Illinois FOIA Appeal Process Hampered By Years-long Backlog
From the Associated Press
After the scandal that sent former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich to prison, lawmakers adopted a raft of reforms that included creating a referee to intervene when bureaucrats reject citizens' requests for government records.
Five years later, the "public access counselor" in the attorney general's office has yet to respond to more than 2,800 appeals of Freedom of Information Act requests for information that a government agency deemed secret, according to an analysis of records obtained by The Associated Press.
That's about one in five of all FOIA appeals submitted to the office since the law took effect in 2010.
While it means the office can claim more than 80 percent of its cases closed, 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, while a freedom of information advocate says 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."
Read more in our daily News Update...
From the Associated Press
After the scandal that sent former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich to prison, lawmakers adopted a raft of reforms that included creating a referee to intervene when bureaucrats reject citizens' requests for government records.
Five years later, the "public access counselor" in the attorney general's office has yet to respond to more than 2,800 appeals of Freedom of Information Act requests for information that a government agency deemed secret, according to an analysis of records obtained by The Associated Press.
That's about one in five of all FOIA appeals submitted to the office since the law took effect in 2010.
While it means the office can claim more than 80 percent of its cases closed, 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, while a freedom of information advocate says 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."
Read more in our daily News Update...