Jo Daviess County, Illinois
From Sunshine Review
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Contents |
Jo Daviess County is one of 102 counties in Illinois.
[edit] Website evaluation
- Main article: Evaluation of Illinois county websites
[edit] The good
- County Board members are listed and contact information is provided.[1]
- Board meetings are posted[2], and meeting minutes are available.[3]
- Budget information is published[4], but the entire budget is not available online.
- Building and zoning information is available online.[5]
- The form for making a public records request is available for download.[6]
- Administrative officials listed under their respective departments.[7]
[edit] The bad
- County audits are not available.
- Contracts are not online.
- Local tax information is not provided.
- Does not disclose if belongs to taxpayer-funded lobbying associations.
[edit] Public records lawsuit
Nancy Segal of Galena, Illinois filed a lawsuit in September 2008 against Galena County, alleging that the county violated the Illinois Freedom of Information Act when it failed to provide her the records she requested in July 2008.
Segal requested recordings of county board meetings. The recordings were ultimately made available to Segal after a number of court hearings. In 2009, Segal is asking the county to explicitly change its policy on providing audio recordings of open meetings. In December 2007, the Jo Daviess County Board voted to prohibit distribution of the board's audio recordings of open meetings.
The Illinois Attorney General's office disagrees with the Jo Daviess policy, saying:
- "Please keep in mind that the Freedom of Information Act requires that a public body make all public records available for inspection or copying unless the record or information therein is exempt under the statute."[8]
[edit] External links
[edit] References
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State of Illinois Springfield (capital) |
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