Transparency bill good for all

Recently the General Assembly passed a new bill to strengthen the Freedom of Information request by residents of various Illinois governments. The bill currently is waiting for Gov. Quinn's signature.

The bill put in guidelines to ensure that the requests made for government documents are fulfilled by trained officers of the government and cannot easily be dismissed. If an Illinois governmental body wants to deny a freedom of information request based on personal privacy exemptions, they must seek an exemption from the public access counselor in the Illinois attorney general's office. The bill also allows courts to impose civil penalties up to $5,000 on governmental bodies and/or officials who fail to comply with the freedom of information request. The fine will be very useful in making sure requests are fulfilled accurately due to the fact that a public official will have a hard time explaining to the public why they wasted scarce public funds in a bad economy to illegally deny a request made by a resident interested in their local governmental operations.

This is a step in the right direction to ensure transparency in all levels of Illinois government.

Kevin O'Connell

Palatine, former Palatine Township clerk