ICOG News - Indiana Coalition for Open Government

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...

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...

News from Indiana

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...

Chicago Tribune: Gary City Hall cellphone ban quickly reversed: ‘It was not directed from the administration,’ mayor says

Nov 27, 2020

Napoleon, Carrie. 2020. Gary city hall cellphone ban is quickly reversed. Chicago Tribune, Nov 20, 2020. (accessed November 26, 2020). A social media post and signs banning the use of cellphones in Gary City Hall have been removed and will not be enforced, according...

Herald-Times: Lawsuit against IU challenges interpretation of public records law

Nov 25, 2020

By Michael Reschke The Herald-Times Jul 12, 2020 Updated Jul 15, 2020 The request was for “emails from and to John Wilkerson, Asst. Vice President for International Services, that contain the words China or Chinese or any code word or abbreviation that is used to...

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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...

Courier – Journal: Clark County, Indiana, airport roiled by questionable expenses

Jun 19, 2021

Mencarini, Matt, and Jonathan Bullington. 2021. Ind. airport manager's expenses questioned: Thousands not reported to IRS or taxed since '18. Courier - Journal, May 09, 2021. (accessed June 19, 2021). John Secor is a busy man.Despite flying 12 days a month as a UPS...

Free Book: The Privacy, Data Protection and Cybersecurity Law Review (4th Edition)

Apr 3, 2021

While slightly dated, valuable information is still contained inside the 4th Edition (2017) of Law Business Research's The Privacy, Data Protection and Cybersecurity Law Review. Law Business Research has published The Privacy, Data Protection and Cybersecurity Law...