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When Illinois lawmakers leave office, the cooling-off clock starts — but the records that would show whether it is honored are scattered across three separate databases. We cross-referenced lobbying registrations with committee assignments and state contracts to build a timeline of the most glaring overlaps.
From agendas that appear hours before gavel to minutes that never surface at all, Illinois' smallest boards are quietly failing the state's most basic transparency law. We reviewed notice practices across dozens of local bodies and built a checklist any resident can use to push back.
From a request that languished for two years to a denial issued on a technicality, these five Illinois public records battles show how easily the system can stall. The good news: filing an effective FOIA request takes less time than making a cup of coffee, and we walk you through it step by step.