A Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request was submitted to the City of Granite City, Illinois, on October 30, 2024. The request, sent by Metro East Sun, a media organization dedicated to providing comprehensive and accurate news coverage on local governmental affairs, seeks information about residential and commercial building permits.
The request specifically asked for a list of all new residential and commercial building permits issued from January 1, 2023, until the date of the request. The desired fields included in this list are the type of permit, date issued, fee paid, requester’s name, address where the work is being done, and contractor’s name.
Additionally, Metro East Sun requested a list of all active residential and commercial building permits along with their current status. The same fields as above were requested for these active permits.
As a media organization involved in gathering and reporting news to the public, we at Metro East Sun believe access to public records is essential for us to fulfill our professional responsibilities. These include holding public institutions accountable and providing transparency to the public. Given our role in disseminating information, we have also requested a fee waiver as a media professional.
We await response from the City of Granite City regarding this request.
