July 2010

The Illinois News Broadcasters Association (INBA) is pleased that Gov. Pat Quinn has used his amendatory veto pen to reduce the scope of a bill affecting the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), but wishes the governor had fully vetoed the measure. HB 5154 would have exempted the performance evaluations of all public employees in Illinois from FOIA. Quinn reduced the impact of it by limiting the scope to only police officers.

INBA applauds Quinn for recognizing that 5154 was, in his words, "a departure from the groundbreaking legislation that I approved just last year, making our State's open information laws among the most robust in the entire country." However, it is important to understand that the governor's action to allow the shielding of law enforcement personnel evaluations allows a system whereby the public will not know if police officers are acting in accordance with the law, or abusing their power.