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14 N. Ill. L. Rev. Supplement i (2024)

handle is hein.journals/nnislwrsp14 and id is 1 raw text is: NORTHERN ILLINOIS UNIVERSITY
LAW REVIEW
VOLUME 14                  SPRING 2024                 NUMBER 1
ONLINE JOURNAL
CONTENTS
ARTICLE
Strengthening  the   Illinois Freedom   of Information    Act: Affording    the
Administrative Enforcement Necessary for Government Transparency and
Accountability
J o sh u a   J e n k in s ...................................................................................................................1
The Illinois Freedom of Information Act was amended in 2009 to avail a greater level of
government transparency. The amendments to the Act have given Illinois some of the
transparency the Legislature sought to provide, however, there are some issues with the
administrative remedy which have prevented full openness of government information as
envisioned. The administrative remedies created to provide oversight of government
compliance with the Act have not fully fulfilled their role and reform is needed. This article
analyzes the circumstances surrounding the application of the Act as it relates to the public's
interaction with law enforcement. Specifically, this article examines how activists and
journalists applied the Act to resolve inconsistent police actions in the wake of the deaths of
Laquan McDonald and Molly Young, along with discussing the application of the Act with the
ac-countability sought by the Edgar County Watchdogs government over-sight organization.
This article discusses the dynamics of the current Freedom of Information Act in Illinois,
specifies examples of how the application of the Act has affected requestors in the law
enforcement context, and proposes solutions to gain the greater level of transparency that the
Act intended. Accountability of government is made possible through transparency. Making
the changes called for in this article will allow Illinois to become a leader in transparency and
an example for our nation to follow.

i

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