Here’s a new state law we can all get behind: Public Act 098-0738, which requires certain disclosures pertaining to city and county audits. Introduced by Rep. Tom Demmer, the law went into effect this month. Here’s another version with the deets. Of particular interest to me is the now-required sharing of the auditors’ letters to…
Tag: Freedom of Information Act
Just So You Know, DeKalb’s Email Disclaimer is Garbage
This is popping up on emails from City of DeKalb. Disclaimer: This is a transmission from the City of DeKalb that is confidential and proprietary. If you are not the intended recipient, copying or distributing the contents of this message is expressly prohibited. If you have received this message in error, please destroy it and…
Resident Officer Programs: One of These Things is Not Like the Others
**UPDATE 11/24** Via email, the city still maintains that the redaction “facially” applied to its FOIA response. However: [A]fter further discussion with the Police Department, we believe that the Resident Officer Program’s mission is furthered by engaging with the public wherever possible, and where doing so does not endanger public or officer safety. Accordingly, the…
Tim Struthers Gave DeKalb’s Mayor Talking Points When the College Town Partners Story Broke
If you haven’t heard, banker Tim Struthers has been appointed by Governor Rauner to the NIU Board of Trustees, pending approval by the Illinois Senate. Trouble is, there’s compelling evidence of major conflicts of interest in his appointment, which the Edgar County Watchdogs have outlined admirably. Struthers presently serves on the DeKalb County Sanitary District,…
Mayor Rey’s Acceptance of NIU’s Gift of a Trip
Mayor Rey accepted the gift of a trip worth more than $1,000 in September 2013, according to Northern Illinois University records recently obtained under the Freedom of Information Act. Rey and NIU President Doug Baker traveled to Moscow, Idaho, to foster better “town-gown” relations and to take in a football game between NIU and the…
Ron Walters’ Pay Arrangement with NIU
In her article about Ron Walter’s background and employment at Northern Illinois University under President Doug Baker, Kelly Bauer noted that the consultant was paid even when his calendar indicated he had no scheduled work. It appears Bauer intended to get to the bottom of it — the above article is labeled Part One —…
More on the NIU – Ron Walters Travel Funds Controversy
Earlier this month, the Daily Chronicle gave us an update: An audit of the university in March, completed by Illinois Auditor General William G. Holland, found that NIU had improperly reimbursed [Ron] Walters and also didn’t comply with a variety of guidelines for internal control and processes related to procurement and contracts. Walters had received…
Website Accessibility & the Fine Print
After having pointed out that DeKalb’s new website doesn’t pass accessibility tests and going back and forth with city staff over the issue, I’ve finally remembered something else. I have some related documents on hand that were released by the city in response to a request for information on communications between City of DeKalb and…
One of These Things is Not Like the Other
Still on the subject of DeKalb’s service agreement with website designer CivicPlus. There are two versions available: the agreement included in the February 9 agenda packet, and the version that Mayor John Rey signed on February 11. No, they are not the same. Yes, it is disturbing to think that we would be reading one…
We Must Have a Do-Over of DeKalb’s New FOIA Policy
While there are several things wrong with the city’s new Freedom of Information Act policy when it comes to direct violations of FOIA as a law, there is also something larger and more insidious at work here. What I’m talking about is that the FOIA policy item was placed as a resolution on the consent…