Centreville violated government transparency law, IL Attorney General’s Office says
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The city of Centreville has violated a government transparency law, according to the Office of Illinois Attorney General.
The state agency’s public access bureau requested Aug. 17 that Centreville “take immediate and appropriate action” to provide the Belleville News-Democrat copies of the mayor’s emails.
The BND asked for the emails under the Illinois Freedom of Information Act on Feb. 7 to see how the mayor communicated with residents about their decades-long struggle with flash flooding, raw sewage in their yards and homes and drinking water they do not trust.
State law gives municipalities five business days to respond. But Centreville still has not officially acknowledged the request six months later.
“It’s appalling,” said attorney Don Craven, who specializes in law related to public access to documents and meetings. He serves as general counsel for the Illinois Press Association, a group that represents more than 450 daily and weekly newspapers, including the Belleville News-Democrat.
Centreville did not reply to the Illinois attorney general either. The state agency intervened on behalf of the BND by pressing the city to provide some response. Employees for the state official tried three times to reach the city after it missed the deadline to respond to the BND’s request.
Centreville Mayor Marius “Mark” Jackson said in an interview last week that his office did not receive the BND’s request or messages from the attorney general’s office, but that he would double check.
All communications were sent to email addresses, a mailing address and an online message portal listed on or available through the city’s website, cityofcentreville-il.com.
It is not the first time requests for information have gone unanswered by Centreville City Hall.
‘It has to do the work of the people’
The BND has reached out to Jackson and the city of Centreville more than 30 times since early 2019 for comment on the city’s flooding problem and a proposed government merger, including by phone, email and in person. Emails and phone calls to City Hall were not returned and in some cases, email addresses listed on the Centreville website were unregistered and did not work.
Jackson’s comments last week mark the first time he has responded to the BND’s requests for comment on those issues.
Some Centreville residents dealing with flooding have said they also have trouble reaching city officials.
“Centreville doesn’t have anybody that can answer a telephone?” Craven, the attorney, said. “It may be struggling, it may be poor, all of those things, but it has to do the work of the people, and hiding like this isn’t the way to get it done.”
Jackson said officials have not been in their offices, both because of budget shortfalls and the coronavirus pandemic. He said he answers or returns calls to his cellphone, a number not listed on the city’s website, and suggested some citizens could be lying about not hearing from him.
“It’s not too many people that I don’t call back,” Jackson said. “The thing about it is I can’t control what they say, and I can’t control what you all print, but what I can do is tell you what the problem is and let you know that the problem is not going to be fixed. It doesn’t matter how many times the story is aired, no matter how many calls that I return back to them, if I don’t give them the answer that they’re looking for, they’re going to continue to be upset at me. And I get that.
“I will take a look at the website and see what’s wrong with the phone numbers,” he added. “However, just because someone says they haven’t talked to me, doesn’t mean that they’re telling the truth.”
Officials and residents agree the infrastructure needs to be replaced to fix the flooding problem. Jackson said they are hoping for federal or state funding to get it done.
“They’re upset, and I’m upset too because I want to help them but I can’t,” Jackson said. “I feel their pain. I wouldn’t want to be in the position that they’re in. I wouldn’t want to be in the position that I’m in, being a leader in a community and wanting to help residents but not having the money to do so.
“All of this comes down to money. It’s not neglect. It’s not telephone calls. It’s not a newspaper article. It’s money.”
This story was originally published August 25, 2020 at 5:00 AM.
