1/ As #twill lawmakers continue debating a gambling bill into the holiday weekend, they’re also quietly trying to weaken Illinois’ public records law. Bill would give governments a month - vs. 5 days - to respond to #FOIA requests, if I read right. Expiration? 1/1/22.

Why do #twill lawmakers want to gut the state’s FOIA law for the next 18 months? Unclear. Sponsor is Dem. Rep. Kelly Burke. Maybe @mvtopic can explain.

#FOIA is not about journalists getting public documents. It’s about everyday humans getting public documents. These are public property. Without this law, governments can hide things they don’t want made public. Things they do with your money.

This extension — gutting #FOIA for 18 months — comes as some gov’ts (not all) have had abysmal records responding to requests during the pandemic. Records that could help keep people safe. Like which nursing homes have the most COVID. Or how much PPE is available.

Some things @WBEZ has covered with #FOIA recently: State’s mismanagement of fatal Legionnaires’ at a vets’ home. Deaths in Illinois prisons. Public corruption. Vaccines for poor kids. Sound important? They are.

As a political editor, I sure hope #ILGA and all our Gov’t leaders will explain to the public why some of them believe less transparency is due to us during an emergency, vs. more. I welcome a constructive thread. #twill

Here’s the bill. See page 12. http://ilga.gov/legislation/fulltext.asp?DocName=10100SB2135ham005&GA=101&SessionId=109&DocTypeId=SB&LegID=120308&DocNum=2135&GAID=15&Session=0

@WBEZpolitics @kschorsch @beckyvevea @claudiamorell @mvtopic @dmihalopoulos @natalieymoore @pksmid @shannon_h @avcsays @tracylbrown @royalpratt @rrhinton @MaryAnnAhernNBC @MaryLDixon #twill

To be clear: I’m hoping folks smarter than me (low bar) can help us understand what this language means, as it seems to be confusing even veteran #foia minds.