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Attorney General says Blagojevich must release subpoenas
By Christopher Wills
Associated Press
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SPRINGFIELD -- The Illinois attorney general said Thursday that Gov. Rod Blagojevich's administration is violating state public-information law by refusing to release the subpoenas it has received in a federal corruption probe.

Attorney General Lisa Madigan's office said in a letter to the governor that the subpoenas must be released under the Illinois Freedom of Information Act.

"A subpoena is not any different than any other piece of paper in state government," said Madigan spokeswoman Cara Smith. "There is no special exception."

Blagojevich spokeswoman Abby Ottenhoff said Thursday evening that the administration would have to review the letter before commenting.

Federal prosecutors are investigating the Blagojevich administration on several fronts, including government hiring and allegations that companies seeking to do business with the state were pressed for illegal payments. Blagojevich has not been charged with any crime.

Prosecutors have ordered the governor's office and some of his agencies to turn over documents. Public disclosure of the subpoenas and the documents they seek could provide more details about the investigations.

Blagojevich is not required to follow Madigan's directions, as he would be if the ruling came from a judge. But Madigan's office said Blagojevich should pay attention to an opinion from the state's top legal officer.

"We would have every expectation that the office of the governor is interested in complying with the law and will comply," Smith said.

Blagojevich's office has argued the subpoenas are the product of confidential grand jury proceedings and therefore do not have to be released - or discussed - publicly.

Madigan reaches a different conclusion: The prosecutors and grand jury may not be allowed to talk about them, but the people and agencies who receive subpoenas are not bound to secrecy.

"Our review of the law has failed to find support for the position that the Federal grand jury secrecy rules preclude the Office of the Governor or state agencies under the governor's control from releasing subpoenas under the Act," Assistant Attorney General Terry Mutchler, Madigan's specialist on public information law, said in a letter to Blagojevich lawyer William Quinlan.

The subpoenas could be withheld if federal officials take steps to make them secret, Mutchler said, but the Blagojevich administration has not indicated that prosecutors have done that.

Smith said the attorney general's office has had no contact with the prosecutors on that issue.

While Madigan concludes the subpoenas and related documents must be released, the Blagojevich administration still would be able to withhold particular portions covered by exceptions to the Freedom of Information Act. For instance, they could black out Social Security numbers.

Madigan's opinion was prompted by requests from the Better Government Association and news organizations for any subpoenas the Blagojevich administration received.

Blagojevich refused to release the information and rejected all appeals, even claiming it "cannot confirm or deny the existence of the documents requested." The attorney general's letter points out that Blagojevich's rejection did not point to any state or federal law that bars releasing the information.

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Note: All views and opinions expressed in reader comments are solely those of the individual submitting the comment, and not those of the Pantagraph or its staff.

william wrote on Oct 27, 2006 5:05 PM:

" the guy is as phony as a three dollar bill. "
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