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How the City is violating FOIA, funneling public money into a ghost committee, and hiding the truth from residents.
How the City is violating FOIA, funneling public money into a ghost committee, and hiding the truth from residents.
How the City is violating FOIA, funneling public money into a ghost committee, and hiding the truth from residents.
How the City is violating FOIA, funneling public money into a ghost committee, and hiding the truth from residents.
LaSalle residents deserve transparency. Instead, what we have is missing records, a nonexistent committee, and $310,000 in taxpayer funds with no clear paper trail.
LaSalle residents deserve transparency. Instead, what we have is missing records, a nonexistent committee, and $310,000 in taxpayer funds with no clear paper trail.
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The Investigation: How We Got HereOn February 10, 2025, I filed a FOIA request seeking public records regarding the LaSalle Promotional & Advisory Committee (LPAC) — a committee that, according to city ordinance, is required to:• Have 15 official members• Maintain meeting minutes• Undergo regular audits• Provide public accountability for any funds it managesBut after reviewing:✔️ City ordinances✔️ Audits✔️ Appropriation records✔️ Public recordsI found NO evidence that LPAC actually exists in any functional capacity:❌ No meeting minutes❌ No member lists❌ No bylaws❌ No auditsYet, $310,000 was allocated to LPAC in 2024.________________________________________ The FOIA Violation: Hiding the TruthWhen I formally requested records about LPAC through FOIA, the city:• Denied the request, calling it “unduly burdensome”• Did NOT offer me the legal option to narrow the request — a direct violation of FOIA law• Failed to provide any of the documents required to prove LPAC’s legitimacy FOIA Law is clear:If requested records don’t exist, the city must say so. Instead, they used the “unduly burdensome” excuse to stonewall the request—without ever acknowledging that LPAC doesn’t appear to exist at all.This isn’t just non-compliance—it’s an active effort to block the public from learning the truth.________________________________________ The $310,000 Mystery: Where Did the Money Go?In the city’s 2024 audit, LPAC was listed as receiving $310,000—allegedly for the Celebration of Lights.But here’s the twist:• City officials have repeatedly claimed that the Celebration of Lights is fully funded by donations, not taxpayer dollars.• Yet, the audit directly contradicts this narrative, showing a $310,000 taxpayer allocation.This leaves two alarming possibilities:1. The city misled the public about where Celebration of Lights funding comes from.2. Public funds were routed through a committee that doesn’t exist—with no oversight, no accountability, and no paper trail.________________________________________ This Is More Than Mismanagement — It’s a Transparency CrisisFOIA exists to protect the public’s right to know how government operates. When a city:• Denies FOIA requests without following legal protocol• Allocates taxpayer dollars to entities with no oversight• Misleads residents about how public events are funded…it’s not just poor governance—it’s a deliberate attempt to hide the truth. 💬 Why This Matters to Every LaSalle Resident:If the city can funnel $310,000 through a phantom committee without oversight, what else are they hiding?Residents deserve to know:• Where is the $310,000?• Why is the city violating FOIA laws to block access to public information?• Why was a non-existent committee used as the vehicle for taxpayer dollars?________________________________________
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