The following is an e-mail education activist Matt Farmer sent to Asst. Attorney General Tola Sobitan detailing his ongoing FOIA battle with Chicago Public Schools, reprinted with his permission. Weigh in with your thoughts in the comments. Ms. Tola Sobitan (asobitan@atg.state.il.us) Assistant Attorney General — Public Access Bureau 100 W. […]
Agencies can charge for the execution of FOIA requests, but a newly-proposed bill in the Michigan State House would put a cap on those costs. Proponents of the bill say exorbitant fees are prohibitive and can be used to restrict access to information. But when hearings kicked off Tuesday, some […]
Every year, the Society of Professional Journalists recognizes people and organizations that have made notable contributions to open government with a Sunshine Award. This year, three organizations were chosen, and will be honored at the SPJ President’s Installation Banquet at Excellence in Journalism 2012 on Sept. 22. Honorees are Bloomberg News, The Medill […]
According to watchdog group Judicial Watch, the Obama administration isn’t as forthcoming with FOIA requests that aren’t about beer. The agency filed a FOIA request with the Secret Service on March 29 seeking information about the taxpayer cost incurred during Malia Obama’s spring break trip to Mexico. The request was […]
Should non-residents be granted Freedom of Information Requests for state government data? An appeal challenging a Virginia law that prohibits non-Virginians from FOIAing state files is heading to the U.S. Supreme Court for reevaluation. The appeal comes from Mark J. McBurney of Rhode Island and Roger W. Hurlbert of California, […]
Last month, e-mail correspondence between scientists was ruled exempt from the Virginia Freedom of Information Act in a case that pit the right-wing American Tradition Institute against U.Va. climate scientist Michael Mann. Associate Director of the Virginia Coalition for Open Government Megan Rhyne weighs in on another recent FOIA-related standoff at […]
An hour before President Obama took to the stage for a second debate with Gov. Mitt Romney that many say he won, the Washington Examiner website published a damning Op-Ed distilling Christopher Horner’s “The Liberal War on Transparency,” which it calls “a 300-plus-page indictment on Obama’s transparency promises, particularly when it comes […]
Watchdog news collective Truthout is suing the Department of Justice over FOIA requests filed with last year with the FBI, who have yet to produce the records. Their requests center on data related to FBI monitoring of a Bay Area Occupy Wall Street group. From Truthout: Our requests sought a […]
The University of Illinois has been in the news quite a bit this year, and University officials say all that press is prompting a record number of FOIA inquiries. Officials say they’ve fulfilled a majority of the 520 information requests received through September, reviewing more than 100,000 pages of documents […]
The Electronic Frontier Foundation unveiled a new project this week that represents a big step in the right direction for free and open access to public data. The organization’s Transparency Project will include a searchable database of documents it has acquired through Freedom of Information Act requests, and easy-to-follow guides […]
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