By: Diane Benjamin

All newly elected officials are required by Illinois law to take Freedom Of Information Act and Open Meetings Act training. They can’t. The Illinois Attorney General’s office got hacked in April and is still mostly off line. Since it could take years to get a response to a Request for Review when government is suspected of violating either, add more time now.

This should make you feel like government has your back: https://www.illinoisattorneygeneral.gov/consumers/publicnotice/OAG_Network_Compromise_Public_Notice.pdf

What other level of government isn’t capable of preventing a ransomware attack?

Since newly elected officials can’t take the required training, below is what the Edgar County Watchdogs compiled for citizens. Both FOIA and OMA are covered.

Another article all elected officials need to read is this one: https://edgarcountywatchdogs.com/2021/05/closed-meetings-the-truth-about-what-can-be-shared-2021-edition/?fbclid=IwAR3kc0IjF2HlzpBwb2lYBOPjE7K8D8siGdD4TKt8IQlhaoPZ3ZMCy1evhbQ

This article covers Executive Sessions. Even though your representatives will be told they can’t discuss what happened behind closed doors that is not the law. There are a few reasons to keep information confidential like Real Estate transactions and personnel issues, but much doesn’t qualify. Of course we don’t know about things like the praise heaped on past City Managers because the minutes are never released.

The Attorney General’s issued a Frequently Asked Questions page: https://illinoisattorneygeneral.gov/consumers/publicnotice/OAG_Network_Compromise_FAQ_04_29_21.pdf

Kwame Raoul is at the top of law enforcement for the State of Illinois. The computers have been down since April 10th.

What does this tell you about everything the State of Illinois does on a computer?