So, the Village finally responded to my FOIA request again, and in a plot twist no one asked for, they’ve doubled down on the idea that I’m definitely not “news media.”
Good to know!
Here I was thinking that publishing articles, running an actual news site, and receiving thousands of reads meant something. But nope. In the eyes of Bradley’s legal counsel, I am basically just a curious raccoon pawing at the village’s trash cans.
Their emails (you know, the blue-highlighted ones with the creative interpretations of FOIA law) read like a polite way of saying:
“Sir, please stop asking questions with verbs in them.”
They kindly reminded me that:
- I’m not a journalist.
- I’m not part of the news media.
- I’m basically a hobbyist with a laptop and too much time.
Which is cute, because every Illinois FOIA guide says “news media” includes nontraditional digital publishers, but I guess the Village of Bradley is operating under the rare FOIA Subsection Written In Crayon Edition.
Anyway, I’ll continue doing what any non-media, absolutely-not-a-journalist civilian does:
report the news, publish the documents, and keep track of how many hoops they set on fire in the process.
If they didn’t consider me media before…
they’re going to absolutely hate what happens next.
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