The City of Carlinville has enlisted a local newspaper to help it in its ongoing war of words with the Edgar County Watchdogs (ECW), the ECW alleges.
The ECW's John Kraft suggests that the Macoupin County Enquirer-Democrat is being used as a mouthpiece for the Carlinville mayor’s office. He cites an article that described him as targeting Carlinville in his pursuit of information he believes is public record.
“[I]f asking for public records and demanding they be provided equates to 'targeting' the City of Carlinville, then I am guilty,” he wrote.
Carlinville Mayor Deanna Demuzi
The dispute, which began approximately five years ago, comes from what Kraft says is Carlinville's unwillingness to release information.
“Nowhere else have we had this amount of trouble obtaining what they are required to provide,” Kraft said. "[T]he blame lies squarely on the back of the City Clerk and FOIA Officer, Mrs. Carla Brockmeier. It is her duty to comply with the law, regardless of what the Mayor or the city attorney instructs her to do."
The city has said it has turned over all documents it was required to by law and met all of its obligations under FOIA.
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