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.
For the price of repaving long-neglected streets or hiring more first responders, the Village of Bradley poured more than a million public dollars into something far less useful: a silent, airtight legal shield. A review of 69 monthly invoices and years of related documents shows a pattern of rising legal spending, accelerating secrecy, and a public information system perfectly engineered to keep residents in the dark.
1. More Than $1.36 Million in Public Money
Between January 2020 and September 2025, the law firm Spesia & Taylor billed Bradley $1,366,874.42 for 7,062.15 hours of legal work. That averages out to:
Roughly $19,800 every month
More than $230,000 a year on average
The hourly rates climbed during this period as well, adding even more financial strain to a village of Bradley’s size.
2. A Growing, Alarming Spike in Legal Costs
The total cost tells only part of the story. The invoices show a sharp escalation, with 2025 standing apart as a financial outlier.
A comparison of identical months across years makes the trend obvious:
May 2022: 35.7 hours, $6,932.00
May 2025: 283.4 hours, $55,270.30
That’s not an increase, it’s a detonation. Multiple 2025 months show similar surges.
Here’s a visual using the full monthly dataset:
The spike in 2025 is unmistakable.
3. What the Public Paid For Is Completely Hidden
When Bradley released the invoices, every description of what the attorneys actually did was fully redacted. Dates, initials, and hours remain visible, but the purpose of each charge is blacked out completely.
The village’s attorneys cite exemptions related to attorney-client privilege and attorney work-product. Whatever the justification, the effect is the same: residents are paying vast sums for services they are not allowed to understand.
4. A Public Records System That Delays Instead of Informs
FOIA logs and internal emails explain why it’s so difficult to access information. Requests that should take days routinely stretch into weeks or months.
Examples from 2024 and 2025:
A request filed April 7, 2025 wasn’t completed until June 12.
One submitted June 19 wasn’t fulfilled until July 25.
Emails show a heavy reliance on 5- and 10-day extensions, often citing broad or vague reasons. Requesters were pushed to narrow their requests, only to be told their narrowed version was still too large.
All of it is technically legal. None of it reflects a commitment to transparency.
Conclusion
This investigation shows how more than $1.36 million in public money can disappear into a system that reveals little and excuses much. Rising costs, full redactions, and prolonged delays leave residents paying the bill for services they’re not allowed to scrutinize.
For Bradley—and for any community—the question isn’t only why legal costs are exploding. It’s what it means when transparency laws become tools to reinforce secrecy instead.
