Follow along as we pull back the curtain through FOIA, whistleblowers, and tipsters – all in service of rooting out corruption through investigative journalism. We’re in this together. Welcome to Transparency Update.
Transparency Update: How to FOI sexual misconduct records
Records of misconduct on college campuses are hard to obtain. Inside Investigator recently published our second investigation into sexual misconduct on public college campuses in Connecticut, focused on the University of Connecticut (UConn). Our first investigation focused on the Connecticut State Colleges & Universities (CSCU) system because, at time…
Transparency Update: 2024 law makes FOI toothless against homicide, fraud
Just as free speech doesn’t mean much if controversial speech isn’t protected, so too does the concept of freedom of information ring hollow if records that shed light on government wrongdoing are sealed off from public scrutiny. In October 2019, a Connecticut state medical examiner ruled the gruesome in-custody…
$300,000 to study FOIA wait times? We could do it for free.
Connecticut has a Freedom of Information Act response time problem, and they want to spend $300,000 to study it. We could do it for free.
Sunshine Week 2026: Tips for Obtaining and Using FOI Records
It’s Sunshine Week 2026! We have tips and tricks for using your right to know, and guidance on how to use what you uncover.
Transparency Update: ALPR exemption kneecaps journalists
Exempting ALPR data from FOIA is at odds with the rest of the bill because it does not limit government authorities. It limits the public.
Transparency Update: Guesswork, Breakdowns, and Privacy
Public officials frequently cite recent increases in the number of public records requests as the cause for backlogs and long response times.
Transparency Update: Enhancing public access
Inside Investigator recently received a tip claiming that Southington was charging an hourly research fee for FOIA requests.
Transparency Update: Manchester police continue to flout FOI duties
The FOIC has already ruled that ALPR data is likely not exempt because it doesn’t reveal investigatory techniques. It’s just data.
Transparency Update: 2025 in Review
Transparency Update: Public officials frequently won’t answer questions unless they’re statutorily obligated to by a records request.
FOIC releases two proposed final decisions on sexual misconduct
The FOIC is set to hand us a significant victory in our ongoing bid to comprehensively document sexual misconduct on CT college campuses.
Transparency Update: A somewhat hollow victory
ALPR data is being withheld, and despite a win at the FOIC, we’re back at square one, making it a hollow victory.
Transparency Update: Seeking a comprehensive picture
When making a FOIA request, how do you make sure what you’re getting back is a comprehensive picture? UConn provides a good example.
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