ILLINOIS—A former gubernatorial candidate has filed a lawsuit against two powerful and prominent Illinois public officials because they have ignored his repeated requests for information through Illinois’ Freedom of Information Act.
Adam Andrzejewski of Kankakee, who ran for governor on the Republican ticket in the 2010 Primary (having a strong showing downstate despite his loss statewide), is now a private citizen who spearheads For The Good of Illinois (FTGOI), a political action committee that has been responsible for a number of Republican victories in recent elections as well as driving out corruption entrenched within that party (Roger Eddy, John O. Jones). One of Andrzejewski’s greatest accomplishments has been the “Open The Books” campaign, which two years ago exposed the horrific situation of Illinois’ pension issue. Nine months ago FTGOI filed a Freedom of Information Act request with Comptroller Judy Baar-Topinka to open the State of Illinois checkbook for just one year. It was rejected.
FTGOI_Comptroller_Checkbook_Deny_Letter
Topinka’s office told FTGOI that it would be an “undue burden” and would take “three days” to fulfill the request. That’s crap. The law exists for a reason. Even if it WERE to take “three days,” with the staff that woman has (and that WE’RE paying for), one year of finances in a state agency that is in charge of monitoring and distributing funds throughout the state isn’t much of a bit of labor…not when the excesses in various state departments are what’s got us all in the mess we’re in anyway. A simple printout produced by a few mouse clicks (because you KNOW Topinka’s office has the latest and greatest in accounting software; this would be nothing more than a large spreadsheet) would do the trick. Yet she just didn’t want to.
So FTGOI took it to that agency that resolves FOIA denials (and which we here at Disclosure, as well as the Edgar County Watchdogs up in Paris, have often used), Illinois’ Attorney General’s Public Access office, this done eight months ago. The AG’s office opened a case, advising FTGOI that “further inquiry is warranted.” However, they went silent after about three months, with no explanation whatsoever.
So FTGOI took the same action the Edgar County Watchdogs did just a few weeks ago (and prevailed in Edgar County court, coming away with court costs and opened access to the documents they sought): FTGOI is filing suit against the two big entities, the Comptroller’s office and the Attorney General’s office. The suit simply seeks to compel the two constitutional officers to stop ignoring Illinois LAW and to produce, in electronic form, Illinois’ checkbook.
That there is such a refusal is suspect at best. When the agency that’s tasked with enforcing a LAW doesn’t go about enforcing it because it involves a fellow Illinois agency, something is very, very wrong. And we’re wondering exactly what it is. In our own experience, there’s someone on the Disclosure staff who’s supposed to be receiving a large sum of child support a month. We keep getting notices that amounts are being withheld from the one who owes. yet it’s been YEARS since any child support has come in, and then it was just a scant amount. The owing parent claims that money is being taken from his pay. So where is it going?? Baar-Topinka’s office is in charge of disbursement. Could it be that her office is receiving the funds…but sitting on them, and doling out a few hundred every few years? Where are those funds going? In a bank or certificate of deposit somewhere, earning interest for the cash-strapped state? How about the cash-strapped parent who’s owed more than $40,000??
With dedicated individuals like Andrzejewski, we may come up with answers to these and more questions. We’ll keep you apprised of how the lawsuit is proceeding. In the meantime, we encourage you to use Illinois’ FOIA law. There are things you can learn about the operations of your local units of government that would absolutely astonish you. Learn about this law and its applications…and exercise it, before you lose the right to it, because as government gets more secretive, laws like this will be among the first to be decimated. It’s up to each of us to understand how it works, and use it to its fullest potential.