National Freedom of Information Coalition
Protecting Your Right to Open Government

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Rialto Square Theatre of Joliet, Illinois deals with FOIA deluge

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In another sign of the increased attention being paid to the Rialto Square Theatre, the organization’s Freedom of Information Act officer has resigned because she does not have time to keep up with the demand for documents.

We are getting hit with FOIAs almost every day,” Rialto board member Vicki Murphy said at a meeting Wednesday. “It’s to the point where it’s overwhelming for the entire staff.”

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EDITORIAL: Sunshine wasn’t a Stalin plot

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DeFuniak Springs City Councilman Kermit Wright really, really, really doesn’t like Florida’s open-government, or sunshine, laws. And he doesn’t mind saying so. “The sunshine law is a communist plot straight out of Stalin,” he told the Daily News’ Tom McLaughlin the other day. “I don’t like it or anything that restricts free speech. It’s against everything I stand for.”

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Akron City Council routinely approves legislation public hasn’t seen

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Akron City Council often flouts rules designed to allow the public to follow city government and weigh in on proposals before they become law.

Akron's city charter requires legislation to be posted online by noon Friday, in advance of Monday City Council meetings, to give residents the weekend to review proposals. But council regularly blows by the deadline, and sometimes legislation is changed or rewritten hours before it's voted into law, without any opportunity for members of the public to respond.

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Open government group urges Delaware Governer Markell to respond to FOIA requests for “secret” emails

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The head of a local open government group called on Governor Markell to respond to Freedom of Information Act requests for information about a "secret" state email account.

Delaware Coalition for Open Government president John Flaherty told WDEL News the Freedom of Information Act itself requires transparency on the part of elected officials conducting government business.

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Immigration Atty Decries ‘Kafkaesque’ FOIA Fight With USCIS

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An immigration attorney accusing U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services of a “Kafkaesque” failure to comply with a document request on Tuesday urged a Louisiana federal court to order the agency to hand over the documents he says he needs to properly represent his client in deportation proceedings.

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Cincinnati creates new site to share city’s data with residents

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The city of Cincinnati says it is enhancing transparency by sharing the city’s data with the general public in a new way.

Open Data Cincinnati will allow anyone to browse through various datasets of information collected by the city to document how the government operates, officials said at an announcement Wednesday.

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Florida Open Government Takes A Hit But It Seems Little Can Be Done

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The House GOP met behind closed doors Tuesday to discuss their strategy regarding a possible expansion of Medicaid. The move has raised the ire of the Democrats and open government advocates, but it seems there’s very little that can be done.

House Speaker Steve Crisafulli (R-Merritt Island) says the House Republican caucus met Tuesday morning to discuss the history of LIP, or low income pool funding.

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Open data, government and citizen perceptions: First national survey, by the Pew Research Center 2015

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The push for open government and open data by federal officials, as well as authorities across many states and cities, can seem an unmitigated good. Talk to journalists, however, and there are myriad areas where they believe government at all levels is still being less than transparent — and less than helpful in revealing facts that the public is entitled to know.

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Public Discussion Needed on D.C. Mayor’s Budget Proposal to Limit Attorney General’s Powers

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A showdown between the mayor of the District of Columbia and the first-ever elected attorney general has been averted for now.

At issue is Mayor Muriel Bowser’s proposal in her new budget to water down some of the new attorney general’s powers, particularly when it comes to reviewing government contracts.

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