FOIA Request to Village of Forest Park regarding vendor payment registers on February 1, 2026.
A Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request was submitted to the Village of Forest Park by Prairie State Wire, a media organization focused on local governmental affairs. The request seeks access to the village’s vendor payment register for the immediately preceding calendar month. This request is made under the Illinois Freedom of Information Act, 5 ILCS 140, and is preferred in electronic format.
The specific records requested include the names of vendors paid by the city, dates and amounts of payments, and descriptions of goods or services purchased. The purpose of this request is to gather information of public interest for dissemination to the public. It is emphasized that the request is limited to existing records and does not require creating new documents.
In case any part of this request is denied or withheld, Prairie State Wire has asked for a specific statutory basis for such denial and requests that all reasonably segregable portions of the records be released. As a member of the media involved in gathering and reporting news, Prairie State Wire also seeks a fee waiver based on their role in providing transparency and holding public institutions accountable.
The requester is affiliated with The Coalition Opposing Governmental Secrecy, a non-profit organization that assists media companies and advocacy groups in investigating governmental agencies using FOIA laws. More information about this organization can be found at https://stopsecrecy.org/about/.
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.
