Illinois: law targets recurrent records requesters.

• Position: FREEDOM OF INFORMATION

A new law signed by Illinois Gov. at Quinn places restrictions on residents who repeatedly file open-records requests with their local government, school district, and county.

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For the first time, local governments could consider anyone who files more than seven Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests in one week, or more than 15 a month, as a "recurrent requester," according to the Chicago Sun-Times.

Current state law gives government entities five business days to respond to a records request, with the option of a five-day extension. But there is no deadline when a recurrent requester asks for information.

Quinn was criticized by government watchdog groups for signing the legislation into law. They said doing so has eroded the Illinois FOIA.

"It is disappointing that Gov. Quinn, who once cultivated an image of himself as an advocate of open government, has approved a bill that takes Illinois' FOIA law backward," said Whitney Woodward, a policy associate with the Illinois Campaign for Political Reform...