SPRINGFIELD - The non-profit transparency group For the Good of Illinois (FGI) announced Tuesday that they filed suit Friday against State Comptroller Judy Baar Topinka's office for refusing to comply with their request for public information pertaining to the State's finances.
“There is no more important function of the states’ top financial officer than to give a line-by-line accounting to the people of Illinois of how their money is spent," FGI's CEO Adam Andrzejewski said. "It shouldn’t take a lawsuit to expose all financial transactions to the public.”
In April 2012, under the Freedom of Information Act, FGI requested of the Comptroller 1. a list of 2011 vendor names and the amount paid to them that year and 2. a copy of the 2011 Checkbook.
A week later the Comptroller's office denied FGI's information request, saying it was "unduly burdensome" and consisted of "millions" of files which would be "extremely time-consuming" to accumulate for FGI's use.
FGI appealed to Attorney General Lisa Madigan, who did not reinforce their FOIA request. FGI has yet to receive the requested public information, compelling them to file suit. FGI's complaint lists their demands:
The Comptroller's office has been contacted for a response.
