The IRE Resource Center is a major research library containing more than 23,250 investigative stories — both print and broadcast. These stories are searchable online or by contacting the Resource Center directly (573-882-3364 or rescntr@ire.org) where a researcher can help you pinpoint what you need. Browse or search the tipsheet section of our library below. Stories are not available for download but can be easily ordered by contacting the Resource Center:
Search results for "Ohio Public Records Law" ...
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I-Team: Highway Robbery
WCPO's investigative unit exposed widespread theft of traffic fines by court clerks in a local community notorious as a speed trap -- Arlington Heights, Ohio. Bigger than the thefts by a pair of court clerks was the government cover up that persisted for at least a decade. We obtained documents showing two successive police chiefs had warned the mayor and fiscal officer of Arlington Heights that a substantial amount of cash was missing as far back as 2002. Rather than heeding those warnings, the elected leaders of Arlington Heights marginalized both police chiefs, who eventually resigned. Our ongoing investigation has directly resulted in: · Multiple felony indictments against two government employees for theft in office. · Passage and subsequent repeal of an illegal ban on television cameras in public council meetings. · The complete and permanent shut-down of the speed trap on I-75 through Arlington Heights, Ohio. · A call from the county prosecutor for the village to be dissolved and annexed into a neighboring city. · Committee passage of Ohio House Bill 523, eliminating mayors' courts in communities with fewer than 1,000 residents. · The adoption of a new public records policy for the Village of Arlington Heights, conforming with Ohio public records and open meetings laws. Chief Investigative Reporter Brendan Keefe successfully fought against a wall of resistance to obtain public documents and gain access to illegally-closed council meetings.
Tags: Theft; traffic fines; police chiefs; mayor; fiscal officer;
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Secrecy 101
"Universities hide information about their athletics departments behind a student-privacy law designed to keep grades private." Further, it hides athletes, who have done a number of unethical and some illegal activities. Also, coaches are using the law to hide their own bad behavior. All this information stunned the senator who created the law and he believes the "institutions are putting their own meaning into the law."
Tags: education; college; Senator James L. Buckley; NCAA; Ohio State; FOIA; Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA); federal; sports; public records; censor; academics
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Uncovering "Coingate"
After breaking a story of Ohio's $50 million investment in rare coins and the mired issues attached to this, in April, the (Toledo) Blade decided to dig deeper, filing public records requests with the Ohio Bureau of Workers' Compensation to inspect the coin transaction and business records of the state's rare-coin investment. This brought a refusal from the coin fund's manager, saying the fund was exempt from the state's Open Record Laws. Once the Supreme Court of Ohio ordered the release of the records, it was discovered that $13 million dollars of the state's investment was missing.
Tags: coingate; FOIA; corruption; pension fund; Ohio Supreme Court; rare coins; Ohio Bureau of Workers' Compensation
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Alarming Absence
The authors investigated reports that inspectors with the Columbus Fire prevention Bureau had missed or falsified dozens of fire inspections. The inspectors were supposed to make sure new or renovated buildings were safe for the public to occupy. There were missed inspections, allegations of intoxication on the job, and overtime fraud.
Tags: Fire; building inspectors; Columbus Fire Prevention Bureau; Ned Pettis; Ohio Public Records Law; overtime fraud; public safety
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Blue Mob
This investigative story is a narrative as told by an eccentric civil rights lawyer. It started off as a regular coverage of a rally protesting police brutality. As it turned out the reporter learned about the incidents of police brutality in a small town of Warren, OH. On pursuing this lead the reporter found that people who were arrested in this town were not only beaten up but that their families were afraid to talk and feared more police harassment.
Tags: police brutality; anti police brutality rally; Warren Ohio; Ohio crime; Ohio police; FOIA; public records; police; law; civil rights; civil rights lawyer; Cleveland; Richard Olivito
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FOI Audit of Ohio Public Records
This was a collaboration of newspapers across the state and the Associated Press, all of whom performed an audit of Ohio's open-records law. Included in our database are stories from the Plain Dealer, the Toledo Blade and the Columbus Dispatch. Although different papers approached the audit differently, there was a consistent stream of cases in which officials either denied access to public records or made access extremely difficult. The Toledo Blade found that local officials complied with the law only about half the time with schools being the more frequent deniers of access.
Tags: FOIA
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Ohio School Fire Drills: Safety Under Fire
In order to create a safe environment for K-12 students, Ohio enacted a strict state law, which required "all schools with an average daily attendance of 50 or more, public or private, to conduct at least 10 fire drills each school year." The law also required that the first two drills be scheduled within the first weeks of school, when students would be less likely to be familar with the building. According to WBNS-TV's 10 Investigates, more than 45 percent of 401 schools were not performing the drills in accordance with the law, nor were they fined. In some cases, administrators did not keep records of when drills were performed, and therefore had to estimate when the drills did occur.