A little over a week ago I blogged about my attempt to gain access to Governor’s Office emails using a freedom of information act request. I didn’t expect this request to be greeted with a smile. Other bloggers around the country have made similar requests and been told it would cost anywhere from $1350 to $541,000 to comply. Though other Governors, like Charlie Crist in Florida, seemed more than willing to cooperate with the project.

And still, I was naive. I didn’t expect to be totally stonewalled. Last Friday I received a letter from legal councel, Allison Benway, explaining:

Your request … is denied because it is unduly burdensome. Even if your request were not unduly burdensome, this information is exempt pursuant to section 7(1)(f) of the Act.

What exemption? Here is what 7(1)(f) says:

Preliminary drafts, notes, recommendations, memoranda and other records in which opinions are expressed, or policies or actions are formulated, except that a specific record or relevant portion of a record shall not be exempt when the record is publicly cited and identified by the head of the public body. The exemption provided in this paragraph (f) extends to all those records of officers and agencies of the General Assembly that pertain to the preparation of legislative documents.

I’m no lawyer but this would seem to pertain specifically to items related to developing legislation, not general correspondence.

I have the right to appeal the denial in a letter directly to Rod Blagojevich. I plan to do so and will keep you posted.