Members of boards and commissions around town may be interested to learn of the Illinois Attorney General’s opinion concerning a DuPage Water commissioner’s attempts to pry routine information out of that agency.
At the commission’s May 8 meeting, Elizabeth Chaplin questioned $4,600 worth of office supplies purchased in March and April and was told a response would be forthcoming. It wasn’t, and Chaplin continued to press the commission for answers for some days.
On May 14, she was told she could review the records in the commission office during regular business hours. It was the same response she’d received to a March request for prior years’ receipts for office supplies, building and grounds maintenance and other expenses. Chaplin, who works full-time, chose not to pursue the matter and never received the information.
But she wasn’t willing to let her latest request go that easily. Chaplin contacted Terry Mutchler at the AG’s office to discuss the difficulties she was encountering.
As soon as the commission staff found out that Mutchler had been notified, they agreed to allow Chaplin to view the records on a Saturday, but asked if she could do it between 8 a.m. and 9 a.m., Chaplin said.
On Mutchler’s advice, Chaplin asked for the information to be sent by e-mail or snail mail, but was rebuffed due to the amount of information being requested. At that point, Chaplin decided to let the AG continue the fight in her stead.
Last week, commission chairman Louis Rathje got a response — one that might have implications for other board members seeking information from staff members.
“Ms. Chaplin, as a commissioner of the DuPage Water Commission, is not required to submit a Freedom of Information Act request to obtain documents from the commission,” wrote Amanda Lundeen, assistant attorney general.
“Rather, Ms. Chaplin, as a public official, has a right to access all documents and information necessary to the proper performance of her duties as a water commissioner,” the letter continued. “A board member cannot be denied access to information relevant to the exercise of his or her duties, including information that would not generally be subject to public disclosure.”
Lundeen also rebuked the commission staff for refusing to furnish the requested records. A public body cannot “demand that an individual come to the office of the body to inspect the record,” she wrote.
Given the concern some public institutions have expressed about excessive FOIA requests by officials, Lundeen’s opinion seems to offer reassurance. Turns out those formal legal requests are quite unnecessary.
Just for the record, IMHO the Village of Downers Grove suffers from none of this FOIA paranoia. The Village Clerk has always been prompt, courteous, and thorough in responding to my requests. FOIA requests certainly do put a burden on staff, but it is a burden they accept as a legitimate part of the job.
What a coincidence that this thread was posted at about the same time that I wrote response #7 under Grounds for Censure.
The position taken by the AG is consistent with how Tom Cunningham described at a D58 Board meeting why a Board member doesn’t need to file a FOIA to get info to do his/her duty.
Finally, some common sense…a board member doesn’t have to file a FOIA. That’s great as long as the staff responds in a timely fashion. It seems that if Ms Chaplain had not gone the FOIA route, she might still be waiting to get some answers.
The paid staff members of our various agencies need to be mindful that our elected officials are not paid (or paid a token amount) and should attempt to answer their requests in a timely manner. Information should be readily available to all board members (VC, Parks, School, Water, etc) if it enables them to serve the community better.
Pete,
I have not yet received the information June 2nd is the deadline. Most of you may not be aware that the DuPage Water Commission collects on average
30 million dollars per year from sales tax. There is very little oversight, press rarely attends meetings, most of the public does not even know the DuPage Water Commission exists. The DuPage Water Commission holds its meeting the 2nd Thursday of each month at 7:30 p.m. at 600 E. Butterfield Rd
Elmhurst, Il and the public is welcome.
Liz Chaplin
Pete, I agree that Ms. Chaplin had to go the FOIA route to put the hammer down. Over on the Grounds for Censure thread the open question is whether Scott O’Connell is wasting D58 resources with FOIA requests. We don’t know if staff wouldn’t/didn’t respond to direct requests because SO was filing FOIAs from the git go of his term.
Somebody help me. Are we talking about Harry Potter’s Gringotts Bank vaults that the staff members have to descend to reach these elusive files? How much trouble is it to pull a file, physically, or better yet, do a computer search and print the requested files that have been FOIA’d??
Is the problem with the alleged breach of protocol in these instances, or is there really a sentiment of staff members being inundated with additional work when they have to take the time (minutes?) to round up the wanted info?
Liz, let us all know the outcome of your request. 3 – 4 weeks to find the receipts for the office supplies???If this is what you have to go through to get an answer to a request about some overhead expenses, I can just imagine how difficult it would be to get an answer about “real” Water Commision issues.