Prairie State Wire

FOIA Request to Williamson County Sheriff regarding the number of applications and tracking on August 14, 2025.

A Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request was submitted to the Williamson County Sheriff's Office by Prairie State Wire, a media organization dedicated to providing comprehensive news coverage on local governmental affairs. The request, sent on August 14, 2025, seeks specific records under the Illinois Freedom of Information Act, 5 ILCS 140.

The requested information includes the number of job applications received by the sheriff's office, categorized by week, month, or year. Additionally, the request seeks to identify the department or individual responsible for tracking these application numbers. The aim is to obtain this data in an electronic format to facilitate ease of access and analysis.

Prairie State Wire emphasizes its role in gathering and reporting news to the public as part of its professional responsibilities. Access to such public records is deemed essential for holding public institutions accountable and ensuring transparency. In light of their role as a media entity disseminating information to the public, Prairie State Wire has also requested a fee waiver for accessing these records.

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 through FOIA and Sunshine Laws. More information about this coalition can be found on their website: 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.