Reporting standards
Methods and source policy
The Branch exists to make public work legible without replacing the official record or overstating what it proves.
The publication promise
Understand what Sycamore's public bodies are doing, why it matters, and where the official evidence lives.
The Branch connects records across the City, schools, parks, library, township, road district, county, forest preserves, community college, and specialized public bodies. It preserves the boundaries between them because those boundaries determine authority, accountability, and public money.
Editorial standards
Six rules behind every page on The Branch
- 01
Official records control
The Branch starts with records issued by the public body: posted notices, agendas, packets, approved minutes, ordinances, resolutions, contracts, policies, budgets, audits, and official reports.
- 02
Decision status is explicit
Discussion, staff recommendation, committee recommendation, authorized action, implementation, and completion are different milestones. The Branch labels the highest status the record actually proves.
- 03
Record gaps stay visible
If a recent packet, minutes file, vote, permit, contract amount, or completion notice cannot be verified, The Branch says so. Absence from a visible archive is not proof that a record does not exist.
- 04
Authority stays attached
Cross-body reporting names which public body controls each decision. An affected school, park, road, library, or county service is not automatically the approving authority.
- 05
Public money needs a period
Tax year, fiscal year, budget, forecast, unaudited actual, and audited actual are labeled separately. The Branch does not combine figures from unlike periods to create a false comparison.
- 06
Stories stay dated
Material errors are corrected on the original page. A later development becomes a new story or recorded decision so the historical record remains intact.
Corrections
See something The Branch should revisit?
Send the page, the statement at issue, and the strongest official record available. The Branch will review the underlying source trail and clearly mark any material correction.
Review corrections and report an issue