Soaring Records Costs At Hinsdale D-86

HINSDALE, IL – Hinsdale High School District 86 is reporting big increases in its costs for responding to public records costs.

These expenses come as the district has been deluged with requests about controversies such as the hiring of an anti-racism consultant.

In the budget year starting last July, the district has spent $71,435 in answering Freedom of Information Act requests.

That number includes the costs through March, with three months left in the budget year.

This year's costs are the highest in the last five years. The expenditures are on track to double the previous year's $43,720.

Previously, the highest year was 2019-20, totaling $65,260. In 2017-18 and 2018-19, the expenditures amounted to about $12,000 each year.

So far this budget year, the district has received 170 public records requests. That's nearly triple the number for the entire previous year.

District 86 is the rare public body that regularly updates the public on its costs of responding to records requests. The expenditures are attributed to the district's attorney.

A few months ago, Burr Ridge trustees received information on how much former Trustee Zach Mottl's requests were costing taxpayers.

One trustee said Mottl had "gone berserk" with his requests.