In 2004, the Ohio Coalition for Open Government conducted a survey of all of Ohio’s 88 counties. More than 90 people from newspapers, radio stations, the University of Dayton, and Ohio University tried to obtain a variety of records. Among the records sought were county commission meeting minutes, an expense report of a county executive, police chief pay, police incident reports, superintendent compensation, and a school treasurer’s telephone bill from officials in each county — all of which are indisputably covered by the law. In over 30% of cases, access to the records was denied. In over 17%, records were obtained only after complying with conditions that are not required by law, such as demanding that the request be in writing, or requiring proof of the requester’s identity. When records were denied, officials often claimed the document requested was not a public record, set long waiting periods, or said they were too busy to respond.
"Everybody knows that corruption thrives in secret places, and avoids public places, and we believe it a fair presumption that secrecy means impropriety." President Woodrow Wilson
In 2004, the