Illinois rolls back FOIA law; Network partners react

Late last week, Illinois Governor Pat Quinn signed legislation that Network partners say weakens the state’s Freedom of Information Act.

The Chicago Tribune reports that the bill, which goes into effect immediately, allows government bodies to charge for the costs of gathering and sending the information, and also extends the time allowed for the government to respond to “recurrent requesters,” or individuals who file more than a certain number of requests in a given week or month. The changes come less than two years after FOIA laws in Illinois were significantly strengthened.

“The changes approved by Gov. Quinn…discourage openness in government and the new law will be a disincentive to local governments to make information available online, without charging citizens,” said Whitney Woodward, policy associate with the Network partner Illinois Campaign for Political Reform.

Read Illinois Campaign for Political Reform’s press release here.

Terry Pastika of Network partner Citizen Advocacy Center said: “Less than two years after implementation, the General Assembly has passed a series of bills to erode the law, thereby eroding government accountability, transparency, and accountability. For a State that is constantly struggling to overcome an image of corruption, this is a step in the wrong direction.”

Read Citizen Advocacy Center’s press release here (PDF).