Submit a Secret Deal

Please fill out this form to tell us about a secret deal in your community. Once you submit the form, someone from our team will give you a call to learn more about the secret deal and to discuss ways that you and others can fight back.

How to Spot a Secret Deal

It can be hard to tell if public officials in your community have signed nondisclosure agreements while negotiating an economic development deal, but here are some of the signs you can look for.

  1. There’s a development project in your area with a non-descript name like “Project Olive” or “Project Mastodon.” Often, the name includes a random noun that doesn’t describe any sort of particular business.
  2. Local filings for the project include only real estate developers, such as Trammell Crow, and no indication of who a building’s actual tenant will be.
  3. Local filings or political leaders only mention the line of business a particular tenant will be in such as: “An e-commerce company,” “a logistics company,” “a heavy manufacturer.”
  4. Local or state officials refuse to explain which company they’re talking to, only referring to it as “the firm” or some other ambiguous name.
Read more about how to spot and fight secret deals by reading our guide.