In mid-January, McHenry County States’s Attorney Patrick Kenneally filed a Freedom of Information Act request for extensive financial and employment records with Nunda Township.
2013 to 2017, similar to what he requested of Algonquin Township.
Nunda replied that the request was “unduly burdensome,” but came up with almost 2700 pages by the end of January.
Kenneally’s office paid $412.25 for a banker’s box of records.
Nunda asked for an advance payment of $300 for the additional records.
It was paid.
Nunda wrote that about 2000 more pages were to be copied.
Patrick Kenneally
By July 17th, Keneally’s patience apparently ran out, because he filed suit against Nunda Township alleging various violations of the Freedom of Information Act including failure to provide the requested documents in a timely fashion, refusal to provide documents in an electronic format, failure to justify the 15 cents a page copying charger, improper charging of advance payment, plus saying that no charge should have been required because “the request was in the public interest.”
The suit charges Nunda Township with acting in “bad faith.”
It then asks for the allows $2000 to $5000 civil penalty for each violation of the Freedom of Information Act, plus a refund of the $712.25 already paid.
Unremarkable.
Why did they pay anything in the first place! Are we playing rope-a-dope now or did they seriously think they had to pay the township?
Township employees have better stuff to do then to come up with 10,000 pages of records for you to dig through for the next 5 years. I mean seriously come on.
So if he gets the information, do we get another 62 page excuse list?
Aww… is the township’s “VIPs and friends and family taking township equipment home on the weekends to install pools” policy being scrutinized?
So much schadenfreude.
Just like at Alg township, past Clerks haven’t been doing their jobs in a timely matter, digitizing the records yearly.
Even if Kenneally didn’t press charges on previous Algonquin Township administrations, that report called for structural reforms, right?
Now he’s looking at Nunda.
If Kenneally comes to a similar conclusion at Nunda — one that shows corruption which was legal — and calls for reform, why would anybody be mad?
He can only prosecute what is illegal. If he goes on a rampage exposing things that are legal but corrupt, and calls for change to those corrupt practices, why would people be mad? He’d at least be giving you a heads up to alter the government.
I don’t see any downside to him looking into Nunda Township. He’s already raised questions there about the FOIA process..
Kenneally … just another squeally.
This is all eyewash to try and undo the damage of his giving Miller this:
http://www.clker.com/cliparts/c/1/3/9/13800518782083390549get-out-of-jail-free-card-rob-hans.jpg
Remember this, the smaller the body of government, the more likely to be corrupt. Someone, anyone, a citizen should have requested this info long ago. Gotta keep an eye on things. Watchdogs are necessary! Townships aren’t needed. Time to do away with them. Illinois has 6,963 local governments, the most of any state. Over 2,500 more than California the most populated state. Too much redundancy in Illinois.
Go get em Pat.
Those who yell the loudest have the most to hide….some more than others.