Part of the Barrington Hills Observer masthead.

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 site is the press release that Pappas sent out which, I assume, led to the editorial.

In the FOI request, Pappas says, ““We are taking this extraordinary step of using the FOIA provision because government may not flout the law any more than an individual. If anything, government should set the example in obeying the law.”

Here is what she requests:

“This Office hereby requests a full, complete, unabridged and unedited copy of (your) most recent audited financial statement.”

And the reason for the headline?

I called the Treasurer’s Office seeking the press person. Before I was connected to Bob Benjamin I was able to file a Freedom of Information request via email for the Pappas Freedom of Information request.

So, I’d make two suggestions.

Get more people to answer the phone.

There is such a long introductory message pointing callers everywhere but the Treasurer’s Office that most people probably just hang up.

After pushing the button “8” to talk to a real person, the phone rang, many, many, many, many, many, many…times. Not that the woman who answered wasn’t pleasant. She was.

There just aren’t enough of her, so to speak.