Panel suggests action to stem political corruption in Illinois

CHICAGO—At a May 13 event hosted by the McCormick Freedom Museum, Terry Pastika, executive director of the Citizen Advocacy Center, and Cindi Canary, director of the Illinois Campaign for Political Reform, both Midwest Democracy Network partner organizations, discussed the Midwest Open Government Project. The 188-page report released in March examines the weaknesses of the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and Open Meetings Act (OMA) that span a five-state region.

According to Pastika, the 14-day process to request documents under Illinois’ FOIA can often turn into a three-month process, requiring a notarized signature.

“Illinois exemptions under FOIA are a nightmare,” said Pastika.

Pastika and Dick Simpson, a former Chicago alderman and current chair of the Political Science Department at University of Illinois at Chicago, said the Illinois House of Representatives would be examining a new bill to update FOIA law, agreeing that the bill should include certain provisions.

“This is a marathon, not a sprint,” Pastika said. “It’s taken a long time to get into the situation we’re in and it will take us a long time to get out.”

Canary urged the public to engage in the corruption discussion by calling and sending letters to their legislators.

“If a legislator gets a dozen letters, they’ll think a revolution is a foot,” said Canary. “People have more power than they realize.” 

(Far left) Dave Anderson, Vice President of of Civic Programs at McCormick Foundation, greets attendes at the panel discussion Wednesday evening.

During the question and answer session, members of the Illinois State Bar Association voiced frustration with the “naiveté” they heard from the panel. They said legislators would be unfazed by phone calls and letters from the community. They argued that there needed to be a “deeper” approach to the problem.

Chicago resident Brad Harwood agreed with their frustration and said he thought the reform bills would be watered down.

“I want FOIA to have all provisions,” Hardwood said. He also said was eager to see more leadership from the nonprofit community on issues such as political corruption.

Read the Freedom Museum‘s Fanning the Flames blog post: “Take a bite out of corruption.”

For more information, visit the , the Citizen Advocacy Center and the Illinois Campaign for Political Reform.

—Kathleen Morton