FOIA Foils Press Freedom
In a troubling irony, the Freedom of Information Act is becoming government’s favorite tool for withholding information. If and when the documents are handed over, they frequently contain large redactions.
Last week, USA Today reported that the Centers for Disease Control responded to a FOIA request on deadly viruses with so many redactions the documents looked like “swiss cheese.”
This week the Chicago Tribune reports that Chicago paid out about $670,000 last year to plaintiffs in lawsuits alleging that officials violated open records law — "nearly five times what the city paid in the previous eight years combined.”
The city says most suits involve “claims of incomplete record searches and incorrectly applied exemptions."
The article reports that the city faces “an additional 54 lawsuits regarding open records laws.”
Read the full USA Today story here.
Read the full Chicago Tribune story here.
