Sangamon Sun

A Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request was sent to the City of Springfield, Illinois on October 30, 2024. The request, made by Sangamon Sun, a media organization committed to comprehensive and accurate news coverage on local governmental affairs, sought detailed information about new and active residential and commercial building permits.

The requested data includes a list of all new residential and commercial building permits issued from January 1, 2023, up until the date of the request. The specifics required for each permit include the type of permit, date issued, fee paid, requester's name, address where the work is being done or proposed to be done, and the contractor's name.

Additionally, Sangamon Sun also requested a list of all active residential and commercial building permits along with their current status. The same details as above were asked for these active permits.

As a media organization focused on local government affairs reporting, we at Sangamon Sun believe that access to public records is crucial in fulfilling our professional responsibilities. These include holding public institutions accountable and providing transparency to the public. Given our role in disseminating information to the public sphere, we believe we are eligible for a fee waiver as a media professional.

The City of Springfield has yet to respond to this FOIA request.