A seven-member board created to review concealed carry applications in Illinois could be exempt from the state’s Freedom of Information Act if Gov. Pat Quinn approves a measure that recently landed on his desk. WUIS.org reports: [T]he board’s records and activities would be off-limits to the public. The board would […]
As a transparency nerd, big projects like these are a dream come true. The Illinois Policy Institute released a roundup on the public accessibility of suburban government info yesterday, and it is thorough. It’s results? Troubling, to say the least. Three governments got a perfect score: Hanover Township, Kane County, […]
…That’s the good news in the Better Government Association’s latest “Integrity Index” report. The bad news? Illinois scored a paltry 68.5 percent out of 100. Overall, not one state had an integrity index mark higher than 70 percent, and the national average was a meager 55 percent. Rhode Island had […]
WICS News in Springfield reports that an investigation from the station titled “Ready, Set, Shred” has prompted the city to change its FOIA policies. WICS’s eight-week investigation found evidence that the city destroyed documents the same day it answered a FOIA request saying those documents didn’t exist. On Wednesday, WICS […]
More FOIA problems for a non-Chicago Illinois city. This time, the village of Sparland, near Peoria, was found “in violation” of state FOIA law following a complaint from a resident whose request for meeting agendas was ignored. Village Clerk Cora Ulrich told the Journal Star: “I guess I’ve been baptized” […]
Reprinted with permission from jeasprc.org: One of the interesting things about starting a school year is to find out why students are taking “J-1” – Introduction to Journalism. The answers, to no surprise, run the gamut. “Because my friend did.” “Because my parents made me.” “Because I like to write.” […]
In the battle to continue, as the Chicago Headline Club’s motto says, “protecting the public’s right to know” it seems as though some folks think it’s up to the “big boys” to do that. Just ask Will County Circuit Judge Gerald R. Kinney. He’s the judge who is demanding that […]
The Chicago Headline Club today condemned the contempt of court charges filed against AOL Patch reporter Joe Hosey by Will County Circuit Court Judge Gerald Kinney. Kinney found Hosey in contempt for not revealing sources who provided him information related to the January stranglings of Eric Glover and Terrance Rankins. […]
The following appeared in the Chicago Sun-Times and on suntimes.com on Sept. 14. Curtis Lawrence is an associate professor of Journalism at Columbia College Chicago. Suzanne McBride is associate chair of the Journalism Department. A bad lesson in democracy from Board of Education BY CURTIS LAWRENCE AND SUZANNE MCBRIDE As […]
One of the challenges associated with presenting at a conference – journalism or otherwise – is trying to figure out how many people will attend your session. There have been times when I’ve had standing room only, and other times when I could have invited the attendees to Starbucks […]
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