Will I be banned from school property? from parks? from City Council and Dorr Township meetings?
Will I have a "V" branded on the top of my head or on the front of my computer? Will I have to carry a card from the State Police and register for ten years? or, worse, for a lifetime? Or just for the 12.27 years that Social Security says I will live? Will I have to get a special license plate?
Senate Bill 1645, sponsored by Sen. Ed Maloney (pictured), D-Chicago (Alsip area?), is taking aim at people like Jane Colliins of Woodstock, Cal Skinner (www.mchenrycountyblog.com/) , Pete Gonigam (www.firstelectricnewspaper.com/) and others who use FOIA requests to pry information out of government entities that withhold information that they mostly could just release when requested. Instead, these governments force us to file an official FOIA request. If they were open and transparent in their dealings, then we wouldn't have to force them to their knees.
OK, so maybe Sen. Maloney doesn't know of us up here in McHenry County; maybe he is only after the person who filed 90 FOIA requests in one day in Alsip, Ill. Even I'll admit that's a little over the top. But I'll bet there is a problem in Alsip. Somebody is on the path to uncovering something.
According to the Northwest Herald article by Kevin Craver today, if that bill passed, I could file only up to 15 FOIA requests with the McHenry County Sheriff's Department (MCSD) within one year, or five within 30 days. After that, my requests would be deemed "vexatious", and MCSD could take 21 days to respond. And it removes my right to appeal to the Illinois Attorney General's Public Access Counselor.
Read Jane Collins' good comments in the article. She is right on the money with her comments.
Oh, and a word to Mayor Sager about his comments to Kevin: We who file FOIA requests are not trying to throw wrenches in the works. We are exercising our right to the information.
Will I have to wear a badge that identifies me as vexatious?
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