An April 2, 2021, Chicago Tribune article by Courtney Kueppers demonstrates how private citizens using the Illinois Freedom of Information Act can “shape public discourse and change laws.”
Concerned citizens, journalists, nonprofits, lawyers and gadflies all make regular use of FOIA requests, and information that Illinois residents have obtained through FOIA has helped shape public discourse and change laws. In recent years, the statute has had some high-profile moments, including the release of police video from the night a white Chicago officer killed Black teenager Laquan McDonald.”