WATB alert! BELVIDERE — Belvidere Township’s legal fees have skyrocketed 383 percent from five years ago. The township has been scrutinized for months with residents filing lengthy Freedom of Information Act requests and writing memos that require legal responses. People have questioned the township’s budget, public comment process and whether the government body should even…
Tag: Freedom of Information Act
Home Rule and the Real Estate Transfer Tax
**Updated July 31 at end of post.** Believe it or not, there’s at least one limit to Illinois Home Rule! Here’s a post from the blog of the Illinois Association of Realtors: I was discussing a transaction in the home rule community of West Frankfort. “My client was surprised to learn at closing she had…
The FY2011 Central Area TIF Report
…can be found here (It’s a 64-page PDF so give it a minute to load). As an incorrigible repeat offender I could not stop myself from submitting a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request to obtain the following information: 1. The breakdown of the transfers so we can tell how much is going to the…
The Burden of Transparency
You’ve probably seen this e-mail wherein Mayor Povlsen scolds Mark Charvat for making plans to pack the house during the DeKalb Township Annual Meeting without telling him. — On Mon, 3/19/12, Povlsen, Kris wrote: From: Povlsen, Kris Subject: So much for Transparency To: “‘markX@X.com’” Date: Monday, March 19, 2012, 2:30 PM Guess this says a…
Irregularities in Issuance of Tapa La Luna Liquor License
This liquor license was issued February 2. According to e-mails obtained under the Illinois Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), the application for this liquor license was submitted the same day. So when I read something like this… DeKalb Mayor Kris Povlsen asked if there was a laundry list of public corruption because in his long…
New Bill Would Require Local Governments in Illinois to Place More Documents Online
Illinois Sen. Dan Duffy has filed this month SB3392, a bill that would require local governments with websites to post much more than many currently do. New requirements under the proposed legislation include putting online information regarding employee compensation, bids and contracts, which are documents typically sought under the Illinois Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).…
DeKalb’s City Manager’s Spending Authoritah
[Updated significantly about 7:55 a.m.] Municipal Code, Chapter 54, Financial Administration (my emphasis): The City Manager or his designee shall have the authority to enter into contracts for the purchase of goods and materials, the provision of contractual or professional services, and the construction of public improvements authorized by the approved annual budget in the…
Who & What Sparked the Sparland Investigation
In “Sparland Officials Resign Amid Investigations, Controversy” we learned that most of the officials of the Village of Sparland resigned in December and that it had to do with investigations into possible Open Meetings Act and Freedom of Information Act violations. But we were missing something. [Resident Margaret] Murry asked for records that included meeting…
Sparland Officials Resign Amid Investigations, Controversy
The (Peoria) Journal-Star reports that five elected officials of the central Illinois community of Sparland have resigned this month. The departing officials are Mayor Linda Medearis, Village Clerk Susan Persinger, Treasurer Margo Danger-Smith, and trustees Louis Lenz and Ralph McCasky. All have recently submitted notarized letters of resignation. […] The resignations come in the wake…
Attorneys as FOIA Exemptions
This is a follow up to “The Housing Task Force, Its Surprise Consultant & Trust”. The Illinois Attorney General’s Office of the Public Access Counselor notified me this week that its staff will review the denial of a related Freedom of Information Act request. As I mentioned in the comments section of the post, DeKalb…