Illinois treasurer gets FOIA advice in 4 days, not months

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) - Illinois Treasurer Mike Frerichs (FRAYR'-ikz) waited four days last month for Attorney General Lisa Madigan's office to declare that he should keep a taxpayer-funded report about sexual harassment allegations against his predecessor under wraps.

The Associated Press and other news organizations had been waiting 10 months for the same decision.

Madigan's office says the attorney general does not play favorites and blames the delay on a backlog.

A spokeswoman says that when Frerichs inquired, the office's public access counselor realized an opinion had been written "for some time" but not distributed.

Frerichs made a campaign promise to release the report about ex-GOP Treasurer Dan Rutherford (ROOTH'-ur-furd). Frerichs entered office on Jan. 12 to a fresh AP request for the review of allegations by an ex-employee who filed a federal lawsuit.