Maywood, Illinois
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[edit] Website evaluation
- Main article: Evaluation of Illinois city websites
[edit] The good
- None posted yet
[edit] The bad
- None posted yet
[edit] FOIA Lawsuit
Four Maywood residents are suing the village of Maywood over failure to comply with the Illinois Freedom of Information Act. The four residents filed FOIA requests for documents with their municipal government in 2010 and 2011. But, according to a lawsuit filed in Cook County Circuit Court, village officials violated the law by, among other things, not turning over numerous records the residents were entitled to. The suit alleges the village’s “actions in denying Plaintiffs’ FOIA requests were improper, willful, and politically motivated, and require the imposition of the maximum civil penalties under FOIA.” [1]
Illinois' FOIA law requires documents be turned over within five business days. Extensions are allowed if certain criteria are met. According to the complaint in August 2010 Cheryl Ealey requested a copy of Maywood’s village budget. The village was late in responding to the request, wrongly invoked an extension and provided only a “summary budget,” not a line-by-line breakdown, according to the suit. A village employee later told Ealey that no such breakdown exists, which isn’t true, the complaint alleges. [2]
The lawsuit mentions other examples as well, including an unsuccessful attempt to get copies of credit card statements for purchases made by former Village Manager Jason Ervin, now a Chicago alderman representing part of the West Side. [3]
Three of the four plaintiffs were candidates for the village board of trustees.
[edit] External links
[edit] References
- ↑ Better Government Association, Village of Maywood Hit With Lawsuit Over Alleged FOIA Violations, Sept. 20, 2011
- ↑ Better Government Association, Village of Maywood Hit With Lawsuit Over Alleged FOIA Violations, Sept. 20, 2011
- ↑ Better Government Association, Village of Maywood Hit With Lawsuit Over Alleged FOIA Violations, Sept. 20, 2011
