Freedom of Information Act - Yes It Is Your Government Not Only the People at City Hall

I have had this saved on my computer and decided I wished to share with you. Written before the bill became the law in Illinois, there are several great comments about Citizen Rights to remember.
Freedom of Information law is ready for reform

Chicago Sun-Times

February 28, 2009 • Editorial • Sun-Times Editorial

Freedom of Info. Act (FOIA) (6a)

Do you like knowing how your tax dollars are spent -- or misspent?

Like the $40 million handed out each year in the City of Chicago's scandal-plagued Hired Truck Program?

Do you like knowing how your politicians are behaving -- or misbehaving?

Like how many federal investigations Rod Blagojevich was dodging when he was governor?

Much of that information, essential to a well-informed citizenry in a democracy, came to light thanks to a law you may have never heard of.

The state's Freedom of Information Act.

For years, reporters and Regular Joes alike have made use of the act to shake public information out of unwilling public officials. The law is supposed to empower anyone to get public information from local or state governments.

The idea is simple: It's your government, so it's your information.

Too often, though, government officials have treated public information like state secrets, doling it out cautiously or -- if it would make them look bad -- not at all.

And if you don't like it, buzz off.

In the case of the news stories mentioned above, which relied in part on documents from the city's Hired Truck Program and federal subpoenas of the Blagojevich administration, information that officials could have released within a few weeks --under Illinois' Freedom of Information Act -- took months to see the light of day.

That's largely because the state's law, as it stands, stinks.

Fortunately, Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan is leading an effort to revamp the law to make it much tougher, useful and relevant.

Readers should know that employees of the Sun-Times News Group, as well as other newspapers and the Illinois Press Association, took part in discussions with Madigan's office about revamping the law. And we believe the final result, while not ideal, goes a long way toward finally putting the media and ordinary people -- rather than politicians and bureaucrats -- first.

Now it's up to the state Legislature and Gov. Quinn to prove their commitment to true political reform in Illinois by making Madigan's reforms the law.

In the coming months, in this post-Blagojevich era, you will hear a lot of talk from politicians eager to jump on the bandwagon of reform.

Some desire real reform. Others love to talk it up, but quietly would prefer business as usual.

But if the Legislature can't pass these common-sense improvements in the state's woefully weak Freedom of Information Act, heaven help us as more difficult reform measures, such as campaign finance reform, are debated in the next few months.

Under the current law, the legal burden, practically speaking, is on the person requesting the information from the government, especially if they have to take the government to court.

With Madigan's reforms, the burden would switch to the government officials, who would have to prove by clear and convincing evidence in court why they denied someone public information.

The changes would remove many loopholes that government officials use in denying people information. The changes shorten the time governments have to respond to Freedom of Information Act requests and cut out a cumbersome appeals process.

For the first time, government officials who thumb their nose at the law would actually face a penalty, with fines of up to $1,000 and a possible misdemeanor charge.

What's more, in another proposal, Madigan would make it less expensive for Regular Joes to force their local governments to cough up information.

If citizens make legitimate requests and are spurned, they could go to Madigan's office to get binding decisions on the disputes, which could avoid costly court battles.

The idea behind all these changes is to force an attitude adjustment on public officials, from village clerks to state bureaucrats. When a citizen asks for this or that document, the response should never be "Get lost," but "How can I help you?"