FOIA Request to Village of Leonore regarding vendor payment registers on February 1, 2026.
A Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request was submitted to the Village of Leonore on February 1, 2026, by Prairie State Wire. The request seeks access to the village’s vendor payment register for the immediately preceding calendar month. This inquiry is made under the Illinois Freedom of Information Act, 5 ILCS 140, with a preference for receiving the information in electronic format.
The requested records include detailed information such as 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 that holds public interest and can be disseminated to the public. The requester emphasizes that this inquiry is limited to existing records and does not necessitate 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. Additionally, as a member of the media involved in gathering and reporting news, Prairie State Wire has requested a fee waiver based on their role in promoting transparency and accountability in public institutions.
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 requests. 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.
