Governor refuses access to previously open files

Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s administration has suddenly flipped a switch on its policy regarding executive clemency files after taking heat for two pardons that were publicized last month.

The Chicago Sun-Times’s request for police reports, court records and other documents pertaining to the governor’s 69 pardons was rejected by the administration. The Prisoner Review Board, whose members are appointed by the governor, claimed the released information would be an “invasion of personal privacy.

The newspaper has appealed the decision.