By: Diane Benjamin It was way back in November of 2013 when Judy Stearns walked out of what she called an illegal Executive Session (Secret Meeting). She filed a Request for Review with Lisa Madigan’s Public Access office – they didn’t bother doing much with the filing until Judy was long out of office. She […]
By: Diane Benjamin A few weeks ago I wrote about an Open Meeting Act violation Lisa Madigan’s Public Access office was asked to review. It was filed in 2014 against the Bloomington Election Commission and evidently lost because no ruling was made until I asked for the resolution. First they claimed the number I provided […]
By: Diane Benjamin Back in 2014 one of the guys that filed challenges to petitions for candidates in Bloomington knew the Bloomington Election Commission wasn’t following the law as required by the Open Meetings Act. Bruce Meeks filed a Request for Review with Lisa Madigan’s Public Access Office. In February 2014 the Attorney General decided […]
By: Diane Benjamin Back in June the Village of Stanford Board approved a contract to tear down a house after a presentation by a relative of two board members. The presentation and vote were not on the agenda, so that vote was illegal. See two stories: HERE On the agenda under Legal – Mark McGrath […]
I was interviewed for this story WEEKS ago, glad to see this is STATE problem. The story is published on the Better Government Association website: http://www.bettergov.org/news/illinois-foia-appeals-linger-with-no-end-in-sight Illinois FOIA Appeals Linger With No End In Sight Lengthy appeals process, non-binding decisions hamper ability to obtain records through Illinois Freedom of Information Act. After Edgar County corrections […]
By: Diane Benjamin Bloomington resident April Huber isn’t sitting by and letting Illinois Attorney General get by with not doing her job. She asked me to post this information. I would not have been forced to file a lawsuit against the City of Bloomington concerning the Coliseum if Lisa Madigan’s office had done their job. […]
By: Diane Benjamin The Public Access division of the Attorney General’s office was designed to hold government accountable and give citizens a voice. As with Judy Stearns’ case against the City for violating the Open Meetings Act, justice can take years of mostly no action. I lost count of how many Request for Reviews have […]
By: Diane Benjamin Why are Minutes missing from Liquor Commission meetings? The LAW requires approval within 30 days or the next meeting. http://www.cityblm.org/index.aspx?page=21&parent=9530 Citizen Bruce Meeks filed a Request for Review with the Attorney General and they agreed to investigate: 42623 FI Let Meeks alleges: The 5/24/16 meeting did not have a quorum The only […]
By: Diane Benjamin Ever heard of lawyers dragging on a case hoping you quit? I dragged it on long enough for CIAM quit! Brief recap: I filed the lawsuit when it became obvious the City NEVER checked to see if concession revenue at the Coliseum was paid according to the contract. It was also apparent […]
By: Diane Benjamin Some points of law are never settled because government refused to act. Lisa Madigan’s Public Access office is doing just that. Remember many years ago when Judy Stearns filed a complaint against Tari Renner for violating the Open Meetings Act? It was right after he got elected. He decided winning an election […]
By: Diane Benjamin The Central Illinois Regional Airport is owned by taxpayers. It isn’t a private company doing whatever it wants – it just acts like it. The meeting minutes aren’t posted on their website. No agendas and no meeting dates either. That means they are violation of the Open Meetings Act! I thought CIRA […]
By: Diane Benjamin Standard Operating Procedure Did you notice our illustrious Attorney General, Lisa Madigan, never prosecuted corruption in the Chicago Police Department? She finally called on the Department of Justice to investigate when a judge ordered the video of a cop shooting a black guy released after a “blogger” forced the issue. Note: It […]
By: Diane Benjamin On October 14, 2015 the Allin Township Fire Protection District held a Trustees meeting. The minutes show they accepted an insurance payment from Selective Insurance. See minutes here: Minutes 10/14/2015 The check is believed to be for more than $19,000. People at the meeting don’t remember the check being discussed. Josh Deterding […]
Update: Bloomington finally released the Coliseum 1st Qtr report. They lost $252,000, but we don’t know how much of this is wages to themselves. We do know CIAM took commissions of $24,378 and Management fees of $35,510. Concessions income is a secret. The Coliseum works great for John Butler, not so much for you. By: […]
By: Diane Benjamin Lisa Madigan started a Public Access office so citizens and the press can hold their government accountable. Just like Not In Our Town doesn’t hold signers of their pledge accountable, virtually nothing happens when a complaint is filed with her office. Our local State’s Attorney could prosecute cases filed against the City, but […]
by: Diane Benjamin Another Request for Review has been filed against the City of Bloomington for holding an illegal meeting. I didn’t file it. Lisa Madigan’s Office is in charge of the investigation. Since they have a long history of taking a year or more to make a decision, don’t expect a resolution anytime soon. […]
by: Diane Benjamin I was in court again this morning. Nothing exciting happened, the case got continued until November 14th because the original judge was busy with another case. I do have many of the emails the City redacted in violation of the Freedom of Information Act. They gave them to me because they obviously […]
Make sure you read the comments to this story at Blnnews.com (Especially McLean County!) by: Diane Benjamin McLean County has forgotten they work for us. Taxpayers are merely their piggy bank. On September 30, the Attorney General’s Public Access Office issued a BINDING opinion against the County public comment policy. Normally the AG just writes […]
Attorney General, Wanting Open and Transparent Government was a great idea. God knows Illinois suffers from more corruption than most other states, but lip services doesn’t fix the problems. You created the Public Access Office to give citizens a remedy for holding government accountable. If the office worked, Illinois would be a better place to […]
by: Diane Benjamin I don’t have to file with Attorney General Lisa Madigan’s Office when local government refuses to comply with Freedom of Information Act Requests or when they violate the Open Meetings Act, there are other avenues. The Illinois Public Access Office was created so citizens had an outlet to keep their government open […]
Update at: http://blnnews.com/2013/12/22/mayor-transparency-exposed/ by: Diane Benjamin On November 15th, Alderwoman Judy Stearns walked out of an Executive Session of the Bloomington City Council. Executive Sessions are SECRET meetings governed by laws created by the State of Illinois. These laws are meant to protect citizens by severely restricting what CAN be discussed in these SECRET meetings. […]
by Diane Benjamin From Attorney General Lisa Madigan’s website: http://foia.ilattorneygeneral.net/default.aspx Attorney General Lisa Madigan believes that an open, honest and accountable government, the cornerstone of a democracy, can be achieved only through the free and open exchange of information between government and the public. In Illinois, our most important transparency laws – the Freedom of Information […]
