Today, I encountered individuals who wanted to know what to request through the Freedom of Information Act in order to check up on their local government spending. I am excited to oblige these fine individuals and I hope our readers take the time to do...
LOGAN CO., IL.. (ECWd) - Our last article dealt with the Atlanta Public Library District's signing of a 20-year "Contract to Purchase" the building known as Union Hall. Library Trustee William Thomas and/or one of his business ventures owned the building. We believe this "contract" violated...
ATLANTA, IL. (ECWd) - During the August 10, 2017 public meeting, the Atlanta Public Library District Board of Trustees voted on paying bills without providing enough information to the public on what they were about to vote on. What we were trying to figure out, was how...
LaHarp, IL. (ECWd) - On August 18, 2017, the Illinois Attorney General's Public Access Counselor issued an opinion stating that the LaHarpe City Council violated the Open Meetings Act on September 26, 2016, when it entered into closed session without a finding of imminent and probable...
Logan Co, IL. (ECWd) - The Atlanta Public Library District held a Special Meeting in December 18, 2014, with the sole purpose of discussing the Union Hall project. What really happened was not on the meeting agenda for a vote, but it happened anyway. Imagine, selling a building...
[caption id="" align="alignleft" width="186"] William Thomas[/caption] ATLANTA, IL. (ECWd) - We have previously written about William Thomas' 2016 Statement of Economic Interest (SEI), and how we believed it to be inaccurate. This article will cover both of his SEI filings for 2017, in which it appears he...
Limestone Twp, Kankakee Co. - (ECWd) - "I was told," "they said," "everyone I talked to," and the most common response, "it's always been done that way," is what we routinely hear when actions of public officials are questioned. During the recent Limestone Township meeting the Highway...
ORLAND PARK, ILLINOIS (ECWd) -- The Orland Park Public Library apparently manipulated its email server somehow to block a recent Freedom of Information Act request from this author, made on August 4th, 2017 for documents related to what appears to be possible violations of the Illinois...
SPRINGFIELD, IL. (ECWd) - The Edgar County Watchdogs and the Illinois Policy Institute have submitted a joint friend-of-the-court brief, Amici Curiae, to the Supreme Court of Illinois in the case of Institute For Justice v. Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation. The joint brief urges...
Jasper Co. (ECWd) - Doing things the way you have always done them tends to be the biggest problem we see with public bodies, and it appears Jasper County is not much different than any of the other counties we have looked at. More often than...
