Village Now Reporting FOIL Requests

by Kathy Savolt -

Numbers do tell a story, and everyone seems to be reporting “metrics” these days.  At the March 9, 2026 Board of Trustees meeting, Village Clerk Sally Roberts reported that her office received 140 requests filed under the Freedom of Information Law (FOIL) just in the month of February.  That translates to 7.3 requests per workday.  Roberts also reported that several of these requests required the assistance of the Village’s consulting engineer, H2M, resulting in an expense of $12,247 for their FOIL work.  The total 2026 year-to-date requests through February are 280.

Trustee Dan Kushnick, recognizing that 2026 Sunshine Week is upon us (3/15-3/21), noted that everyone has a right to request information.  He stated that this administration is open and has nothing to hide.  However, he said many of these requests were for minute information that never resulted in any follow-up.  Kushnick reported that the Village has 1.5 FTEs (full time equivalents) just working on replying to FOIL requests.  He called it an “unwise and ridiculous use of taxpayer money” and wanted the public to know about this.  He ended by saying, “this is beyond the pale and we’re all paying for it.”