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A government oversight group is calling for the dismissal of Carlinville's attorney, whom the group claims is withholding records the City Council approved for release.
John Kraft, co-founder of the Edgar County Watchdogs, says on the group's Illinois Leaks website that the council had given the attorney until April 7 to respond to a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request.
As of April 15, Kraft said he had received no records.
Kraft has made several requests for documents from the city, including credit card and other payment statements, cell phone statements, documentation of training for city employees, and any contracts between the city and Blackburn College.
Per the law, the city had five days to issue a response, which Kraft says it did not do. In response, Kraft sent a request for review to the Illinois attorney general, which led that office’s public access counselor to instruct the Carlinville city clerk to respond to the requests.
The council voted unanimously that the FOIA requests should be honored and that any fees should be waived.
"Carlinville’s attorney handling these requests should be instructed to pack his bags and hit the road…unless Mayor Demuzio has told him to continue stalling…??" the watchdog group posted on its website.
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