Bunches of Hypocrites

There's a bill Porkulous signed last month to conceal information about government officials:

• Amid growing national fears about politically motivated violence and threats, Illinois lawmakers moved swiftly last fall to pass a sweeping statute allowing public officials to shield their personal information from public view.

  But the new law — signed last month by Gov. JB Pritzker — also erects a barrier between citizens and records long considered essential to democratic accountability, including marital status and basic information about whether lawmakers, county clerks and other officials actually live in the districts and communities they serve.

What else do they want to conceal?

• Under the law, government agencies, businesses and private individuals must redact and refrain from sharing the personal information of many current and former public officials upon request, though notably not those seeking office. Home addresses, phone numbers, personal email addresses and even marital status can all be removed from public view at the official’s discretion. The statute makes no explicit exception for journalism or political speech and applies retroactively, allowing officials to demand the removal of previously published material.

  Questions as basic as whether an elected official meets residency requirements — a cornerstone of representative government — could become legally fraught to investigate or publish.

And guess what else they're whining about?

• Democratic Rep. Katie Stuart of Edwardsville, the chief House sponsor of the law, said the legislation was modeled after a 2012 measure that allows judges to request the shielding of their personal information. That law was enacted after the 2005 killings of the husband and mother of U.S. District Judge Joan Lefkow by a disgruntled litigant. Stuart said the measure reflects a sobering escalation in political hostility and violence.

  “Our spouses, our children, our loved ones deserve to be protected and not be put at risk,” Stuart said. “And really, nobody needs their life at risk to do the job of serving the public.”

Gee, you mean like Federal Officers wearing masks so as not to be doxxed? That's going on right now....including threats to Officers' spouses, children, schools that their kids go to, etc.

But politicians - especially democrats - are our betters, so they deserve complete secrecy while outing everyone else?