By: E&P Staff Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan marked Sunshine Week by urging legislators to make the state's first-ever public access counselor's office permanent -- and beyond the control of any future attorney general.
Madigan, a Democrat, created the position in December 2004. In a report this week, the office said in its first year it had handled 686 complaints or questions stemming from the state Freedom of Information Act, and 325 about the Open Meetings Act.
The public access counselor, Terry Mutchler, said the office had been able to resolve most of those cases, and that so far no one has filed a lawsuit related to access complaints after going through the office. Mutchler is a former Associated Press reporter.
More than 75% of the inquiries came from citizens, not the press or bureaucrats, Madigan told reporters on a conference call from Springfield.
During the year, the office conducted 75 training sessions on open government issues for public officials, government groups, and the general public, Madigan said.
"Another year, if not more, of having a public access counselor here in the attorney general's office will give us the statistics that support the need for it as well as a change, hopefully, in attitude from the people who have got to be making sure that these laws are abided by," Madigan told reporters, according to an AP account by John O'Connor.
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