White Co., Ill. (ECWd) –
We received a tip that the White County Housing Authority was not answering a specific Freedom of Information Act (“FOIA”) request.
So, we sent them a FOIA request asking for copies of all FOIA requests that were unanswered or responded to.
Amazingly, the Housing Authority provided a record of a FOIA request it received on April 24, 2026, and admitted they did not respond to the request.
The FOIA requires a public body to respond to a FOIA request within 5 business days of receiving the request.
FOIA requests can be made anonymously, however, any appeal to the AG or a lawsuit cannot be anonymous. An anonymous FOIA request does not excuse the public body’s ignoring it – it must still be responded to.
Clearly, three months is longer than 5 business days, and clearly, they know they have not responded.
“Pursuant to the fundamental philosophy of the American constitutional form of government, it is declared to be the public policy of the State of Illinois that all persons are entitled to full and complete information regarding the affairs of government and the official acts and policies of those who represent them as public officials and public employees consistent with the terms of this Act. Such access is necessary to enable the people to fulfill their duties of discussing public issues fully and freely, making informed political judgments and monitoring government to ensure that it is being conducted in the public interest.“
We urge the requester to either appeal to the AG-PAC or file a civil suit in White County, using their response to us as Exhibit 1.
