Law needed to halt FOIA abuses

FOIA, the Freedom of Information Act, is an enhancement of governmental transparency. FOIA provides access to information, including the village budget, costs, procedures, and the like. FOIAs are legitimately used by the media.

The village of Barrington Hills has long embraced FOIA, including a sophisticated website with the majority of the village’s documents on line. I support FOIA. Unfortunately, in virtually every community, a few use this mechanism to harass the operations of the public for their own particular agenda not related to improving government efficiency, transparency or other legitimate uses.

The village recently received a rambling 65-count FOIA request — 27 pages. The FOIA includes demands for emails containing the word “shameful,” any documents about electrical outlets in the Village Hall, emails regarding a newspaper reporter, references to websites, political communications which the village does not engage in, the Cub Scouts, and the list goes on.

The village is responding in a timely fashion to all 65 counts. But FOIA responses are not free. The public pays for the substantial costs to answer such FOIA requests and comply with the expansive statute.

These kinds of requests suggest a change in the FOIA statute is needed. If our state legislators and the Attorney General’s Office were covered by the FOIA rules, changes would be made to prevent vexatious requests, protect transparency, and protect tax payers.

Robert G. Abboud

Barrington Hills village president