On Nov. 13, I posted an entry entitled "Another Sleazy IDNR FOIA Adventure." In that post I included an email exchange that I had with the IDNR trying to get some records about an IDNR committee which local IDNR officials had told us existed, and had been in charge of the exhibits in the IDNR's Cache River Wetlands Visitors Center, near Karnak, Illinois.

In that exchange, at least 3 IDNR personnel had responded to my emails in which my original email was included - meaning that they had absolutely received it. That original email contained my FOIA request for members of this so-called committee, dates when they met, minutes, etc. Even after three officials had received my request, their "official" response to my request was that they didn't receive any such request. Geez, how disgusting can a government agency be?

Well, I appealed that to the IDNR Director. Instead of a ruling on appeal, I got a response a few days ago from the IDNR FOIA officer, one of the three officials that had previously received my request, but who would not acknowledge it. Her response is a form that has a box checked which says, "No such record or report exists in this agency."

Oh really? Then why were local agency officials telling The Citizen's Committee to Save the Cache that there was such a committee that made these decisions? Why did John and Martha Schwegmann identify themselves as part of such a committee in their email? What about this committee, IDNR? Is this an example of "secret government," or were you just lying all along? How was this committee chosen? What authority did they operate under? Or, as I said in my original post Nov. 13, was this just a bunch of the "good ol' boys" club getting together and making up history to make themselves look good and leave out anyone who questioned their decisions? I think the latter is exactly what happened.

We need an investigation by the Illinois Attorney General into this. There is currently a lack of confidence in the local IDNR leadership for the Cache. They are either being secretive or lying. Neither is good. A recent story in the Vienna Times newpaper lays out many of the mistakes and problems with the exhibition at the Cache River Wetlands Center. It is time that the IDNR address this honestly, and if it means some people getting axed, then so be it. This is not the caliber of state government we expect in a state dominated by Democrats, and one where one of our U.S. Senators is a top contending candidate for President, campaigning on changing the way that government operates.