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

IndyStar: Hoosiers fear losing benefits, rights: A woman sued to save her Medicaid. HHC agency wants to bar such cases.

Nov 9, 2022

Magdaleno, Johnny, and Tony Cook. 2022. Hoosiers fear losing benefits, rights: A woman sued to save her medicaid. HHC agency wants to bar such cases. Indianapolis Star, Nov 04, 2022. (accessed January 9, 2023). Indiana and other states often try to cut or deny...

IndyStar sues 8 hospitals for records violations: Claim: Public spending on nursing homes obscured

Aug 11, 2022

Magdaleno, Johnny. 2022. IndyStar sues 8 hospitals for records violations: Claim: Public spending on nursing homes obscured. Indianapolis Star, Aug 10, 2022. (accessed August 11, 2022). Eight Indiana hospitals are violating state records laws by withholding...

Companies line up to bid on Grand Park: 18, some in central Indiana, want to own or operate sports campus

May 1, 2022

Carloni, Brittany. 2022. Companies line up to bid on grand park: 18, some in Central Indiana, want to own or operate sports campus. Indianapolis Star, Apr 27, 2022. (accessed May 1, 2022). Eighteen companies have informed Westfield they are interested in either...

News from ICOG

Please join us: ICOG, SPJ host Sunshine Week panel on open data

Mar 2, 2015

The Indiana Coalition for Open Government is pleased to join with the Indiana Professional Chapter of Society of Professional Journalists to host a symposium devoted to the issues surrounding open government data. The March 24 panel discussion draws from the ranks of...

ICOG joins death certificate lawsuit; Supreme Court hears arguments in May

Mar 17, 2014

The state Supreme Court will hear arguments in Evansville Courier & Press vs. Vanderburgh County Health Department, a lawsuit over public access to death certificates in Indiana. ICOG joined the effort to bring the case to the Supreme Court last year after a trial...

ICOG signs on to Indiana free speech case

Jul 3, 2013

Can you strongly disparage a judge without fear of being arrested for your words? The answer is yes under the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. But that didn't stop a Cincinnati blogger from being convicted of intimidation two years ago after strenuously...

All the News

Route Fifty: Access to public records is ‘deteriorating terribly’

Oct 31, 2023

Katherine Barrett & Richard Greene. 2023. Access to public records is 'deteriorating terribly'. Route Fifty, October 31st, 2023. Back in May, at the recommendation of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, the state legislature made a change to its public records laws,...

CFOIC report: Colorado should bar public officials’ use of disappearing messaging apps for official business

Jul 20, 2023

Colorado should enact legislation like a 2021 Michigan statute that outlaws the use of disappearing messaging apps in state government, but the language should be broadened to affect all state and local officials, a law student’s report prepared for the Colorado...

Bloomberg: Meet the Man (Jason Leopold) Who Sues the Government for Information

Jul 20, 2023

Jason Leopold is an investigative journalist at Bloomberg News who aggressively uses the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) to push for greater transparency and hold power to account. His document-based reporting has led to countless scoops, federal investigations and...