In 1986, the federal government passed a law requiring county governments to provide a copy of their Comprehensive Emergency Response Plans upon verbal demand.

The law is called the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act, and I decided to test it.

My first stop was Kane County, and the trip was easy. Director Don Bryant had a copy of the plan on hand, and was prepared to explain its contents. Bryant knew the law, and took freedom of information one step further. The document is also available on the department’s Web site, ready for the world to download.

Cook County presented a slight challenge. The Cook County Sheriff Emergency Management Agency office’s address is listed on the department’s Web site as 1311 Maybrook Drive, Maywood. However, after spending 20 minutes looking for parking at that location, walking into three different offices, and waiting another half an hour, I was told the office is really located downtown, at 69 W. Washington Blvd., Chicago. From there, the process was simple. Administrative Assistant William Dorgan produced the document immediately, and explained its contents. He also provided a tour of the office.

Then there came DuPage County, which was absolutely and completely unhelpful from the get-go. The office’s main door, unlike its counterparts in Cook and Kane, is locked. One must wait until someone enters or exits to gain access. Once inside, I was told to wait for acting Director Joseph Kirts. I asked Kirts for the document. He told me it wasn’t public following the Sept. 11 attack.

That’s not true.

I informed him of the law, and again asked for the document. He again refused, and asked who I was and who I represented, information the government has repeatedly deemed unnecessary to provide. However, in the interests of openness, I acquiesced.
 
I then asked for a written denial of my request, which Kirts refused to provide. Kirts told me to fill out a freedom of information request on the county’s Web site, which I did, and then confirmed with Kirts’ office that it had been received. Seven days later, the department had not filled the request, again violating the law.

Phone calls and messages to Kirts were not returned.

— By Carlene Peterson, project editor