Park District Emails - HK, ES

Dear Requestor,

Thank you for your interest in obtaining information from the Chicago Park District.

Your FOIA reference number for tracking purposes is: 5538

You have requested the following records:

“Pursuant to the Illinois Freedom of Information Act., I hereby request the following records:

Records sufficient to show the following email logs: A log of all emails to/from Heather Keil from March 1, 2024 through the date this request is processed. The logs should include but not be limited to: sender, recipient(s), date, time, subject line, and attachment name. Please include emails where Heather is cc'ed and bcc'ed and provide this log in an .xls format.

Records sufficient to show the following email logs: A log of all emails to/from Erika Saltzman from March 1, 2024 through the date this request is processed. The logs should include but not be limited to: sender, recipient(s), date, time, subject line, and attachment name. Please include emails where Erika is cc'ed and bcc'ed and provide this log in an .xls format.

The requested documents will be made available to the general public, and this request is not being made for commercial purposes. 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.

The requested documents will be made available to the general public, and this request is not being made for commercial purposes.”

Chicago Park District (the “Park District”) responds to all public records requests by the Illinois Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), 5 ILCS 140/1 et seq. Please expect a response by Wednesday March 27, 2024 by close of business. If additional 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.

Kind regards,

Karen Choudhury

Dear Requestor,

Good day.

The request as written is being denied as unduly burdensome where “the burden on the public body outweighs the public interest in the information.” 5 ILCS 140/3(g). You are being afforded an opportunity to narrow your request to narrow it to manageable proportions.

First, as a preliminary matter, FOIA only requires public bodies to provide existing public records and does not require public bodies to create records or compile information to complete a form. See 5 IL S140/3(a).

Second, the request as written would require the review of over 3000 lines of a spreadsheet (compilation of the requested email information) to evaluate the emails, including subject line, for privileged, predecisional, and other confidential communications appropriately exempt pursuant to FOIA. See e.g. 5 ILCS 140/7 (f) and (m). The email log you requested is for the email communications of two individuals working as attorneys in the District’s Law Department, where many, if not most, of the emails would be exempt pursuant to attorney-client privilege. 5 ILCS 140/7(m).

The Park District is exerting the five-day automatic extension under 5 ILCS 140/3(e)(v). The new due date for your request is April 3, 2024 by close of business.

Again, you are being afforded an opportunity to narrow your request to manageable proportions. We await your response.

Sincerely,
Karen Choudhury

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Karen Choudhury
Freedom of Information Act Counsel
CHICAGO PARK DISTRICT
4830 S. Western Avenue | Chicago, IL 60609
FOIA: 312.742.4789 | FAX: 312.742.5328
foia@chicagoparkdistrict.com<mailto:foia@chicagoparkdistrict.com>
https://www.chicagoparkdistrict.com<https://www.chicagoparkdistrict.com/>

This message is intended only for the individual or entity to which it is addressed and may contain information that is protected by the attorney-client or work-product privilege and/or exempt from disclosure under applicable law. If the reader of this message is not the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that any dissemination, distribution or copying of this communication is strictly prohibited and may be unlawful. If you have received this communication in error, please reply to the sender that you received the message in error and erase or destroy the message and any attachments or copies. Thank you.
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Dear Requestor,

My apologies that I did not attach the letter. Please see attached.

You are welcome to call me for to conference regarding the narrowing of your search parameters. I can be reached at my direct line 312-742-0867.

Kind regards,

--------------------------------
Karen Choudhury
Freedom of Information Act Counsel
CHICAGO PARK DISTRICT
4830 S. Western Avenue | Chicago, IL 60609
FOIA: 312.742.4789 | FAX: 312.742.5328
foia@chicagoparkdistrict.com<mailto:foia@chicagoparkdistrict.com>
https://www.chicagoparkdistrict.com<https://www.chicagoparkdistrict.com/>

This message is intended only for the individual or entity to which it is addressed and may contain information that is protected by the attorney-client or work-product privilege and/or exempt from disclosure under applicable law. If the reader of this message is not the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that any dissemination, distribution or copying of this communication is strictly prohibited and may be unlawful. If you have received this communication in error, please reply to the sender that you received the message in error and erase or destroy the message and any attachments or copies. Thank you.
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Dear Alexandra Gelzin,
Good day. I have not heard from you regarding narrowing your search parameters for your request since your request, as currently written, is unduly burdensome. Under Section 3(g) of FOIA, we would like to extend an opportunity to modify your request to make it more manageable and reasonable. The Park District encourages you to review your request to ascertain the details of your query. Providing narrowed parameters such as modified keywords may assist.

As stated in the previous email, if you would like a telephone conference to discuss narrowing your request, please call 312-742-0867 which is my direct line. We are extending this FOIA 5538 to give you the opportunity to narrow your search terms. If this is acceptable to you, please respond in writing to agree to this extension. The new due date for your request is Wednesday April 10, 2024 by close of business.

Thank you for your interest in obtaining information from the Chicago Park District.

Kind regards,
Karen Choudhury

--------------------------------
Karen Choudhury
Freedom of Information Act Counsel
CHICAGO PARK DISTRICT
4830 S. Western Avenue | Chicago, IL 60609
FOIA: 312.742.4789 | FAX: 312.742.5328
foia@chicagoparkdistrict.com<mailto:foia@chicagoparkdistrict.com>
https://www.chicagoparkdistrict.com<https://www.chicagoparkdistrict.com/>

This message is intended only for the individual or entity to which it is addressed and may contain information that is protected by the attorney-client or work-product privilege and/or exempt from disclosure under applicable law. If the reader of this message is not the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that any dissemination, distribution or copying of this communication is strictly prohibited and may be unlawful. If you have received this communication in error, please reply to the sender that you received the message in error and erase or destroy the message and any attachments or copies. Thank you.
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Karen Choudhury
Freedom of Information Act Counsel
CHICAGO PARK DISTRICT
4830 S. Western Avenue | Chicago, IL 60609
FOIA: 312.742.4789 | FAX: 312.742.5328
foia@chicagoparkdistrict.com
https://www.chicagoparkdistrict.com

This message is intended only for the individual or entity to which it is addressed and may contain information that is protected by the attorney-client or work-product privilege and/or exempt from disclosure under applicable law. If the reader of this message is not the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that any dissemination, distribution or copying of this communication is strictly prohibited and may be unlawful. If you have received this communication in error, please reply to the sender that you received the message in error and erase or destroy the message and any attachments or copies. Thank you.

Dear Alexandra Gelzin,

Please see the attached document for the official response to your Freedom of Information Act Request.

Thank you for your interest in obtaining information from the Chicago Park District.

Kind regards,
Karen Choudhury
--------------------------------
Karen Choudhury
Freedom of Information Act Counsel
CHICAGO PARK DISTRICT
4830 S. Western Avenue | Chicago, IL 60609
FOIA: 312.742.4789 | FAX: 312.742.5328
foia@chicagoparkdistrict.com<mailto:foia@chicagoparkdistrict.com>
https://www.chicagoparkdistrict.com<https://www.chicagoparkdistrict.com/>

This message is intended only for the individual or entity to which it is addressed and may contain information that is protected by the attorney-client or work-product privilege and/or exempt from disclosure under applicable law. If the reader of this message is not the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that any dissemination, distribution or copying of this communication is strictly prohibited and may be unlawful. If you have received this communication in error, please reply to the sender that you received the message in error and erase or destroy the message and any attachments or copies. Thank you.
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