Buffalo Grove defends response to resident's request for downtown development records

Buffalo Grove officials on Monday defended their partial denial of a village resident's Freedom of Information request for tens of thousands of records related to the failed proposal to build a downtown on the town's municipal campus.

Addressing trustees at the village board meeting Monday night, resident Craig Horwitz said he filed requests in November and March seeking information about the downtown plan, which died last year when Buffalo Grove leaders balked at developer CRM Properties' request for millions of dollars of public funding. Among the records sought, Horwitz said, were all communications between the developer and Buffalo Grove officials.

However, he said, the village gave him a limited amount of information, withholding the rest on grounds that his request was "unduly burdensome in relation to public interest."

Village officials said Horwitz' inquiries yielded 85,000 records. He subsequently narrowed it to 74,000.

Village Manager Dane Bragg said the volume of records Horwitz sought qualifies under state law allowing a government to deny a request considered unduly burdensome.

"Each of those records has to be reviewed individually," Bragg said, "Information has to be redacted from those records."

Bragg said that if there is anything missing from what the village has provided, Horwitz is free to narrow the request.

Village President Jeffrey Braiman and other board members encouraged Horwitz to work with village staff members to make his request more specific.

"I think you have been asked several times to reduce the request or limit it in some way," Braiman said. "And the first time, you refused to do that. And I would suggest and urge you to sit down with staff - either the manager or the deputy (village manager) - to try and limit it, so it's not overly burdensome."

Among the information Horwitz said he did obtain through the village's response was that village officials and CRM representatives dined together eight times during the two-year period in which the downtown plan was discussed. Among the locations were Bob Chinn's Crab House, Winberie's and the Cheesecake Factory. He said there were 21 other meetings at village hall with representatives of CRM, the village and the park district.

However, he said he received no information about meetings he's learned of through other sources.

"I find the lack of transparency troublesome here," Horwitz said.

Trustee Andrew Stein said he was among the officials who attended the Bob Chinn's meeting and paid for his own meal.