ICOG News - Indiana Coalition for Open Government

Governor Braun appoints Brittney Long as the new Public Access Counselor

In a press release from October 2nd, Governor Mike Braun announced that Brittney Long will be the new Public Access Counselor. “Brittney has the legal credentials and passion for public service that makes her an excellent fit for the job,” said Gov. Braun. “As our next PAC, Brittney will bring...

IndyStar: Media orgs threaten legal action over delays in Indiana’s public access office

Grace Randolph. 2026-08-05. Indianapolis Star. You can read the letter from the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press here. Update: Gov. Mike Braun released the following statement after the initial publication of the story: "Gov. Braun has long been an advocate for transparency. That is...

IndyStar: Under Braun’s watchdog, government secrecy grows harder to challenge

Cate Charron & Grace Randolph. 2026-07-24. Indianapolis Star Indiana’s public access counselor is supposed to ensure transparency in government. But under Gov. Mike Braun’s appointee, Jennifer Ruby, it has become far more difficult for Hoosiers to challenge government secrecy, an IndyStar...

Indiana Public Access Counselor, Jennifer Ruby, Publishes First Two Opinions

You can read the first two (and more in the future) 2025 Advisory Opinions from Indiana's new Public Access Counselor, Jennifer Ruby: 25-FC-00B: Alleged Violation of the Access to Public Records Act by the New Carlisle Town Council 25-FC-003: Alleged Violation of the Open Door Law by the Green...

Who you gonna call? 260-ASK-ICOG!

We are excited to launch our public access (ODL, APRA, and civics phone help line), 260-ASK-ICOG. Staffed by ICOG volunteers, we'll do our best to assist you with your questions related to open government in the Hoosier state. Currently being explored as a pilot project, we will re-evaluate the...

News from Indiana

Indiana Trial Court Remote Video Hearings Pilot

Jan 28, 2022

You can now stream trial courts, live, across Indiana thanks to a recent Indiana Supreme Court order. You can check out what courts are currently streaming here: https://public.courts.in.gov/INCS#/ Trial courts around the state are conducting remote video hearings,...

Post-Tribune: State officials have to come up with plan to meet OSHA vaccine standard for local government employees, which has left local sheriff’s departments with different interpretations

Nov 8, 2021

Kukulka, Alexandra. 2021. State officials have to come up with plan to meet OSHA vaccine standard for local government employees, which has left local sheriff's departments with different interpretations. TCA Regional News, Nov 08, 2021. (accessed November 28, 2021)....

Journal & Courier: Trustee refuses to work with board

Sep 28, 2021

Wilkins, Ron. 2021. Trustee refuses to work with board. Journal & Courier, Sep 12, 2021. (accessed November 28, 2021). Fairfield Township Trustee Taletha Coles continues to ignore Indiana laws that require trustees attend township board meetings and make public...

News from ICOG

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2023 IGA Amendment Dataset

May 19, 2023

One summer project for ICOG is to make more of the Indiana General Assembly Data available to Hoosiers. Here is the first installment of this series. Indiana General Assembly 2023 Amendment Dataset (CSV) Columns available: 'name', 'description', 'state',...

IndyStar: Neighbors’ relief turns to anger as bar is OK’d: El Chila’s license was denied, then extended

Apr 7, 2023

Cook, Tony. 2023. Neighbors' relief turns to anger as bar is OK'd: El chila's license was denied, then extended. Indianapolis Star, Apr 09, 2023. Last month, the Indiana Alcohol & Tobacco Commission used a new policy intended to crack down on problem bars to deny...

The Indiana Citizen: Moonlighting: Rokita fights court order to release report on his private employment — even though it allows him to redact as much as he wants.

Mar 9, 2023

Marilyn Odendahl. 2023. The Indiana Citizen: Moonlighting: Rokita fights court order to release report on his private employment — even though it allows him to redact as much as he wants. The Indiana Citizen. March 9, 2023 One day after being sworn in as Attorney...