From the State Journal-Register (Springfield, Ill.) (1/18/09): The capital of North Carolina is nearly 900 miles from Springfield, and that’s how far Gov. Rod Blagojevich has gone to keep clemency petitions secret.
In denying a request for a clemency file made by The State Journal-Register, an attorney for Illinois’ Prisoner Review Board, which hears clemency cases and makes recommendations to the governor, first said the file couldn’t be released pursuant to the state Freedom of Information Act because disclosure would constitute an invasion of privacy. The lawyer also cited a section of law stating that personnel records of public officials and government employees can be withheld, plus another section that says records can be kept secret if disclosure would endanger someone.
The newspaper then asked that any information considered private be redacted and the balance turned over. No dice.
Ken Tupy, board attorney, said policy on releasing clemency information changed last year after Chicago newspapers requested files. Blagojevich’s office objected to making the requested files public, Tupy said, and cited a case decided by the North Carolina Supreme Court, which ruled clemency files are gubernatorial property. To release such files under public records laws, the court said, would violate the separation-of-powers doctrine in the North Carolina constitution.
North Carolina’s constitution is similar to Illinois’, Tupy said, and so the Prisoner Review Board considers the decision made under Tar Heel law to have sway in the Land of Lincoln. Lawmakers would have to change the Freedom of Information Act to specifically authorize release of clemency petitions, he said. Otherwise, the Blagojevich administration is free to keep the files as open or as secret as it likes.
Convicted criminals have the option of open or closed hearings with the review board, and if they choose to keep hearings private, their files will not be released, Tupy said. Files will be released if petitioners choose public hearings, he said.
“Until last year, we had more of an open policy, and I would like to go back to that,” Tupy said. “Each governor is probably going to treat clemencies a little differently. Check back in a month — I might have a different answer. If, hypothetically, our governor is removed, one of the first things I’m going to do is ask the new governor about how much access he’s going to allow.”
A message left at the governor’s press office late Friday was not immediately returned. Lt. Gov. Pat Quinn would become governor if Blagojevich, who has been impeached by the state House, is removed after a trial in the Senate, but Quinn won’t say what his policy would be.
“We have no comment,” said Bob Reed, a Quinn spokesman. “This is within the context of what-if. It would be presumptuous to delve into those areas.”
A top aide for Attorney General Lisa Madigan said the Prisoner Review Board’s stance doesn’t make sense.
“The citation to the North Carolina case is both irrelevant and unhelpful,” said Ann Spillane, Madigan’s chief of staff. “The Prisoner Review Board’s response is inadequate.”