FOIA Request to Village of Oblong regarding vendor payment registers on February 1, 2026.
The East Central Reporter has submitted a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request to the Village of Oblong. The request seeks access to the village’s vendor payment register for the immediately preceding calendar month. This request was made under the Illinois Freedom of Information Act, 5 ILCS 140, and is preferred in electronic format.
The records requested include detailed information about payments made by the city. Specifically, the request asks for the names of vendors paid by the city, dates and amounts of payments, and descriptions of goods or services purchased. The purpose of this request is to gather information that holds public interest and to disseminate it to the public.
The East Central Reporter emphasizes that this request is limited to existing records and does not require the creation of new documents. In case any part of this request is denied or withheld, they have asked for a specific statutory basis for such denial along with all reasonably segregable portions of the records.
As a member of the media involved in gathering and reporting news, East Central Reporter seeks access to these public records as part of their professional responsibilities. They have also requested a fee waiver based on their role in disseminating information and ensuring transparency from public institutions.
This FOIA request is supported by The Coalition Opposing Governmental Secrecy, a non-profit organization that assists media companies and advocacy groups in investigating governmental agencies using Freedom of Information laws. More details about this coalition can be found at https://stopsecrecy.org/about/.
Our team will continue to keep you updated as we gather and report news related to this request and other matters of public interest. Please feel free to reach out if you have any questions or need further clarification regarding this matter.
