National Freedom of Information Coalition
Protecting Your Right to Open Government

Author: NFOIC

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Who Really Runs Your City?

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Over the past decade, the city of Chicago has sold off more of its public infrastructure and services than any other city in the U.S. It is the poster child for privatization—for privatization gone wrong.

In 2006, the city leased four major parking garages to a Morgan Stanley-led firm for $563 million. In 2009, Morgan Stanley sued the city for threatening its profits by allowing a nearby building to open a public garage. Chicago had to pay $62 million to settle. Continue…

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Training will teach Kansans on open government laws

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Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt’s office and members of the Kansas Sunshine Coalition for Open Government will provide free training sessions on open government laws across the state next month.

The training about the Kansas Open Records Act and the Kansas Open Meetings Act will be conducted by attorneys in Schmidt’s office. Panelists will include Kansas Sunshine Coalition members, local government officials and members of the media. Continue…

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Help us show the power of FOIA!

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As some of you might know, the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) turned 50 this year! Over these past 50 years FOIA has played an incredibly important role in improving the public's understanding of the government's actions. For one recent example, the photographs of Vice President Cheney on 9/11 that were released as a result of Associated Press's FOIA request add a new dimension to our understanding of that event. Continue…

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Delayed, Denied, Dismissed: Failures on the FOIA Front

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This month marks the 50th anniversary of the Freedom of Information Act, which was designed to give the public the right to scrutinize the records of government agencies. Almost no one needs public records more than an organization like ProPublica, whose mission is producing work that “shines a light on exploitation of the weak by the strong and on the failures of those with power to vindicate the trust placed in them.”

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Virginia: Confusing “proprietary” FOIA exemption proves tricky to change

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It seems that two and a half years may not prove enough time to coalesce Virginia's various ideas of what constitutes a trade secret into a single code section that clarifies, among other things, what documents companies that do business with the government can shield from public view.

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“Molly’s Law” will open more public records to victims’ families

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Gov. Bruce Rauner has signed a law that could help families fighting to learn the truth about the death of loved ones.

Rauner signed legislation today that strengthens Illinois' Freedom of Information Act by increasing fines for public bodies that fail to comply with court orders to release information. Continue…

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