Illinois Legislature works to roll back new FOIA laws
Contents |
[edit] Update
The Senate this past week past HB 5154 which would create an exemption for all public employee personal evaluations. The bill passed the Senate in a vote of 45-9, despite heavy criticism from the FOIA community. [1] The bill is awaiting a signature from the governor, and is just one of a few attempts made to roll back the new FOIA law which went into effect on January 1, 2010. For more information on the new law, see: Illinois governor signs bill to improve FOIA laws.
Due to the pending legislation, numerous organizations have filed requests for all past employee evaluations. these requests have met with a great deal fo resistance from offices who find the request time consuming and hassling and unions seeking to protect their members information. The Illinois Policy Institute made the requests in early May, attempting to gather the documents so as to make them publicly accessible should the bill be signed into law. Kristina Rasmussen told the press about the results, stating "Some have come back with significant cost requests, (and) others were flat out denied as (being) unduly burdensome”.[2] The Institute has already dropped their request to the Department of Corrections who assessed fees at over $10,000, with a copying fee of only $0.15 per page and the first 50 pages free. [2]
[edit] February 15, 2010
Springfield, IL The Illinois legislature has already begun repealing or modifying large aspects of the new FOIA law that went into effect January 1. Bills are already on the docket, to modify fees schedules and to protect performance evaluations of various public employees. A bill has already been passed to protect performance evaluations of teachers.[3] To read about the original law change, see: Illinois governor signs bill to improve FOIA laws, Transparency-improving bill on Illinois governor's desk
[edit] Teacher evaluations
Senate Bill 315, passed on and was signed on January 15, only 15 days after the new FOIA law went into effect. [4] The changes to the FOIA law were attached to a bill that would require stricter teacher evaluations and qualify Illinois for a $500 million dollar federal education stimulus grant. The attorney general maintained neutrality on the teacher bill, probably due to the highly charged political atmosphere surrounding the goal of obtaining the federal grant. However, Public Access Counselor Cara Smith has told the press, "We are 42 days into a new FOIA law, the sky has not fallen. Our position is that we oppose any bill that weakens FOIA" including any bill that would restrict access to performance evaluations of other public employees. [3]
[edit] Proposed bills
[edit] HB 5069
HB 5069 will eliminate many of the new laws on fees that can be charged through records, including removing the prohibition against charging for the first 50 copies, removes the cap on fees and removes the requirement to charge actual cost for duplication. It will also lift the requirement that electornic records must be delivered in the requested format. [5]
[edit] SB 3040
SB 3040 will exempt from disclosure performance evaluations of law enforcement officials.[6]
[edit] HB 5007
HB 5007 will create the Juvenile Justice Mortality Review Team within the Department of Juvenile Justice and would exempt any records created by the review team.[7]
[edit] HB 5154
HB 5154 will exempt all public employee performance evaluations from disclosure. [8]
[edit] HB 5143
HB 5143 will exempt personal information of certain "service recipients, registrants, licensees and program participants".[9]
[edit] See also
[edit] External Links
- Northwest Herald, "Senate passes FOIA changes" 3/30/2010
- State Journal Register, "FOIA overhaul already under siege by legislators"
- The Times, "With new bill, personnel evaluations would no longer be public"
- Daily Herald, "Quinn signs law keeping teacher evaluations secret"
- State Journal-Register, "Lawmakers alter FOIA rules for teachers"
- State Journal-Register, "Union rips request for state workers’ evaluations" 5/20/2010
[edit] References
 | ||||
| Report It • | The Good • | The Bad | ||
- ↑ Northwest Herald, "Senate passes FOIA changes" 3/30/2010
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 State Journal-Register, "Union rips request for state workers’ evaluations" 5/20/2010
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 State Journal Register, "FOIA overhaul already under siege by legislators"
- ↑ The Times, "With new bill, personnel evaluations would no longer be public"
- ↑ text of HB 5069
- ↑ text of SB 3040
- ↑ text of HB 5007
- ↑ text of HB 5154
- ↑ Text of HB 5143
| |||||||
