ICOG News - Indiana Coalition for Open Government

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...

The Indiana Capital Chronicle: Indiana public access office goes quiet amid turnover

Leslie Bonilla Muñiz. 2025-05-30. Indiana Capital Chronicle. Tippecanoe County resident Pamela Frazee just wants to know if her messages went through. Phone calls to Indiana’s Office of the Public Access Counselor (PAC) route directly to a voicemail box and aren’t returned. Emails — including...

Indiana Debate Commission: Governor candidates to participate in televised debate on October 24, 2024

Archived Debate The Republican, Democratic, and Libertarian candidates for Indiana governor have agreed to meet Oct. 24 in a televised debate organized by the Indiana Debate Commission. The debate among Mike Braun (R), Jennifer McCormick (D), and Donald Rainwater (L) will be broadcast live at 7-8...

News from Indiana

Square Beacon: Indiana’s public access counselor opinion shows Bloomington’s city council has a transparency problem

Dec 3, 2020

Dave Askins, B Square Beacon, November 29, 2020 On June 10 this year, Bloomington’s city council decided to hire then-deputy council administrator/attorney Stephen Lucas to replace the retiring Dan Sherman. Lucas had been serving as Sherman’s deputy for about nine...

IndyStar: Gaming commission investigation of casino company Spectacle Entertainment grows

Nov 27, 2020

Cook, Tony. 2020. Inquiry of casino firm spectacle expands. Palladium - Item, Nov 27, 2020. (accessed November 27, 2020). During her update to the commission, Tait also mentioned that the indictment of Keeler refers to another unnamed Centaur executive who met with a...

South Bend Tribune: State says South Bend Housing Authority board illegally met behind closed doors

Nov 27, 2020

Parrott, Jeff. 2020. State says south bend housing authority board illegally met behind closed doors. TCA Regional News, Nov 10, 2020. (accessed November 27, 2020). The Housing Authority of South Bend's board of commissioners might have violated Indiana's Open Door...

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NWI Times: All-electronic government meetings must end when Indiana COVID-19 emergency expires

Jun 21, 2021

Carden, Dan. 2021. All-electronic government meetings must end when Indiana COVID-19 emergency expires. TCA Regional News, Jun 09, 2021. (accessed June 21, 2021). The Hoosier State's experiment with all-electronic local government meetings is coming to an end.When...

Indystar: Judge: Ex-AG Hill broke Indiana public records law

Jun 20, 2021

Magdaleno, Johnny. 2021. Judge: Ex-AG Hill broke Indiana public records law. Indianapolis Star, Apr 02, 2021. (accessed June 20, 2021). A Marion County judge has ruled that the personal email addresses of public officials count as public records, bringing an end to a...

AP: Police misconduct records secret, difficult to access nationwide

Jun 20, 2021

Kallie Cox, and William H Freivogel Pulitzer Center on,Crisis Reporting. 2021. Police misconduct records secret, difficult to access nationwide. AP, May 13, 2021. (accessed June 20, 2021). Police misconduct records are either secret or difficult to access in a...