DGreport.com

In a Jan. 20 editorial, the Reporter takes D99 to task for its delay in responding to a request for information by the Illinois Attorney General’s office. The letter from Assistant Attorney General Amanda Lundeen, dated Nov. 10, 2009, asked for a written response within 30 days to a complaint from the Reporter alleging that [...]

The village’s recent purchase of e-mail archiving software and the expected approval of a new telephone system that would save phone messages as e-mails promises to enhance citizen’s access to government information via FOIA requests. It also suggests that casual voice mails, informal e-mails and even Twitter and Facebook comments are as open to public [...]

The Downers Grove Reporter today published an op-ed piece in which an Illinois Press Association attorney opines about the D99 nepotism policy and recently enacted guidelines for dealing with member Deborah Boyle, who has a brother employed by the district. The attorney, Don Craven also suggests the board’s April closed session meeting was a violation [...]

From this week’s Reporter: Transparency needed for public support of education I write about your editorial, “Details of superintendent’s contract must be public” (May 13). Sen. Dan Cronin, Rep. Sandra Pihos and I recently passed legislation to require school districts to post on the Internet every detail of school administrators’ contracts, including perks like cars, [...]

Saturday May 30th I received the following letter from Board President Julia Beckman, denying my May 16th appeal of the May 14th denial of my May 5th FOIA request to inspect the verbatim minutes of the April 27th meeting of the CHSD99 School Board:

My FOIA request was denied under Section 7 (m) of the FOIA which exempts from disclosure minutes of meetings closed to the public until the Board of Education makes the minutes available to the public under section 2.06 of the Illinois Open Meetings Act. 2.06 allows for said meeting minutes to be approved, but not [...]

Transparency, or lack thereof. Last weekend I filed a Freedom of Information Request via email to CHSD99′s Board of Education regarding their Closed Session that began the April 27th School Board meeting.

See how easy it is to adapt FOIA policy when you want to (and happen to be president)? “Transparency and the rule of law will be the touchstones,” he promised, shortly before signing several new executive orders, two of which were specifically designed to increase access to government information. Read the rest here.