The new Center for Open Government at Chicago-Kent College of Law will provide legal help to those seeking documents from local and state governments. -DB
A new academic institute will help citizens pry information from reticent governments.
Director Terry Norton says having the law is important, but compliance is another matter. “Just having the words on paper, in the form of a law, doesn’t mean that that law will be enforced,” he says. “People have to understand what their rights are, and when they seek to enforce those rights, they’ve gotta have a means to enforce them.”
Norton says the center will help applicants properly request the documents they’re seeking, and if necessary, correspond with, threaten or sue any government that fails to comply.
Under Illinois’ recently revised statute, a government that is hauled into court and ultimately forced to supply documents will have to pay the plaintiff’s legal fees.
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