For the second time since he has taken office as McHenry County Board Chairman, a Jack Franks’ denial of a Freedom of Information request from McHenry County Blog has been overturned. The first sentence of the latest missive from the … Continue reading
Back in 2007, less than two years after McHenry County Blog was founded, State Sunshine and Open Records interviewed me on my experiences with the Freedom of Information Act. With Jack Franks’ Freedom of Information Office trying to delay and … Continue reading
Below are three of the opinions cited by Jack Franks’ Freedom of Information Officer to justify the assertion that McHenry County Blog is not part of the news media. The first is dated February 13, 2015. The second is dated … Continue reading
According to a statement filed with the Public Access Division of the Illinois Attorney General’s Office, McHenry County Blog is not a member of the media. You can read the reply to the Public Access Counselor’s request below: The letter … Continue reading
Over the years there have been reports of private cars having their oil changed and being repaired by McHenry County Sheriff’s Department personnel with the use of taxpayer-funded supplies. The name of a member of the County Board even came … Continue reading
As you might imagine, when I learned that McHenry County College software vendor Ellucian had sent Social Security numbers and other personal information to three junior colleges which MCC refused to identify (but you can discover here), I thought you … Continue reading
First Electric Newspaper Editor Pete Gonigam filed a Freedom of Information request with the McHenry County Sheriff’s Department seeking documents about the investigation of Undersheriff Andy Zinke’s telling someone whose firm was getting a delivery which was apparently subject of … Continue reading
The Village of Johnsburg posted a press release attacking Mary Haney and her husband for the cost of replying to Freedom of Information requests. It showed up a day after Haney, running for Village President against incumbent Ed Hettermann, delivered … Continue reading
For about a month I have been trying to obtain two years of legal expenses in a user-friend format for the McHenry County Mental Health Board (often called the “708 Board” because of the number of its authorization section in … Continue reading
A couple of weeks ago on January 24th, I asked for the last two year’s legal expenses for the 708 Mental Health Board. I asked that this information be provided by email, specifically writing, “Thanks for fulfilling this request via … Continue reading
This past spring I asked various municipalities to provide emailed lists of their employees who made over $75,000 in salary and fringe benefits. Many complied with the names and compensation information. The City of Crystal Lake sent the information, but … Continue reading
I filed a Freedom of Information request with Illinois’ Downstate Teachers Retirement Fund. I came up dry and got a reply through an email. But, TRS also sent me a letter by Certified Mail I talked to them about it, … Continue reading
On night last week, I shot off 20-30 Freedom of Information requests for emails from announced McHenry County Sheriff candidate Andy Zinke. I’ve gotten a lot of replies. Today I received my first rejection. It was from the Village of … Continue reading
I have to say I am disappointed that Crystal Lake District 47 has no idea of how much it might cost to shift the financing of teacher pensions from state taxpayers to local taxpayers. In a Freedom of Information Request, … Continue reading
I see the mention of the Village of Barrington Hill’s failure to answer Cook County Treasurer Maria Pappas’ request for debt information in Tuesday’s Chicago Tribune editorial. That failure was noticed and memorialized by The Barrington Hills Observer. On that … Continue reading
The first time I asked, I had no problem getting applications from those applying for the vacant McHenry County Superintendent of Schools post. This is the elected official, you will recall, whose shoes have been filled by the Lake County … Continue reading
Most of what outside auditors do is pretty dry. Having served on the Illinois Legislative Audit Commission, I’ve read enough of them. The real interesting stuff is in the Management Letter. When I saw McHenry County College Board Agenda for … Continue reading
Since many, many state legislators have held local public office first, I guess people shouldn’t be surprised when they forget that they are representing people in Springfield, not cities, villages, school districts, etc. When the Northwest Municipal League … Continue reading
Chris Williams of Grafton-Algonquin-Nunda-Dorr Community Advocates shares a request that Crystal Lake High School District 155 make public details of the most expensive part of the school budget–teacher salaries. It comes on the rejection of the following Freedom of Information … Continue reading
Metra has adamantly refused to release information to McHenry County Blog regarding efforts to reimburse the taxpayers for the money that former Executive Director Phil Pagano took without authorization. I’ve been trying to obtain such documents since September, 2010, and … Continue reading
