Investigating a local government, for fraud, waste, and corruption, is actually quite easy; and anyone can do it. But it's not something that can be completed in one afternoon, but slowly, over a period of time.
Here is one simple action you can take, today:
First, you'll have to request your local government's Comprehensive Annual Financial Report (CAFR), which is the government-equivalent of an Annual Financial Report that most corporations file for shareholders and interested parties.
However, the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) gives everyone, especially YOU, the right to see this very important government report; and all you have to do is invoke the FOIA, and request it from your local government body.
Just take the following steps:
1. Download a City/Village/Township Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) template: click here.
a. This link just takes you to an external document-sharing website, where I’ve posted this document in a Word (.doc) format.
b. Simply click on the “Download” icon, or button.
c. Follow your operating system’s dialogue box instructions, and save this file somewhere on your PC or hard drive.
2. Simply open this Word (.doc) document, from wherever you’ve saved it, and edit the fields highlighted in gray:
a. Town/City Name,
b. Town/City Street Address,
c. Town/City City,
d. Town/City Zip Code,
e. Date,
f. Your E-mail address,
g. Your Name, and
h. Your Return Address
3. When you’ve sufficiently edited this document, save it, print it, and mail it to your local City, Town, or Village.
What happens next?
There’s no way of predicting how your local government will respond; but they can often deny your request, which is unlawful, or inundate you with unnecessary fees. The point of these maneuvers, usually, is to make you go away, especially if there’s something worth hiding.
If the local government responds with anything, other than the (CAFR) report, itself, simply email the “Watchdog” for assistance: investigations@illinoisstatehouse.com. Together, we can get around this, and get the information you deserve.
When you get the first (CAFR) report?
Now that you have the CAFR, you’ll be able to see the entire income stream for your Village, City, or Town; and, much to your surprise, there’s probably a lot more money, and assets, than public officials have led you to believe. It’s not uncommon for a CAFR to reveal the true position of a local government, which is usually one of financial strength. And you don’t have to be a financial analyst to see that.
More importantly, perhaps, is that the CAFR will reveal itemizations that many will consider to be wasteful; and it’s up to people who live in the City, or community, like YOU, to best know what would be considered wasteful.
For example, the Village of Arthur hosts a yearly cheese festival; so a comparatively large expenditure on cheese, or cheese-related paraphernalia, like refrigeration, transportation, packaging, or even promotions, might not be so unreasonable. But to the typical outsider, government expenditures on cheese might seem like potential fraud.
Just getting your City’s CAFR is often a big achievement, but if you want to know what comes next, than, well, you’ll just have to stay tuned for Part II.
Now that you’ve requested, and received, your City government’s CAFR; you can also submit a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request, for the following information:
City, Town, or Village employees’ start date(s), job title(s), and salary(ies);
And as a citizen, you have the right to know this information. However, you do not have the right to see public employees’ sensitive information, like social security number(s), dates of birth, or personal address(es).
Obtaining this information is an important step in the process of making this information transparent; and looking for possible fraud, waste, mismanagement, and, yes, nepotism.
Simply submit a new FOIA request:
1. Just like before, you can use my existing template: click here.
a. Just like before, this link takes you to an external document-sharing website, where I’ve posted a document in a Word (.doc) format.
b. Simply click on the “Download” icon, or button.
c. Follow your operating system’s dialogue box instructions, and save this file somewhere on your PC or hard drive.
2. Simply open this Word (.doc) document, from wherever you’ve saved it, and edit the fields highlighted in gray:
d. Town/City Name,
e. Town/City Street Address,
f. Town/City City,
g. Town/City Zip Code,
h. Date,
i. Your E-mail address,
j. Your Name, and
k. Your Return Address
3. When you’ve sufficiently edited this document, save it, print it, and mail it to your local City, Town, or Village.
NOTE: Sometimes, governments may leave something out, like start date(s), salary(ies), first name(s), etc. If you find that this is the case, simply respond, stating the language in the original request; and asking for full compliance with the Act.
As before, you can always contact the “Watchdog” for assistance: investigations@illinoisstatehouse.com. Especially if the City, or Town, provides any response other than the specific documents you’ve requested.
Now that you have some experience with the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), and requesting government documents, try completing the rest of this checklist:
◙ Completed: FOIA City or Town’s Comprehensive Annual Financial Report (CAFR)…
◙ Completed: FOIA City or Town’s Employees (count), Start Date(s), Job Title(s), and Salary(ies)…
□ FOIA County Government’s Comprehensive Annual Financial Report (CAFR), click here.
□ FOIA County Government’s Employees (count), Start Date(s), Job Title(s), and Salary(ies), click here.
□ FOIA School District’s Financial Reports click here.
□ FOIA School District’s Employees (count), Start Date(s), Job Title(s), and Salary(ies), click here.
° NOTE: Some city governments include this with their regular, municipal workers, and others consider this to be a separate government entity.
If you’ve completed the six items above, successfully, you should have all the relevant documents necessary to start taking a really hard look at all of your respective local governments; and believe it or not, you’re already on your way to becoming a better journalist than many of those who are working for your local newspaper company.
Be prepared to become a local resource, and possibly even a hero, within your local community.
TO BE CONTINUED…
Part II will be on its way before you know it…Keep coming back…
