’s not our goal for anyone to wait,” Spillane said. “In a perfect world, we would turn these around, each of them, as quickly as we can, but we’re dealing with a very high volume.”…

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