The Edgar County Watchdogs (ECW) are calling on Carlinville residents to speak up about an alleged lack of transparency the city is offering regarding its records.
In an ongoing battle with the city, the ECW recently posted the latest in what the group calls a long line of Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests that have prompted lawsuits because the city government allegedly won't comply.
“…[A]ll the city had to do was copy some paperwork and email it to [the requester],” ECW co-founder John Kraft wrote. “That was too difficult because the city, Mayor DeMuzio, and the attorney are hiding things from the public. Now they will answer to a Judge, and when this is all over and you see their legal bills, you should make them answer to you.”
Carlinville City Clerk Carla Brockmeier
The ECW said Robert Brogue submitted two FOIA requests in April and has yet to receive a response. The group also accused the city of failinig to respond to two letters from the Illinois attorney general’s public access Counselor. Brogue’s suit joins two others brought by Kraft.
“We also ask the residents of Carlinville to ask their City Council members if these records, and the records subject to the other lawsuits, were ever produced to the requesters – and if they say yes, tell them you know they are lying to you, and ask them to say that under oath,” Kraft wrote.
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