Truck with athletic shoes

To Whom It May Concern:

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

Documents sufficient to show when and where a truck with athletic shoes, commonly now referred to as a “bait truck,” was used, each and every time it was used, from January 1, 2016 to the date of this request. I also request all other documents subject to FOIA about any “bait truck” and the logistics and planning for any operation that has used one, including but not limited to communications, contracts, details of expenditures, and orders/memoranda. Please note that I wholly reject your ability to deny my request based on the false notion that making information public about “bait truck” operations would limit law enforcement activity in the future. The publicity surrounding the “bait truck,” and word-of-mouth about it, specifically in the areas it has been said to have been used, has already nullified any claim CPD might make to protecting “secretive” sources and methods. Indeed, the practice received wide publicity precisely because many public officials, journalists, and members of the public believed the practice to be exploitative, and thus, in our view, in need of even greater public scrutiny. It is precisely for purposes like this that the Illinois FOIA law exists.

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,

Brandon Smith

Dear CPD FOIA staff:

In case you weren't aware, I am a journalist, have written about CPD for many publications, and continue to write about CPD for many publications. Please take a look at the full text of the language you cited, and please get back to me with an estimated date of completion.

(g) "Recurrent requester", as used in Section 3.2 of this Act, means a person that, in the 12 months immediately preceding the request, has submitted to the same public body (i) a minimum of 50 requests for records, (ii) a minimum of 15 requests for records within a 30-day period, or (iii) a minimum of 7 requests for records within a 7-day period. For purposes of this definition, requests made by news media and non-profit, scientific, or academic organizations shall not be considered in calculating the number of requests made in the time periods in this definition when the principal purpose of the requests is (i) to access and disseminate information concerning news and current or passing events, (ii) for articles of opinion or features of interest to the public, or (iii) for the purpose of academic, scientific, or public research or education.

Best,
Brandon Smith