Public Officials “Censured” from Public Information
The Chicago Tribune reported it is not just difficult for citizens to get information from government bodies, but also challenging for public officials (especially if they have a minority position). Although laws make it clear that certain documentation is public record and should be made available to the public, the laws are not enforceable. Government bodies frequently avoid following the open records law and skirt many citizens and public officials, making it incredibly burdensome to get public documents or not allowing it altogether. An example reported by the Tribune aptly articulates the situation:
In Hinsdale Township High School District 86, Dianne Barrett, a school board member since 2005 who previously was president of the Clarendon Hills Park District Board, ran into trouble when she started criticizing school officials over what she called “a backdoor referendum” to pay for school improvements and an artificial turf field.
At a board meeting, she described the district’s shuffling of money from one fund to another to another with no intentions of repaying it as “money laundering.” She felt it wasn’t fair for taxpayers to see an increase in taxes but not get a say in the matter. The district spent $2,100 in legal fees to censure her for using that term.
Since then, her questions about the number of complaints filed by parents of special education students and the money spent on legal fees settling those disputes have been met with eye rolls from board members who accuse her of spreading “lies.” Her fellow board members have set new procedures that ensure the board sticks to the agenda and prevent a board member from getting documents the majority feels are unnecessary.
“They’re trying to tell me what I can say and obstructing me from getting the documents I need to perform my duties as an elected official,” Barrett said. “It’s not like I’m being a rabble-rouser, but these are public documents.”
This revealing Chicago Tribune article details many more stories like this one. On a hopeful note, a new law, Senate Bill SB0189, gives power to individuals to take legal action, and if denied wrongly, the public official may have to pay a fine of $5,000. Unfortunately, under debate is whether this law applies to FOIA requests or to all public documents.
All public documentation needs to fall under this law so transparency is enforceable and not just an empty promise by government.
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