The Southern: Illinois Legislature exempts self from open records review
When Illinois lawmakers revamped the Freedom of Information Act in 2009 and created an outside appeals process for public records requests denied by state government, they made an important exception — themselves.
Records requests denied by the General Assembly are not subject to review by the attorney general’s public access counselor, the counselor’s office said in a letter this week to The Associated Press.
That exception for the Legislature means that even as Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner routinely discloses his appointment calendars in response to AP requests, the leaders of the Legislature could deny a similar AP request for their calendars and emails — with no right of appeal. Democratic Speaker Michael Madigan — who has been in that post for more than 30 years — doesn’t even keep a calendar or use email, his spokesman Steve Brown said.
WSIL: SIU president denies administration is "bloated"
An Illinois think tank that’s obtained salary information on administrators at SIU is criticizing the Carbondale campus for being “bloated.”
But Dr. Randy Dunn, SIU’s president, says the group’s analysis is wrong.
The Illinois Policy Institute, which Bruce Rauner donated to before he became governor, is calling for state-owned universities to become leaner. While going through the salary data from SIU, the institute’s Ted Dabrowski says he learned two-thirds of administrators are making more than $100,000 per year.
“While that in itself may sound high — or not — to some people, what it means is that most administrators will have pensions that exceed $2 million to $3 million, and in many cases, $4 million,” Dabrowski said in an interview Friday with News 3.
St. Louis Post Dispatch: Illinois budget stalemate leaves hospitals on the hook for medical bills
The budget stalemate in Springfield has left the state of Illinois behind in its bills to the tune of $7.4 billion. Among its creditors are area hospitals and physicians who provide care for state workers.
Until a budget is passed, the state can’t pay many of its bills. So health care providers continue to provide services and wait for payment, sometimes more than a year and a half.
A few providers are even demanding that state workers pay deductibles and copayments upfront.
Belleville News Democrat: Hey, Mike Madigan: You’ve got mail
Sunshine Week brought some interesting revelations about Illinois’ state lawmakers which may help explain some of our state’s current tribulations.
Transparency makes for good government, but Illinois was that last state to adopt an open records law. When state lawmakers did decide government should allow the public access to public records, they weren’t talking about their own records.
The Associated Press sought lead lawmakers’ e-mails and daily planners. They were denied.