FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
BGA LITIGATION PRODUCES MORE BLAGOJEVICH SUBPOENAS
Governor Turns Over More Subpoenas, Available on BGA Web Site
CHICAGO, ILL. – January 23, 2009 – Following up on the Better Government Association’s (“BGA”) recent lawsuit which forced Governor Blagojevich to turn over federal grand jury subpoenas served upon his administration in the first half of 2006, today the BGA received even more subpoenas from the Blagojevich administration. “This is another victory for citizens and transparency in government” said Jay Stewart, Executive Director of the BGA. “While the Governor engages in public relations stunts to distract the citizens of Illinois, these records are a reminder of the serious nature of the Governor’s problems” said Stewart. The subpoenas appear to cover many different agencies in state government including the Office of the Governor, the Tollway and the Illinois Department of Transportation (“IDOT”). During the course of the BGA’s successful litigation against the Governor on January 14, 2008 it submitted another Freedom of Information Act request to him asking for a broader range of grand jury subpoenas, covering the time periods of January 13, 2003 through January 1, 2006 and July 24, 2006 through January 4, 2007. As with the BGA’s earlier request for subpoenas, it was denied by the Governor as was the appeal. Nevertheless, in early January 2009, after the BGA’s appellate court victory, the BGA asked that its second request be complied with or another round of litigation would ensue, litigation the Governor was assured to lose. Rather than engage in further litigation the administration, over a year later, finally honored the request. Furthermore, a recent BGA request for subpoenas issued to IDOT was also complied with. “We should have gotten most of these records a year ago, but at that time the Governor chose to fight the law rather than comply with it. As we prepare for a post-Rod Blagojevich world, I hope that the General Assembly will pass some serious and substantive changes to the Illinois Freedom of Information Act that will make it much more difficult for public officials to delay and obfuscate on Freedom of Information Act requests and greatly increase the penalties for noncompliance. The Governor may be the worst offender, but he is by no means the only public official who has used the Act as a shield instead of a sword” said Stewart. Copies of the subpoenas can be viewed at the BGA’s website here. The BGA is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit civic watchdog group. Since 1923 the BGA has combated waste, corruption and inefficiency in state and local government. The BGA is a membership supported organization that relies on private funding for its operations. To learn more about the BGA and how to support it please visit www.bettergov.org/Join.html ###