East Central Reporter

FOIA Request to Douglas County regarding tax relief requests for a veteran with disabilities on June 10, 2025.

A Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request was submitted to Douglas County, Illinois, by the East Central Reporter. The request seeks access to records concerning property tax relief and exemptions provided to veterans with disabilities and their surviving spouses for the tax year 2024 through the present. Specifically, the requested documents include:

1. Records of individuals who have requested or received Property Tax Relief as a Veteran with a Disability or as a Surviving Spouse of a Disabled Veteran.

2. Documents related to those who have sought or obtained a Specially Adapted Housing Exemption for Veterans with Disabilities under statute 35 ILCS 200/15-165.

3. Information on individuals who have applied for or been granted a Standard Homestead Exemption for Veterans with Disabilities pursuant to statute 35 ILCS 200/15-169.

4. Details about those who have requested or received a Returning Veteran’s Homestead Exemption according to statute 35 ILCS 200/15-172.

The East Central Reporter, part of The Coalition Opposing Governmental Secrecy, aims to provide transparency in governmental affairs by accessing public records that hold institutions accountable. The organization has requested these documents in electronic format and has also sought a fee waiver based on its role in media dissemination.

Douglas County is known for its educational system, which had an average student-to-teacher ratio of 12-to-1 during the 2022-23 school year, serving over three thousand students with more than two hundred sixty full-time faculty members.

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.