Carlinville accused of shunning information requests, costing taxpayers in the process

CARLINVILLE (Heartland Newsfeed) — According to a recent Illinois Leaks report from governmental watchdog group Edgar County Watchdogs (ECW), Carlinville mayor Deanna Demuzio has been doing everything to keep her constituents in the dark. ECW states in the report that Demuzio and city representatives have repeatedly denied granting requests based on the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), resulting in subsequent complaints filed with Attorney General Lisa Madigan. These denials accrued as much as $1,000 or more for each instance before city attorney Rick Bertinetti was even called up to help. The FOIA requests filed in mid-March were met with a hostile response from city treasurer Jodi Reichman, who protested with excuses that there were not enough time allotted to fulfill the request before the group “attacked” the city for refusal to release the requested information. It has also led the Macoupin County Enquirer-Democrat and Blackburn College’s newspaper The ‘Burnian to take sides with the city, firing unwarranted attacks toward the watchdog group. ECW contends the standard response time was allowed in both requests have been long expired and no records have been released as of October 24. The documents requested include city credit card and cell phone statements, proof of required open meetings in accordance with the state’s Open Meetings Act and all public records trainings. Other requests include the same regarding the city’s elections committee and any agreements or contracts the city has with Blackburn College.