How to File a FOIA in Illinois

The following is taken from the Better Government Association website:  http://www.bettergov.org/watchdog/foia.aspx

 

How to File a FOIA in Illinois

What is FOIA?

FOIA is an acronym for the Freedom of Information Act.
FOIA is an open-government law grounded in the principle that the public should be able to access public records and information about the workings of their government.

"[A]ll persons are entitled to full and complete information regarding the affairs of government and the official acts and policies of those who represent them as public officials…" 5ILCS 140/1

"Such access is necessary to enable people to … monitor[] government to ensure that it is being conducted in the public interest." Id

"Each public body shall make available to any person for inspection or copying all public records…" 5 ILCS 140/3

The website for the Office of the Attorney General has an extensive section on FOIA.

How do I file a FOIA request in Illinois?

1. Find the right FOIA officer.
A FOIA officer handles and responds to FOIA requests. Find this person on the Internet or use the main number of the office from which you’re requesting public records. For example, if you are looking to file a FOIA request with the City of Chicago, visit the FOIA page on cityofchicago.com to find the right officer.

2. Write your request.

• No specific format is required.
• No standard form is required.
• No reason for your request is necessary.
• Be as specific as possible about what records you are requesting.
• Include your name and contact information.
  
  A sample FOIA Request:
  January 1, 2010
  Dear FOIA Officer (use specific name):
  This is a request under the Freedom of Information Act.
  I would like copies of records of all of your agency’s current employees and officers, including each person’s name, title, hire date, current salary and overtime paid in 2006.
  Please send a copy of the records to me at the address below. I would also be happy to accept the records electronically. Because these records are in the public interest, I ask that you waive any reproduction fee.
  If you deny this request, please tell me on what grounds, and to whom I should appeal.
  Thank you,
  Mary Frances O’Connor
  Better Government Association
  223 West Jackson
  Chicago, IL 60606
  312-821-9026 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting 312-821-9026 end_of_the_skype_highlighting
  mfoconnor@bettergov.org

3. Write your request.

• The public body must comply with or deny the request within 5 business days.
• The public body may request an extension of up to 5 business days.
• No response from the public body equals a denial, and you may then appeal (see below).
• Keep notes and records (names, dates, times) of all communication, including phone calls.

What do I do if my FOIA request is denied?

Denials are common. Here’s what you can do.

1. Submit a request for review with the Public Access Counselor in the Illinois Attorney General’s office — it typically takes 60 days for an opinion — here: http://foia.ilattorneygeneral.net/.

2. File a lawsuit. Filing fees can be expensive. For example, in Cook County the filing fee is about $400. A lawsuit usually takes at least six months to resolve.

3. Call/email BGA, and tell us about your situation.

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QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS?

Contact:
Mary Frances O’Connor
Director, Citizen Watchdog Training
mfoconnor@bettergov.org
312.821.9026 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting 312.821.9026 end_of_the_skype_highlighting

Boone County receives a seven page Management Letter from Auditing Firm

Based upon the length of the management letter it appears some changes are called for.

Click on the photocopy to enlarge:

Great Article Regarding Boone County’s Latino growth and future

The real question is how much do our leaders and community know about our Hispanic neighbors.  What countries do they come from?  If they are from Mexico, each Mexican state is often quite different as far as culture and aspirations. Has anyone even asked these questions? 

Just like my Belgium grandparents they tend to settle in the same place with their brothers and sisters, cousins and neighbors from back home.  They are not always certain that this is the right place for them.  My father was born in Texas because my grandfather left the factory of Moline and tried to do what his brother did—become a vegetable farmer in Texas.  His brother stayed and family still lives there today. My grandfather’s great idea failed and was replaced with others, back in the Quad Cities. 

I find my Spanish speaking neighbors warm, loving.   Many activities are family center with much music and celebration.  Many are seeking a rural life much like myself.  How can we learn to know each other better? Remember that their Spanish speaking forefather held claim to much of the United States before Ellis Island opened its gates.

Click on the photocopy to enlarge:

 

 

Read this twenty page report and determine our readiness

Click on the following:  http://www.bipartisanpolicy.org/sites/default/files/CommissionRecommendations.pdf

McHenry County Board mulls referendum to lower electricity rates

Is this something which Boone County’s board should look into?

The following is taken from:  http://www.nwherald.com/2011/09/08/county-board-mulls-referendum-to-lower-electricity-rates/argl8hr/

County Board mulls referendum to lower electricity rates

By KEVIN P. CRAVER - kcraver@shawmedia.com

WOODSTOCK – The McHenry County Board may put a referendum on the ballot asking unincorporated residents whether they want the county to seek lower electrical rates on their behalf.

Voters in Harvard and Fox River Grove already have approved the idea. Should it go before rural voters next March and pass, the county then could bundle willing residential and small-business accounts into one and shop around competitively for electricity.

The board’s Legislative and Intergovernmental Affairs Committee will discuss a possible referendum after talking Thursday with David Hoover, executive director of the Northern Illinois Municipal Electric Collaborative. Hoover said that residential and commercial users in municipalities that have done so have saved an average of 23 percent on their electric bills.

Recent legislation has allowed municipalities and other governments to “aggregate” their users and shop around for the best deal, if approved by voter referendum. Voters in all but four of the 23 municipalities that have asked the question have approved it.

“To me, that’s really changed the game,” Hoover said.

The committee intends to invite Hoover to speak before the County Board at its Oct. 4 meeting, and could decide at its Oct. 18 meeting whether to put the issue on the ballot. If approved, it would affect only the county’s 70,000 or so unincorporated residents.

Governments have until Jan. 3 to put a referendum on the March 20 ballot, County Administrator Peter Austin said. If approved, any resident wanting an opt-out can stay with ComEd as their provider.

Committee Chairman James Heisler, R-Crystal Lake, said he would like to invite McHenry County municipal leaders should Hoover talk before the County Board. Austin, who regularly meets with local city managers and village administrators, said talk of following Harvard’s and Fox River Grove’s lead was growing.

Hoover gave a similar presentation to the Marengo City Council last month.

“So often we talk about spending more, maybe we should talk about saving more,” Heisler said.

About a dozen energy suppliers are authorized to sell to residential consumers, Hoover said. Committee member Ersel Schuster, R-Woodstock, said she was concerned about future savings if smaller providers were acquired by big ones and “we’re right back to a monopoly.”

Hoover said consumers always would have an option of sticking with or going back to ComEd.

“Belvidere May have too many schools in five years”

To read the entire article go to:  http://www.rrstar.com/insight/alexgary/x219198780/In-Sundays-paper-Suburbs-absorb-exodus-from-Rockford

Neighboring ZIP codes absorb Rockford exodus

The latest release of 2010 census data proves what anyone driving around the Rock River Valley already knows — the population is moving.
The U.S. Census Bureau released population changes from 2000 to 2010 broken down by ZIP code. In Winnebago County, just two major ZIP codes lost population. Downtown Rockford east of the river, 61104, fell by nearly 6 percent. And 61101, which is Rockford’s northwest side, declined by 8.1 percent. And of those Rockford ZIP codes that did see population growth, not one saw even 10 percent growth.
For much of the decade, the moving vans were heading to such places as Poplar Grove and Belvidere, where populations grew by 35.8 and 17.3 percent, respectively, and Winnebago, up 20.4 percent.
…..
Both the Belvidere and North Boone school districts in Boone County felt the crunch of new families flocking to their areas. Belvidere built a new middle school and a second high school. North Boone expanded an elementary school, built a new high school and put on an addition to the old high school.
Michael Houselog was superintendent of North Boone for much of the decade and now is the superintendent of Belvidere. In the 2000-01 school year, Belvidere had 6,352 students and North Boone 1,283. By 2007, Belvidere’s student population surged to 8,728 and North Boone’s to 1,686.
But in the wake of the Great Recession, the growth rate has slowed. In 2010, Belvidere was up to 9,001 and North Boone to 1,746.
And Houselog said that unless the economy revives and people begin returning to Boone County, Belvidere is going to have too many schools within five years.
“This year, our three smallest grades are kindergarten, first and second grade,” Houselog said. “This will put it in into context. In 2005, we had more than 700 kids in kindergarten. This year we have 485.”
Still, Houselog is confident that Boone County will become a destination of choice again.
“The things that made this a desirable place haven’t changed. We have lower tax rates than what you’ll find in the Chicago area. Having (Interstate 90) coming through our county allows easy access to Rockford, Madison, Chicago,” he said. “When the economy turns, we think it’ll turn here first. The question is when.”
While the once hot growth areas wait for another boom, Krause said the aging areas of Rockford are waiting on something else — reinvestment.
“In Chicago, there are a number of aging neighborhoods that have done well because developers took industrial buildings and turned them into condos,” Krause said. “Part of the reason they took that risk is because prices in Chicago’s suburbs had increased so much that it made sense to reinvest in the older neighborhoods. That could happen here, but so many developers were hurt by the recession that few are ready to take that risk in Rockford.”
Krause said there have been some residential redevelopment success stories in Rockford, such as the Brown building downtown and the Garrison Lofts & Town Homes, but much more is needed to persuade retailers to come back as well.
Assistant Business Editor Alex Gary may be reached at agary@rrstar.com or at 815-987-1339 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting 815-987-1339 end_of_the_skype_highlighting.

Copyright 2011 Rockford Register Star. Some rights reserved

Chrysler supplier in Belvidere laying off 118

The following is taken from:  http://blogs.e-rockford.com/alexgary/2011/09/08/chrysler-supplier-in-belvidere-laying-off-118/

 

Chrysler supplier in Belvidere laying off 118

Posted on September 8, 2011 at 12:59 pm by Alex Gary

 

Android Industries filed paperwork with the state indicating it will permanently lay off 118 workers at its plant in Belvidere.

The Michigan-based company supplies engine/transmission modules and instrument panels for Chrysler LLC’s Belvidere plant.

The Register Star has calls into Android and United Auto Workers Local 1268, which represents most of the affected workers, to talk further about the move.

According to the state’s monthly Worker Adjustment Retraining Notification (WARN) report, the company will begin letting workers go on Nov. 1 and be finished with the lay offs by Nov. 22.

Android came to Belvidere in 2005 when Chrysler launched the Dodge Caliber. The company received a small amount of state assistance — $102,500 — to help the company create 205 jobs. According to state reports, Android at one point had as many as 270 workers in Belvidere.

Chrysler’s Belvidere workers now assemble the Caliber, Jeep Compass and Jeep Patriot. Several national automotive media outlets have quoted various Chrysler officials, including CEO Sergio Marchionne, that the company plans to replace the Caliber with a small sedan based on the architecture of the Alfa Romeo Guilietta. Chrysler now is majority owned and run by Italy’s Fiat SpA.

The Caliber replacement is expected to go into production in the final three months of this year, which would coincide with the closing of Android.

A new car line may bring several changes to the local Chrysler supplier lineup, especially considering the Caliber-Compass-Patriot line was designed when Chrysler was owned by German automaker Daimler AG.

The first round of changes was publicized in May when International Automotive Components, or IAC for short, confirmed it was moving into a 172,000-square-foot building near the Chrysler plant and hiring 200 people to work beginning next January.

2 Comments

1. Bill says:

   September 9, 2011 at 6:53 am

   Im sorry – are they laying off or closing??

2. Alex Gary says:

   September 9, 2011 at 9:44 am

   The report doesn’t specify and the company didn’t call back. I believe it is closing.