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

WRTV Indianapolis: School board member aims to boost transparency after filing her own complaint

Jun 25, 2023

Kenney, Kara. 2023. School board member aims to boost transparency after filing her own complaint. WRTV. June 16, 2023. A West Lafayette mother and school board member is aiming to improve transparency and the public’s access to information. Click on the image to play...

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...

News from ICOG

Hiding behind HIPAA

Jul 13, 2015

By Craig Lyons Residents in St. Joseph County can dine safely knowing that no one reported a single case of food-borne illness to the county the first four months of the year. But if there had been a complaint, the public would be able to see only part of the...

Public officials’ emails are public records

Jul 13, 2015

One of the key battlegrounds for public access to electronic records, in Indiana and around the country, involves email accounts of public officials. Journalists have found major revelations in officials’ emails, such as alleged misconduct by former State...

Video: ICOG, SPJ panel on digital transparency

Apr 12, 2015

Indiana Coalition for Open Government and the Indiana Professional Chapter of Society of Professional Journalists marked Sunshine Week 2015 with a symposium to discuss the state of open government data in Indiana. Titled "Digital Transparency in Government: What We...

All the News

Sunshine Week 2024: March 10th – 16th

Feb 10, 2024

Good day everyone! We are working on some virtual events for Sunshine Week 2024 (March 10th - 16th). One, in particular, will be to help populate our Indiana Data Tracker website with public datasets from across the Hoosier State. You can subscribe to our Substack,...

Congress: Protect Reporters from Exploitative State Spying Act or the PRESS Act passes the House

Jan 20, 2024

On January 18th, the House moved forward on the PRESS Act: On motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill Agreed to by voice vote. Read the full bill here: https://www.congress.gov/bill/118th-congress/house-bill/4250/text Read the latest actions here:...

The Brechner Report: 11/10/2023 – All the latest government transparency news

Nov 11, 2023

You can read the full newsletter here: https://us9.campaign-archive.com/?e=33979fc3e9&u=e2bfc368fca7a023b36d90db8&id=7cdebedc7a Topics covered: Access to state public records is "deteriorating terribly" Strategies to stem the tide of exemptions New Jersey's...