Watchdog group tells Marshall paper to stop printing lies

MARSHALL (Heartland Newsfeed) — Terry Stepp was never asked to print 55,000 pages of data to comply with Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests, and Gary Strohm, publisher of the Marshall Advocate, should refrain from printing such false accusations, the Edgar County Watchdogs (ECW) contended recently.

Stepp, the former Clark County Park District commissioner, allegedly told Strohm that the district had received FOIA requests that would have cost more than $ 40,000 to satisfy, amounting to 55,000 pages.

“Both of those ‘best estimates’ are outright lies and another reason Terry Stepp’s resignation is welcomed across the County as one giant step in moving the Park District forwards towards bigger and better things,” ECW co-founder John Kraft wrote on the group’s Illinois Leaks website.

In fact, the majority of the requested information came in the form of an emailed spreadsheet, and no printouts were ever requested, Kraft argued.

“Sure, we’ll miss him being on the board – gives us less to write about, but most importantly, allows the Park District to move forward by complying with appropriate laws and doing what the voters want them to do – keep the park district as a park for all to enjoy, not as a subdivision for only a few,” Kraft wrote.

Jake Leonard, Executive Editor-In-Chief

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Jake Leonard, a broadcast media and journalism veteran, is the editor-in-chief of Heartland Newsfeed. Leonard is also GM and program director of Heartland Newsfeed Radio Network, wrestling editor and contributing writer for Ambush Sports, a contributing writer for My Sports Vote and Midwest Sports Network, and a former contributor to Bleacher Report and Overtime Heroics. He resides at home in Nokomis, Ill. with his dog Buster.

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