Freedom of Information Act

Last year, Laura Jordan, the $150,000-a-year legal counsel to then-Speaker Christopher Donovan in the House Democrats' office at the Capitol, found herself in the middle of a federal grand jury investigation. That circumstance made it a challenge for...

Please allow me to take a moment to begin this column with a few words of appreciation for sharp-eyed readers who add to my knowledge of a subject after I've written a column about it. Thank you also for helping to shine a light on some of the murkier...

The Securities and Exchange Commission is certainly looking all spiffy and new these days. Mary Jo White, the former federal prosecutor and Debevoise & Plimpton law partner, has taken over as chairman. She tapped her longtime deputy at the Southern...

Connecticut legislators say a key provision that sets their tough new gun-control law apart from other states' measures is its first-in-the-nation "dangerous weapon offender registry" — which will list the names and addresses of those convicted of...

Clues to how serious the federal investigation of corruption at the General Assembly is come from the reaction of state officials to routine requests for documents under the Freedom of Information Act. Facts surrounding a list — that an official's...

Chicago's growing season is still young, and so far the alleged villain in Kathy Cummings' garden is only 2 inches tall. By summer's peak, however, the accused will stand 4 gangly feet once again, and once again someone is sure to mistake it for a weed....

The General Assembly should consider limiting what qualifies under law for a waiver for competitive bidding on state contracts, state auditors John C. Geragosian and Robert M. Ward said in their annual report to lawmakers, released Friday. The law...

Prepare for weeks of talk about the state's deteriorating finances as Gov. Dannel begins another unhappy chapter of the tale of declining fortunes. The problem is that state government spends more than is produced by the array of taxes it imposes. The...

Federal law enforcement agents visited the Legislative Office Building in October to examine the illegal intersection of legislating and campaign fundraising. What a dispiriting tale continues to unfold at the heart of state government. In mid October,...

WASHINGTON -- "My administration," President Obama wrote on his first day in office, "is committed to creating an unprecedented level of openness in government." Those were strong and hopeful words. Four years later, it is becoming more and more clear...

Irving J. Pinsky, the lawyer who made national news by filing a notice of a claim against the state Dec. 27 for $100 million on behalf of a girl who survived the Newtown school massacre — and then withdrawing the claim, days later, amid public...

Robert Kennedy, the higher education chief who resigned Oct. 12 amid an uproar over $250,000 in unauthorized raises given to his subordinates, received at least $100,000 more than his widely reported $340,000 annual salary in 13 months on the job —...