BGA Urges State Lawmakers to Protect Open Records Law

Bad ideas, unlike fine wine, don't get better with age.

And that's especially true of HB 3796, a bill that would weaken FOIA, the state's Freedom of Information Act.

It was a bad idea when it breezed through the Illinois House and Senate in May with little explanation or debate.

So a coalition that included the Better Government Association and the Illinois attorney general's office asked Gov. Quinn to veto the measure, which he did in June.

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READ MORE: BGA Backs Gov.’s FOIA Bill Veto At Press Conference

Open-government advocates urge state lawmakers not to try override.

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But here we are, on the eve of the fall veto session in Springfield, and there's a movement afoot to override the governor's veto, which means it's time to redouble our opposition so that doesn't happen because it's still a bad idea.

The bill would give government agencies more time to respond to comprehensive FOIA requests from everyday citizens, and — this is the deal breaker — charge them up to $100 per request, which effectively prices low income people out of the public records market.

That's patently unfair — they're entitled to the public documents that explain how their tax dollars are being spent and the key policy decisions that affect their lives are being made — so the bill deserves to remain comfortably interred in the cemetery of ill-advised legislation.

Even proponents of the measure acknowledge its shortcomings.

During the Illinois Municipal League's annual conference in September, Brian Day, who led the league's legal team in getting the bill passed, admitted the legislation wouldn't accomplish its objectives because its language is confusing and riddled with loopholes.

"This was not a well-written statute," Day told a ballroom filled with municipal officials during the first day of the conference. "It would have been nice to have this, but it's flawed."

The passage of the bill was also flawed from a good government standpoint.

It sailed through both legislative chambers in just six days, which is not enough time for a thorough vetting of its content, objectives and potential consequences.

That's what public hearings and due diligence are for.

Attorney General Lisa Madigan said the bill is also unnecessary. Her letter urging a Quinn veto pointed out that FOIA already includes provisions that give government officials extra time to respond to requests "that would significantly burden its operations" or submissions from serial FOIA filers.

In addition, her office has a public access team that serves as the state's official FOIA "referee," so government agencies with questions about how to negotiate FOIA disputes can utilize that service, like hundreds of citizens and journalists do every year when their requests are thwarted.

The government agencies that backed HB3796 view FOIA as a nuisance, or a distraction from the "real" work they have to do, but let's remind them the "real" work is to serve the public, and that includes the timely and inexpensive release of public information.

So here's hoping state lawmakers realize a better way to serve their constituents is to step back and take a thoughtful approach to resolving FOIA concerns, instead of voting again for a bad bill that represents a knee-jerk response to political skirmishes inside some municipalities

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UPDATED: Status Hearing on Plote Case Thursday at 1:30

UPDATE:   Judge Tobin grant a temporary restraining order effective 6:00PM Thursday—No after hours or Sunday operations

The above information is as of 11-12-2014 at 9:20AM. 

To check for an update go to:  http://www.judici.com/courts/cases/case_information.jsp?court=IL004015J&ocl=IL004015J,2014CH170,IL004015JL2014CH170D1

BGA To Governor-Elect Rauner: Let's Discuss Your Reform Plans Over Lunch

 

Dear Governor-elect Rauner,

Please join us at a Better Government Association luncheon in Springfield on Tuesday, Nov. 18, for a conversation about fiscal and ethical reform in Illinois.

I'll give you the details in a minute, but first, congratulations on your victory, after a bruising campaign that consumed a lot of energy, airtime and money, much of it your own.

It was the most expensive governor's race in Illinois history —nearly $100 million — but it turned on a simple fact: A majority of voters want a new approach to running the state, and you promised one.

Now the campaign is over, and we don't need any more sales pitches. We need solutions.

Illinois, as you know all too well, is facing daunting fiscal and ethical challenges, and taxpayers want to know how their new governor intends to work with legislative leaders on a long-term rescue plan before it gets worse.

The most pressing initial question is the future of the state income tax, which went up by a whopping 67 per cent in 2011. The increase was supposed to be temporary, and the phase out is scheduled to begin on Jan. 1.

That's good news for taxpayers, but not for a state budget that stands to lose several billion tax dollars.

Are you comfortable with that, and do you still want to eliminate the entire tax increase over the next four years, as you've indicated? If so, we need a detailed plan for dealing with the lost revenue.

Ilinois residents also deserve a broader discussion about taxes in general — what the state can realistically expect to collect each year, and how the burden should be balanced among the individuals and businesses that pay income, sales and property taxes.

In other words, what's the fairest mix for Illinois?

Those tax and revenue questions have to be answered quickly to address a serious budget shortfall, a massive stack of unpaid bills, and pension obligations that eat up increasingly more of our limited revenue each year.

And speaking of our pension crisis — it's still the worst in the country — you predict the courts will find the reforms approved by the Legislature last year unconstitutional.

If that happens, then what? The 401k-style plan you'd like to implement? Or a reworked version of the current defined benefits approach?

The point is, Illinois needs a viable "Plan B," and that requires another round of intense negotiations with the public employee unions.

The backup plan should also address the loopholes and abuses that unjustly pad the pensions of clouted public officials, draining the state's scarce resources even more, and further exacerbating the public's waning confidence in government.

Restoring that confidence will require many other reforms, and here are a few you should consider: Strengthen the Freedom of Information Act to enhance transparency; make public officials disclose more information on their ethics statements; address the conflicts that arise when part-time lawmakers have private sector jobs that intersect with government; and create a fairer and more accessible election system to encourage competition and participation.

We'd also appreciate your commitment to enacting additional reforms aimed at reducing the wrongful convictions we exposed in a 2011 investigation. That can help local governments avoid multi-million-dollar lawsuits, and reduce the incalculable human toll on those who spend years in prison for crimes they didn't commit.

And finally, for now at least, we'd like to see your long-term plan for reducing Illinois' 7,000 units of local government — that's a couple thousand more than any other state — through consolidations, mergers and reorganizations.

"Smart streamlining" is still one of our top priorities, and we welcome you to the fight.

We don't expect you to have all the answers right away, but it's time to begin the conversation, and a good way to do that is to attend our Springfield Advisory Board luncheon on the future of Illinois.

Former Governor Jim Edgar will be joining us for a question and answer session, and we'd like you to share your thoughts and ideas.

We're pretty sure you'll be in Springfield on the 18th because the fall veto session begins the following day, so drop by for an hour to begin this all-important conversation.

You invited voters in a campaign ad to throw you out in four years if you don't follow through on your promise to "shake up Springfield and bring back Illinois."

Well, four years is a long way off, so we're inviting you to start shakin' and bakin' with us on Nov. 18.

Sincerely,

Andy Shaw
President and CEO

GM ordered new switches months before recall: WSJ - Yahoo News

 

…."This is simply mind-blowing in its raw evilness," said Bob Hilliard, lead counsel for the personal injury and wrongful death plaintiffs in the Federal Multi District Litigation against General Motors.

"GM should have notified its customers immediately to take all weight off of their keychains. By the time GM actually ordered these parts, it had to have already spent months making the decision to place the order," Hilliard said in a statement….

Read the entire story by clicking on the following:  GM ordered new switches months before recall: WSJ - Yahoo News

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First-Ever Comet Landing Next Week to Be Truly Epic, Scientists Say

 

…The European Space Agency's Rosetta spacecraft is just days away from releasing its Philae lander down to the surface of Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko, and scientists working with the mission can feel the anticipation building for the Nov. 12 landing.

"We're all excited about this," Rosetta project scientist Matt Taylor said during an ESA Google+ webcast today (Nov. 7.). "You should be excited about this … My kids finally think their dad is cool because he works on Rosetta." [See images from Rosetta comet mission]….

Click on following to read the entire article:  First-Ever Comet Landing Next Week to Be Truly Epic, Scientists Say

Rauner promises return of government workers to Springfield

 

….Calling for an end to the exodus of government jobs from Springfield that began in 2003 under now-imprisoned Gov. Rod Blagojevich, Republican Gov.-elect Bruce Rauner said he and his wife, Diana, will live in the Executive Mansion.

"Diana and I are honored to make Springfield our new home," the wealthy venture capitalist told a crowd gathered at a downtown restaurant as part of a statewide fly-around to thank supporters.

Although the Winnetka businessman's pronouncement wasn't new, it carried more weight Friday in the wake of his victory Tuesday over Democratic Gov. Pat Quinn, who only stayed at the mansion when the legislature was in session.

Quinn's sparse use of the mansion, which mostly mirrored Blagojevich's behavior, rankled longtime capital city denizens, who decried the mansion's disuse and the transfer of state jobs from Springfield to the Chicago area.

A 2011 report showed that the central core of Springfield suffered a drop in population and commercial activity after more than 2,600 workers from the government and commercial sector left during the era of executive branch control by Chicago Democrats.

"We want the government headquartered here and located here again. That is one of my priorities," Rauner said.

He received his heartiest applause when he said his administration would bring state workers back to Sangamon County….

Read the entire article:  Rauner promises return of government workers to Springfield