It seems the City of Urbana will finally be rectifying a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) violation which has been ongoing for multiple months. At the February 8th City Council meeting, Mayor Diane Marlin will designate a FOIA Officer, a position which is required by state statute, but has been vacant since mid-November of 2020.
Traditionally, the Urbana City Clerk served the role as the City’s designated FOIA Officer. In June of 2020 Mayor Diane Marlin diverged from that practice and assigned the position to retired police officer Curt Borman. The City Council approved the appointment at the June 8th City Council meeting, along with a number of other City appointments.
It is not clear what direction Marlin gave to Borman in his new capacity, but his appointment was followed by countless unlawful records denials, and thousands of dollars of illegal FOIA fees upon the residents of Urbana. After pushback by some residents, Urbana slightly altered their illegal scheme, but they have continued to unlawfully deny records requests at every opportunity.
Likely due to his long trail of unlawful activity, Curt Borman quietly “resigned” in November of 2020. However, Marlin did not bring forth a new appointment for the position of FOIA Officer until now.
“FOIA Officer” is not an optional designation for public bodies in Illinois. Statute requires every public body to designate a FOIA Officer, post that person’s name and contact information at its physical location, and post it on their website. Check CU has checked the Urbana City Building multiple times over the past 2 months, but no FOIA Officer designation is posted there or on the City website.
Notably, Marlin plans to appoint Ross McNeil to the position of FOIA Officer. It seems there are no plans to bring that designation back to the City Clerk’s Office. This decision would seem to nullify much of the campaign platform of Titianna Ammons who, in running for City Clerk, has indicated plans to remove public records obstructions.
McNeil had been working as a contractor for the City for several years, and was just recently hired as a part-time City employee. City staff hired him part-time so that they did not have to go through the Civil Service Commission to approve his employment (this was explicitly stated in an email by HR Director Elizabeth Hannan).
McNeil started doing FOIA work for the City three months ago and adopted the same obstructionist FOIA practices that Curt Borman spearheaded. In that short time, McNeil has already earned the City of Urbana one FOIA lawsuit for his antics.
Monday night, Marlin will also be appointing City Council member Erik Sacks to the Traffic Commission, and Interim Public Works Director Tim Cowan to the position of City Engineer.