FOIA Request to City of Chester regarding procurement bids and RFP submissions on February 1, 2026.
The Prairie State Wire, a media organization focused on local governmental affairs, has submitted a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request to the City of Chester. The request seeks access to records concerning procurement bids and responses to requests for proposals (RFPs) received by the city during the preceding calendar month.
Specifically, the request asks for information including solicitation or project titles, names of bidders or proposers, submission dates, bid amounts or proposed costs, and descriptions of the goods or services proposed. The purpose of this request is to gather information of public interest for dissemination to the public. The Prairie State Wire emphasizes that this request pertains only to existing records and does not require the creation of new documents.
In line with their role as a media organization, Prairie State Wire has requested that any denials be accompanied by specific statutory reasons and that all reasonably segregable portions of the records be released. They have also expressed willingness to receive these records in electronic format if available. Additionally, they have requested a fee waiver due to their status as members of the media involved in gathering and reporting news.
The requestor is affiliated with The Coalition Opposing Governmental Secrecy, a non-profit organization that assists media companies and advocacy groups in investigating governmental agencies through FOIA and Sunshine Laws. More information about this coalition can be found on their website here.
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.
