At one time, Illinois was a leader with its Open Meetings Act, but over the years it has been weakened by the addition of exception after exception.

The effectiveness of the Open Meetings Act and its companion "sunshine" law, the Freedom of Information Act, also has been hampered by public officials who don't know or don't care about how these laws apply.

The Freedom of Information Act doesn't even impose fines or penalties for violations - not that the penalty section of the Open Meetings Act gets much use.

Training sessions led by the Illinois attorney general's office are helping officials understand their obligations.

Open government is essential to democracy. Laws such as the open meetings and open records acts allow the citizenry to know what its public officials are doing and evaluate their conduct.

They are called "sunshine" laws because they shine a light on the inner workings of government. And, as former Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis once said, "Sunshine is the best disinfectant."

These laws aren't there to benefit the news media - although the press certainly makes use of them. Sunshine laws are there to benefit the public and it is the public that regularly puts these laws to use and challenges officials who do not obey them.

That is reflected in statistics kept by the public access counselor in the Illinois Attorney General's Office. Of nearly 1,400 cases involving the FOI and open meetings acts, 939 were inquiries from the general public. Only 142 came from the media. Nearly 300 requests for assistance directed to the public access counselor came from government officials.

Overall, the number of requests for assistance was up 38 percent in 2007. We would like to believe the increase is a result of "a growing awareness by the public and government officials" that the attorney general's office helps ensure the laws are understood and followed, as stated in a press release from the office.

An increase in requests because people know where to turn is preferable to an increase caused by more public officials disregarding the laws.

Citizens should not be shy about asserting their rights to information and insisting that the public's business be conducted at open meetings.

If local officials can't or won't give them an answer, they should contact Public Access Counselor Terry Mutchler at (217) 558-0486.