Gov. Blagojevich and his administration have “won” four of the Illinois Press Assocation’s ten “Freedom of Information Worsty” awards. From a press release:

The Illinois Press Association today identified the worst offenders in the state when it comes to the Illinois Open Meetings Act and the Illinois Freedom of Information Act. […]

IPA Board Member Larry Green, president/publisher of Pioneer Press newspapers and chairman of the IPA’s government relations committee said the “Worsty Awards” were created to underscore the importance of compliance with the two laws.

“Despite increased vigilance by our organization, the Attorney General’s office and other watchdog groups, the abuses of these two access laws continues to escalate,” Green said. “These ‘awards’ identify the worst offenders each year. We hope that this will help to curtail future abuses.”

For whatever reason, the worst of the worst didn’t make the cut: The governor’s refusal to release any info regarding subpoenas of his office and his agencies.

All of the awards can be accessed here (.doc file)

And speaking of awards, thanks much to the Illinois Times and a special thanks to anyone who voted for this blog. That was very nice of you. Also, congrats to the other winners.