Better Gov't Assn. won lawsuit that force Blago to turn over federal grand jury subpoenas.

Bettergov.org:

CHICAGO, ILL. – January 23, 2009 – Following up on the Better Government Association’s (“BGA”) recent lawsuit which forced Governor Blagojevich to turn over federal grand jury subpoenas served upon his administration in the first half of 2006, today the BGA received even more subpoenas from the Blagojevich administration.

“This is another victory for citizens and transparency in government” said Jay Stewart, Executive Director of the BGA. “While the Governor engages in public relations stunts to distract the citizens of Illinois, these records are a reminder of the serious nature of the Governor’s problems” said Stewart.

The subpoenas appear to cover many different agencies in state government including the Office of the Governor, the Tollway and the Illinois Department of Transportation (“IDOT”).

During the course of the BGA’s successful litigation against the Governor on January 14, 2008 it submitted another Freedom of Information Act request to him asking for a broader range of grand jury subpoenas, covering the time periods of January 13, 2003 through January 1, 2006 and July 24, 2006 through January 4, 2007. As with the BGA’s earlier request for subpoenas, it was denied by the Governor as was the appeal.

Copies of the subpoenas can be viewed at the BGA’s website here.