WESLEY TOWNSHIP, IL. (ECWd) –
It appears the newly appointed Wesley Township Clerk, Sarah Norton, is not performing the functions appointed to her position as the official Wesley Township Freedom of Information Act Officer.
A request for a public record under the FOIA was sent to the Township on July 15, 2018, and was never responded to.
When a follow-up email was sent, this was the clerk’s response from yesterday (August 1st):
I am sorry your FOIA request wasn’t answered in a timely manor. I have been out of town and did not receive this request before I left town. I am not do back for a few weeks, I will look into all you asked for as soon as I return.
Sarah Norton
Wesley Township Clerk
The Freedom of Information Act’s mandated 5-day response time does not state “unless you are on vacation” – no – it states 5 business days after receipt, and when email is used to submit an FOIA request, it is considered received when the requester sends the email – not when the public body decides to open the email and read it.
This is unacceptable for any public body and places it in the position of being sued for violating the FOIA. Additionally, there are other officials/employees of the township who can properly respond and have not done so.
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