The foundation of a democratic society is the public’s right to know what their government is doing. Public business must be performed in an open and public manner so citizens can fairly evaluate the performance of public officials and the decisions they make. For that reason, New York has a Freedom of Information Law (FOIL). Other states have similar laws. The Federal government has the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).
Not surprisingly public officials often resist such transparency and in some cases have to be dragged kicking and screaming into the sunlight. It can be a battle. A war. A FOIL War.
I have for more than a decade maintained a database of Freedom of Information requests which I have been reluctant to share publicly because I do not want “the enemy” to know precisely what I am doing. I have decided for the first time to open that up up my FOIL request tracking records to my paid subscribers. I will start small and add to it. Consider this a first draft.
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