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Ohio’s open records law often fails to provide the public the prompt access to public records that the legislature originally intended. Open records allow citizens to understand the inner workings of government and participate fully. Public meetings of policy makers and access to records are essential to rooting out corruption. The Money in Politics Project tracks access to information and advocates for improvements in open government.
Recent News
Apr 29: Ohio attorney general employs liaison Craig Mehall in capital
WASHINGTON, DC -- "(Marc) Dann's grants manager, Ruth Wilkes, brand new on the job, says she tried but was unable to get a next-day flight. Her fiance then offered to fly her in his private plane, a Malibu Mirage. Harshman did not charge for the Washington trip last June 29, when he flew Wilkes to suburban Manassas, Va. Mehall drove out to meet the plane and met the deadline. The flight appears to have benefited Ohio's taxpayers, since a last-minute commercial flight could have cost more than $1,000, depending on the airline.
But the arrangement may have resulted in a violation of state ethics rules
," Stephen Koff, Openers, Cleveland Plain Dealer. Published April 27.
Apr 18: Court's foster-care ruling is sound
CINCINNATI -- "The Ohio Supreme Court's unanimous decision Thursday ordering the release of some foster parents' names to The Enquirer is a win both for the public's right to know and for the media's ability to hold public agencies accountable for protecting children.
The Enquirer sought the names from the Ohio Department of Jobs and Family Services in September 2006, shortly after the murder of 3-year-old Marcus Fiesel by his foster parents. It became apparent that agencies involved in foster care had failed in their oversight - for example, in checking the backgrounds of foster parents, some of whom had criminal records," editorial, Cincinnati Enquirer.
Apr 17: Court: Make foster names public
COLUMBUS -- "The public has a right to know the names of foster parents who care for the state’s 10,000 plus foster children, the Ohio Supreme Court ruled unanimously Thursday.
The decision comes 20 months after the death of Marcus Fiesel, who was killed by his foster parents in Clermont County in August, 2006.
The Fiesel case raised concerns about how Ohio’s 88 counties check the backgrounds of foster parents because both Liz and David Carroll Jr., had criminal records yet were still allowed to care for Marcus," Eileen Kelley and John Craig, Cincinnati Enquirer.
Apr 3: Jim Underwood: Jefferson would embrace records access that Moyer finds disturbing
COLUMBUS -- "Tom Moyer, meet my friend Tom Jefferson. Tom Jefferson, meet the chief justice of the Ohio Supreme Court, who wants to save us from ourselves by reducing rather than expanding Ohio's public-records law. Moyer and his band of public-records revisionists would have us believe that technology requires us to rethink what records Ohio courts should permit us to see. It seems that Google, Yahoo, YouTube.com and MySpace.com have created a dangerous world where information by citizens can be accessed in a New York minute. Dear God, the very idea that citizens should have ready access to information about their courts and government. Just what is this world coming to? It was my friend Tom Jefferson way back in 1787 who championed the idea of making information about government and government documents readily accessible to citizens. I have to believe that if he were alive today, he would rejoice at the advancement of technology that enables people to have instant access to their government with but a few key-strokes in front of a computer screen," Jim Underwood, Columbus Dispatch.
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