Milton Township, Ill. (ECWd) –
We recently wrote about Milton Township’s claims that a nonprofit set up and operated with public funds, public vehicles, public board members, public internet, public phones, and public office space was not subject to the Freedom of Information Act (here and here). We are still awaiting a response from the Illinois Attorney General’s Public Access Counselor on that request for review…
Here is where the Township is telling on themselves…my FOIA requests were in August of 2025. During the October 2025 meeting of the township board, they approved two items related to the food pantry, which they claim is a separate nonprofit, not subject to FOIA:
- A RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING A VEHICLE TITLE CORRECTION (FORD E-SERIES REFRIGERATED VEHICLE)
- MILTON TOWNSHIP / MILTON TOWNSHIP FOOD PANTRY, INC. MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING
This, in our opinion, was Milton Township’s attempt at hiding the township’s (food pantry) records from the public.
The Memorandum of Understanding (“MOU”) between the township and its food pantry lists some disturbing agreements:
- Shared space in the township building – food pantry to “compensate” the township, but no compensation rate is indicated
- Township staff/employees will work for the food pantry and exclusively for food pantry duties and tasks
- Township provides communications and accounting resources to the food pantry, including, but not limited to: monthly accounting for the segregated funds, annual audit, Form 990 preparation, website presence, a page in biannual newsletters, occasional social media posts and the use of the existing Township phone line, to assist the Food Pantry to discharge the duties and responsibilities for which it was established
It is now in writing and approved by the township board that township taxpayers are paying for township employees to work for a private corporation and are paying for township employees/officers to provide all the financial accounting for a private corporation and paying for a contracted audit of the private corporation’s financial records. We have yet to find any such authority in our laws for them to do that.
We have sent a few more requests for public records related to these items and will provide an update once received.
