A Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request was sent to the City Of Harvard Finance Department regarding city sales tax records on October 31, 2024. The request was made by McHenry Times, a media organization committed to providing comprehensive and accurate news coverage on local governmental affairs.
The specific records requested under the Illinois Freedom of Information Act, 5 ILCS 140, are a list of businesses that paid sales tax to the city from January 1, 2023, to October 31, 2024. The fields requested for each business include the business name, business type, and the amount of sales tax paid.
In addition to this information about individual businesses, we at McHenry Times also requested the total amount of sales tax that the city collected during this same period.
As members of the media involved in gathering and reporting news to the public, access to public records is essential for us to fulfill our professional responsibilities. These responsibilities include holding public institutions accountable and providing transparency to the public. Given our role in disseminating information, we believe we are eligible for a fee waiver as media professionals.
We look forward to receiving a response from the City Of Harvard Finance Department soon and will keep our readers updated on any developments.
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