Chicago Charter Teachers Walkout Feb. 9-18, 2019 (Chicago Public Schools)

Dear Mackenzie:
Thank you for your interest in Chicago Public Schools. Your FOIA request has been received and is being processed. Your FOIA Center reference number for tracking purposes is: N006568-032019
You have requested the following records: To Whom It May Concern:Pursuant to the Illinois Freedom of Information Act., I hereby request the following records:All emails containing the keywords ‘Chicago teachers strike,' 'Chicago Charter Teacher Walkout,' or ‘strike’ from Feb. 9-18, 2019.The requested documents will be made available to the general public, and this request is not being made for commercial purposes.In the event that there are fees, I would be grateful if you would inform me of the total charges in advance of fulfilling my request. I would prefer the request filled electronically, by e-mail attachment if available or CD-ROM if not.Thank you in advance for your anticipated cooperation in this matter. I look forward to receiving your response to this request within 5 business days, as the statute requires.Sincerely,Mackenzie Farkus
Chicago Public Schools (CPS) responds to all public records requests in accordance with the Illinois Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), 5 ILCS 140/1 et seq.
If further time is needed to assemble and copy all documents responsive to your FOIA request, we will contact you with a time estimate and a request to extend.
Upon the completion of a response, CPS will provide the first 50 pages to you at no charge.  If a response is more than 50 pages, a fee of 15¢ per page will be charged for each additional page. Copies of video recordings have a fee of $48. All applicable fees must be paid prior to the copying. CPS will inform you of any fees due if your paper response exceeds 50 pages.

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March 25, 2019 Mackenzie Farkus Muck Rock News Dept MR 70743 411A Highland Ave. Somerville, MA 02144
RE: Chicago Public Schools FOIA Request N0006568-032019
Dear Mackenzie Farkus: This letter is in reply to your Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request seeking the following information:
All emails containing the keywords ‘Chicago teachers strike,' 'Chicago Charter Teacher Walkout,' or ‘strike’ from Feb. 9-18, 2019. RESPONSE: The District has reviewed your request and determined it to be unduly burdensome as written as it requires the search and/or collection of broad categories of records. The District does not have a file which includes the wide range of records you are searching for. In order to comply with your request, the CPS FOIA Office would have to submit an electronic discovery request for each of the 36,711 district employees. Thereby, as your FOIA request is currently written, the dedication of staff and/or resources is unduly burdensome on the daily operations of the CPS. Specifically, it is onerous to conduct an email search given the parameters set forth in your request.  The CPS email search engine has the following requirements for a search: (1) the employee name or the email address of the account you wish searched; (2) key words you wish to search for; (3) the email address of each individual’s mailbox, if you seek email correspondence to and from two individuals; and (4) the timeframe to be searched. Your request is missing item #1 and #3. Again, in order to comply with your request, the CPS FOIA Office would have to submit an electronic discovery request for each of the 36,711 district employees. As such, your request fails to properly cite a public record for search and review. Under Illinois FOIA law, a request to inspect or copy a record must reasonably identify a public record, as opposed to general documents or information to be gleaned from documents. Under Illinois FOIA law, a request to inspect or copy a record must reasonably identify a public record, as opposed to general data, information, or statistics to be gleaned from documents which have not otherwise been created by a public body. Accordingly, FOIA applies to the provision of existing public records; a public body is not required to answer questions or generate new records in response to a FOIA request. Kenyon v. Garrels, 184 Ill. App. 3d 28,32 (4 th Dist. 1989); see also Yeager v. Drug Enforcement Admin., 678 F. 2d 315, 321 (D.C. Cir. 1922) (“A requester is entitled only to records that an agency has in fact chosen to create and retain.”). Further, section 1 of FOIA states in part: “This Act is not intended to create an obligation on the part of any public body to maintain or prepare any public record which was not maintained or prepared by such public body at the time when this Act becomes effective, except as otherwise required by applicable local, State or federal law.” In accordance with Section 1 of Illinois FOIA, the District is not required to conduct research to answer your questions or prepare researched records on your behalf in response to your specific query [5 ILCS 140/1]. Pursuant to 5 ILCS 140/3 (g), we are asking that you narrow your request to more manageable proportions by replying to this email. If you do not narrow your request within 5 business days, this request will be closed. To the extent you consider this a denial of your request, pursuant to 5 ILCS 140/9.5(a), you may file a Request for Review with the Public Access Counselor (PAC) at: Public Access Counselor Office of the Attorney General 500 South 2nd Street Springfield, Illinois, 62706 . You also have the right to seek judicial review of your denial by filing a lawsuit in the State circuit court, 5 ILCS 140/11. If you have any questions, please contact our office at (773) 553-3500. Thank you for your request. Sincerely, Ana Diaz Freedom of Information Act Officer Chicago Public Schools

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March 29, 2019 Mackenzie Farkus Muck Rock News Dept MR 70743 411A Highland Ave. Somerville, MA 02144
RE: Chicago Public Schools FOIA Request N0006568-032019
Dear Mackenzie Farkus: This letter is in reply to your Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request seeking the following information:
All emails containing the keywords ‘Chicago teachers strike,' 'Chicago Charter Teacher Walkout,' or ‘strike’ from Feb. 9-18, 2019. Narrowed request on 3/27/19: I am narrowing my request down to all emails containing the keywords ‘Chicago teachers strike, ' 'Chicago Charter Teacher Walkout, ' or ‘strike’ from Feb. 9-18, 2019 from the inboxes of Janice K. Jackson, Herald "Chip" Johnson, Elizabeth Kirby, Jorge Macias, Michael Passman, Arnie Rivera, and Francie Richards. RESPONSE : Thank you for narrowing your request, the CPS FOIA Office continues to work on your request and asks for an additional 10 business days to respond. If agreed, this request moves the due date to April 10, 2019. If you have any questions, please contact our office at (773) 553-3500 Thank you for your request. Sincerely, Ana Diaz Freedom of Information Act Officer Chicago Public Schools

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March 29, 2019 Mackenzie Farkus Muck Rock News Dept MR 70743 411A Highland Ave. Somerville, MA 02144
RE: Chicago Public Schools FOIA Request N0006568-032019
Dear Mackenzie Farkus: This letter is in reply to your Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request seeking the following information:
All emails containing the keywords ‘Chicago teachers strike,' 'Chicago Charter Teacher Walkout,' or ‘strike’ from Feb. 9-18, 2019. Narrowed request on 3/27/19: I am narrowing my request down to all emails containing the keywords ‘Chicago teachers strike, ' 'Chicago Charter Teacher Walkout, ' or ‘strike’ from Feb. 9-18, 2019 from the inboxes of Janice K. Jackson, Herald "Chip" Johnson, Elizabeth Kirby, Jorge Macias, Michael Passman, Arnie Rivera, and Francie Richards. RESPONSE : Thank you for narrowing your request, the CPS FOIA Office continues to work on your request and asks for an additional 10 business days to respond. If agreed, this request moves the due date to April 10, 2019. If you have any questions, please contact our office at (773) 553-3500 Thank you for your request. Sincerely, Ana Diaz Freedom of Information Act Officer Chicago Public Schools

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April 10, 2019 Mackenzie Farkus Muck Rock News Dept MR 70743 411A Highland Ave. Somerville, MA 02144
RE: Chicago Public Schools FOIA Request N0006568-032019
Dear Mackenzie Farkus: This letter is in reply to your Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request seeking the following information:
All emails containing the keywords ‘Chicago teachers strike,' 'Chicago Charter Teacher Walkout,' or ‘strike’ from Feb. 9-18, 2019. Narrowed request on 3/27/19: I am narrowing my request down to all emails containing the keywords ‘Chicago teachers strike, ' 'Chicago Charter Teacher Walkout, ' or ‘strike’ from Feb. 9-18, 2019 from the inboxes of Janice K. Jackson, Herald "Chip" Johnson, Elizabeth Kirby, Jorge Macias, Michael Passman, Arnie Rivera, and Francie Richards. RESPONSE : Thank you for narrowing your request, the CPS FOIA Office continues to work on your request and asks for an additional 5 business days to respond. If agreed, this request moves the due date to April 17, 2019. If you have any questions, please contact our office at (773) 553-3500 Thank you for your request. Sincerely, Ana Diaz Freedom of Information Act Officer Chicago Public Schools

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April 17, 2019 Mackenzie Farkus Muck Rock News Dept MR 70743 411A Highland Ave. Somerville, MA 02144
RE: Chicago Public Schools FOIA Request N0006568-032019
Dear Mackenzie Farkus: This letter is in reply to your Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request seeking the following information:
All emails containing the keywords ‘Chicago teachers strike,' 'Chicago Charter Teacher Walkout,' or ‘strike’ from Feb. 9-18, 2019. Narrowed request on 3/27/19: I am narrowing my request down to all emails containing the keywords ‘Chicago teachers strike, ' 'Chicago Charter Teacher Walkout, ' or ‘strike’ from Feb. 9-18, 2019 from the inboxes of Janice K. Jackson, Herald "Chip" Johnson, Elizabeth Kirby, Jorge Macias, Michael Passman, Arnie Rivera, and Francie Richards. RESPONSE : Thank you for narrowing your request, the CPS FOIA Office continues to work on your request and asks for an additional 5 business days to respond. If agreed, this request moves the due date to April 24, 2019. We greatly appreciate your patience. If you have any questions, please contact our office at (773) 553-3500 Thank you for your request. Sincerely, Ana Diaz Freedom of Information Act Officer Chicago Public Schools

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April 25, 2019 Mackenzie Farkus Muck Rock News Dept MR 70743 411A Highland Ave. Somerville, MA 02144
RE: Chicago Public Schools FOIA Request N0006568-032019
Dear Mackenzie Farkus: This letter is in reply to your Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request seeking the following information:
All emails containing the keywords ‘Chicago teachers strike,' 'Chicago Charter Teacher Walkout,' or ‘strike’ from Feb. 9-18, 2019. Narrowed request on 3/27/19: I am narrowing my request down to all emails containing the keywords ‘Chicago teachers strike, ' 'Chicago Charter Teacher Walkout, ' or ‘strike’ from Feb. 9-18, 2019 from the inboxes of Janice K. Jackson, Herald "Chip" Johnson, Elizabeth Kirby, Jorge Macias, Michael Passman, Arnie Rivera, and Francie Richards. RESPONSE: Documents responsive to your request are available. Note that responsive records have been redacted in accordance with sections 7(1)(b) and 7(1)(c) of the Freedom of Information Act. Specifically, private information and unique identifiers contained within public records are exempt from public disclosure under section 7(1)(b) of FOIA and have been redacted, including private email addresses and private phone numbers. Additionally, records have been redacted pursuant to 150 ILCS 140/7(1)(f) as communications between Local School Council members and CPS staff are subject to the requirements of the Freedom of Information Act when “recommendations, memoranda and other records in which opinions are expressed” are being formulated. 150 ILCS 140/7(1)(f): This section exempts, in part, recommendations, memoranda and other records in which opinions are expressed. Further, this section 7(1)(f) exemption is equivalent in most respects to the deliberative process exemption in the Federal FOIA (5 U.S.C. §552(b)(5) (2012)), which applies to "inter- and intra-agency pre-decisional and deliberative material."  Harwood v. McDonough, 344 Ill. App. 3d 242, 247 (1st Dist. 2003). To the extent you consider this a denial of your request, you have the right to challenge this response under 5 ILCS 140/9.5(a) by filing a request for review with the Public Access Counselor (PAC) at: Public Access Counselor; Office of the Attorney General; 500 South 2nd Street; Springfield, IL 62706 . You also have the right to seek judicial review of your denial by filing a lawsuit in the State circuit court, 5 ILCS 140/11. If you choose to file a Request for Review with the PAC, you must do so within 60 calendar days of the date of this denial letter. 5 ILCS 140/9.5(a). Please note that you must include a copy of your original FOIA request and this denial letter when filing a Request for Review with the PAC. If you have any questions, please contact our office at (773) 553-3500. Thank you for your request. Sincerely, Ana Diaz Freedom of Information Act Officer Chicago Public Schools