DeKalb Times

If the NIU Foundation is part of Northern Illinois University (NIU), then the school is breaking the law by not supplying information under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), the Edgar County Watchdogs (ECW) contend.

But if the foundation is not part of NIU, the school is breaking the law by allowing the foundation to use proprietary software it purchased and to which only it has the license, the ECW also argues.

On its Illinois Leaks website, the ECW says NIU has offered mixed explanations about its connection to the foundation.

Edgar County Watchdogs co-founder John Kraft

"NIU is attempting to have it both ways: 1.) that the foundation is not part of NIU and their records are not records of the university, and, 2.) that the foundation is part of the university for the purposes of use of the Peoplesoft software," the group posted.

The ECW maintains that NIU said it cannot turn over records in an FOIA request because it is not the owner of the records and that the foundation responded that, as a 501(c)(3), it is not subject to FOIA requests.

But according to the group, the NIU Foundation also uses software through a university license and houses its date on the university’s servers.

NIU’s agreement with ORACLE prohibits the school from assigning, giving or transferring the services it receives from ORACLE to another individual or entity, according to the ECW.