Illinois judge orders publisher to take down voters' personal information
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A Lake County judge is ordering the publisher of right-leaning websites to remove personal voter information from its sites.
According to the order, Local Government Information Services, Inc., a self-described “media watchdog” based in Lake Forest, has until 5 p.m. Monday to remove full birthdates and addresses for thousands of voters.
Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul is suing the website chain for publishing sensitive information about Illinois voters that could put them at risk for identity theft and poses a threat to people's safety, as well.
The May 9 order was agreed upon by Raoul and Local Government Information Services, which is owned by Dan Proft, a conservative radio host and former Republican candidate for Illinois governor.
The media group operates more than 20 websites across Illinois and distributes about a dozen print publications including Rockford Sun, Sangamon Sun, Peoria Standard, Galesburg Reporter and NW Illinois News.
More: Illinois election authority wants voters' personal information removed from media websites
The Illinois State Board of Elections had asked the Attorney General's Office to look into the matter after learning that Illinois voters' personal data had been published on websites operated by Local Government Information Services.
The data showed the voters' personal information and in some cases whether they voted or not in the 2020 presidential election.
The State Board of Elections said it did not provide data to the media group for the stories.
Under state statute, political committees registered with the State Board of Elections are entitled to purchase the election authority's voter data file for “bona fide political purposes,” but they are prohibited from using the data for other business purposes. In January 2018, in an effort to further protect the personal data of voters, the board of elections stopped providing voters’ dates of birth in the voter file provided to political committees.
Chris Green is a Rockford Register Star general assignment reporter. He can be reached at 815-987-1241, via email at cgreen@rrstar.com and X @chrisfgreen.
This article originally appeared on Rockford Register Star: Publisher given deadline to remove voter information from websites
