I Went to SQL Injection Court

Should public bodies in Illinois, like cities and school districts and sheriff’s departments, be allowed to hide information from Freedom of Information requests by keeping them in databases? That question is before the 104th Illinois General Assembly, thanks to a bill sponsored by Donald P. DeWitte, elected state senator by the wise citizens of Batavia and Elgin (motto: “The City In The Suburbs”; indeed), and prompted in part by my friend Matt Chapman. I play a very small part in this story, so I get to tell it. Background Illinois has an excellent, toothy FOIA statute. With very few exceptions, any information collected by an Illinois public body is public property. Anybody is entitled to ask for it. You can’t generally be charged for asking. Public bodies can’t really limit the number of requests you make. They get just 5 days to respond, with 5 additional extension days if requested in writing. Improper denials can get you legal fee recovery if you sue over them, so there are l ... Read full article.