Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan has issued a binding opinion under the state's Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) that email messages sent or received through public employees' personal email accounts may be public records subject to disclosure under FOIA if the messages pertain to public business.
…
Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan’s office resolved more than 3,330 requests from the public for help in obtaining public records and public meeting information last year.
The information was released in the Public Access Bureau’s annual report this spring. The report documents compliance statewide with the state’s Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and Open Meetings Act (OMA).
…
Sangamon County Circuit Court Judge John Madonia has sided with Gov. Bruce Rauner in a lawsuit over disclosure of the governor’s appointment calendar, refusing the newspaper’s request for legal fees.
…
JOLIET – Joliet Junior College officials and their attorneys are reviewing a decision from the Illinois Attorney General’s Office that says the college partially violated a Freedom of Information Act request submitted by The Herald-News.
…
SPRINGFIELD — The Illinois Attorney General’s Office has finally determined that the now-dissolved Ford-Iroquois Public Health Department improperly denied a Freedom of Information Act request filed nearly two years ago by the Paxton Record.
The weekly newspaper based in Paxton, Ill., filed its FOIA request with the health department that served Ford and Iroquois counties on Sept. 25, 2013, almost a year before the bi-county agency was dissolved.
…
One of my favorite TV shows in the ‘80s was the “People’s Court,” where average citizens argued small cases in front of feisty Judge Joseph Wapner. The show inspired an entire genre of quasi-real courtroom programs that continue to populate the airwaves today with the likes of Judge Judy, Judge Joe Brown, Judge Mathis and several others.
As for the “People’s Court,” I can still picture emcee Doug Llewelyn advising viewers not to take the law into their own hands. “You take ‘em to court,” he’d say.
…
From pantagraph.com: BLOOMINGTON, Illinois — The state law that makes public records accessible to people has created a burden on government staff and misses its intended goal, according to one McLean County elected official.
…
From pantagraph.com: WAPELLA — There was a time when Wapella, a town of about 552 people, was pretty well-known in the Illinois Attorney General’s office.
In 2012, the DeWitt County village was looking for guidance from the AG’s office after 408 Freedom of Information Act requests were filed by private citizens for the Village Board or the village itself. Some of the requests were denied by officials and sent to the AG’s office for a review of the rulings.
…
From The Register-Mail:
GALESBURG — The Illinois Attorney General’s office has ruled that Knox County must turn over documents detailing the settlement amounts of three sexual harassment suits levied against the county and State’s Attorney John Pepmeyer “immediately.”
However, there was no one at the County Courthouse who could make the documents available Friday, the day The Register-Mail received the ruling from the attorney general’s office.
…
From Journal-topics.com:
The Illinois Attorney General is looking into whether or not the village of Palatine violated provisions of the Open Meetings Act (OMA) by failing to provide proper notice of a Mar. 15 joint district council advisory meeting at the new police headquarters with councilmen Kollin Kozlowski (5th) and Brad Helms (6th).
…
