For years, Illinois’ FOIA was weak – a toothless watchdog, all bark and no bite. With impunity, governmental officials refused to honor FOIA requests for public documents. Requesters had no recourse but to sue, and few did.
The new FOIA changed all that. With some exceptions, public records must be made available for public scrutiny.
latest bill to challenge FOIA, Senate Bill 1645, passed a Senate committee in Springfield last week after several mayors testified their offices were being swamped with FOIA requests.
One mayor even called certain requesters “vexatious.” He urged that the state legalize a slower response (21 days instead of 5) for people who file more than 15 FOIA requests a year.
Senate Bill 1645 would put unnecessary limits on FOIA and Illinois’ ongoing fumigation process. It must be defeated
No comments:
Post a Comment