Death Investigation of Kenneka Jenkins- supporting documentation

February 26, 2019

Amp Eazy
Email: requests@muckrock.com<mailto:requests@muckrock.com>

Dear Mr. Eazy,

The Office of the President of the Cook County Board of Commissioners is in receipt of your request for information under the Freedom of Information Act (the "Act").

On Tuesday, February 19, 2019 we received your request for the following:

ME2017-04241 KEN'NEKA L JENKINS/KENNEKA JENKINS

Initial death scene investigation case notes including scene video/photo's/illustrations/diagrams, conducted by Medical Examiner Summers...

Follow up death scene investigation case notes including video/photo's/illustrations/diagrams, conducted by Medical Examiner Kirstin Howell, Chief Kalka.

Any other related Medical Examiner case notes, documents not mentioned (excluding autopsy and lab reports).

Under the Act, a public body may extend the time to respond to a request by up to five (5) business days for a limited number of reasons. 5 ILCS 140/3(e). We are extending the time to respond to your requests by five (5) business days because there is a need for consultation, which shall be conducted with all practicable speed, among two or more components of a public body having a substantial interest in the subject matter of the request. 5 ILCS 140/3(e)(vii).

Please note that Monday, February 18, 2019 and Monday, March 4, 2019 are Cook County holidays. We will respond to your request by Wednesday, March 6, 2019.

Thank you for your patience.

Rachel

[cid:image001.png@01CFDC92.32672470]
Rachel Dailey
Administrative Assistant V
Aide to Legal and Government Affairs | Office of the President
69 W. Washington, Suite 1415 | Chicago, IL 60602
(O) 312-603-0002
Rachel.Dailey@cookcountyil.gov<mailto:Rachel.Dailey@cookcountyil.gov>

PRIVILEGE AND CONFIDENTIALITY NOTICE: This e-mail transmission, including all attachments, is confidential information belonging to the sender and the intended recipient, may be protected by the attorney-client privilege or attorney work product privilege, and may constitute non-public pre-decisional FOIA exempt information. This information is ONLY for the intended recipient. If you are not the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that any unauthorized use, disclosure, distribution (electronic or otherwise), copying or the taking of any action in reliance on this information is strictly prohibited. If you have received this transmission in error, please immediately notify the sender of receipt of the e-mail and then destroy all copies (electronic or otherwise) of the transmission and attachments. Receipt by an unintended recipient does not waive attorney-client privilege, attorney work product privilege or any other legal exemption from disclosure.)

March 5, 2019

Amp Eazy
Email: requests@muckrock.com<mailto:requests@muckrock.com>

Dear Mr. Eazy,

The Office of the President of the Cook County Board of Commissioners is in receipt of your request for information under the Freedom of Information Act (the "Act").

On Tuesday, February 19, 2019 we received your request for the following:

ME2017-04241 KEN'NEKA L JENKINS/KENNEKA JENKINS

Initial death scene investigation case notes including scene video/photo's/illustrations/diagrams, conducted by Medical Examiner Summers...

Follow up death scene investigation case notes including video/photo's/illustrations/diagrams, conducted by Medical Examiner Kirstin Howell, Chief Kalka.

Any other related Medical Examiner case notes, documents not mentioned (excluding autopsy and lab reports).

The Medical Examiner's Office is in possession of the following records responsive to your request:

* Report of Postmortem Examination

* Clothing/Personal Effects Inventory

* Release Record

* Body Sheet

* Toxicology Report

* Medical Examiner Investigations Case Report

* Microscopic Examination

Please be advised that we are in possession of one-hundred and twenty (120) photographs pertaining to this case.

Sixty-two (62) of these photographs depict the decedent postmortem or the decedents belongings. These photographs are exempt from disclosure under section 7(1)(c) of the Act. This section of the Act exempts from disclosure

[p]ersonal information contained within public records, the disclosure of which would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of personal privacy, unless the disclosure is consented to in writing by the individual subjects of the information. "Unwarranted invasion of personal privacy" means the disclosure of information that is highly personal or objectionable to a reasonable person and in which the subject's right to privacy outweighs any legitimate public interest in obtaining the information.

5 ILCS 140/7(1)(c). In Public Access Opinion (PAO) No. 10-003, the Illinois Attorney General held that "[t]he County ha[d] sustained its burden of demonstrating that the release of the post-mortem photographs of [the decedents] would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of the surviving family members' personal privacy." Citing the Public Access Counselor, the Attorney General wrote that "[t]he courts have determined that autopsy photographs are records that are highly personal and their release would be objectionable to reasonable persons." As such, they need not be disclosed under the Act.

Finally, there are fifty-eight (58) scene photographs that are not exempt from disclosure.

Section 6(b) of the Act states

[e]xcept when a fee is otherwise fixed by statute, each public body may charge fees reasonably calculated to reimburse its actual cost for reproducing and certifying public records and for the use, by any person, of the equipment of the public body to copy records. No fees shall be charged for the first 50 pages of black and white, letter or legal sized copies requested by a requester. The fee for black and white, letter or legal sized copies shall not exceed 15 cents per page.

5 ILCS 140/6(b) (emphasis added). The fees for copies of records prepared by the Office of the Medical Examiner are set forth by both state statute and county ordinance.

Section 4-7001 of the Counties Code authorizes the county to charge the following fees:

1. For a copy of a transcript of sworn testimony: $5.00 per page.

2. For a copy of an autopsy report (if not included in transcript); $50.00.

3. For a copy of the verdict of a coroner's jury: $5.00.

4. For a copy of a toxicology report: $25.00.

5. For a print of or an electronic file containing a picture obtained by the coroner: actual cost or $3.00, whichever is greater.

6. For each copy of miscellaneous reports, including artist's drawings but not including police reports: actual cost or $25.00, whichever is greater.

7. For a coroner's or medical examiner's permit to cremate a dead human body: $50.00.

55 ILCS 5/4-7001. Pursuant to this section of the Counties Code, the Cook County Board of Commissioners enacted sections 38-144 and 32-1 of the Cook County Code of Ordinances.

Section 38-144 of the Code authorizes the county to charge fees for copies of autopsy reports, toxicology reports and miscellaneous reports, with the fees set in section 32-1. Section 32-1 mirrors section 4-7001 of the Counties Code, authorizing the county to charge $50.00 for copies of autopsy reports and $25.00 for copies of toxicology and miscellaneous reports. Neither the Counties Code nor our ordinance contain a fee waiver/reduction provision.

Thus, pursuant to state statute and county ordinance, the total fee for copies of the Medical Examiner reports is $200.00. The total fee for copies of photographs is $174.00.

If you wish to purchase copies of the records, please note that we do not accept cash or credit cards, only checks or money orders made out to the Cook County Comptroller. Please send your check to our office; in the alternative, you may come to our office to deliver the check and pick up the records.

In the event you do not wish to purchase copies, we will make the records available for you to review. Please contact me to schedule a time that is convenient for you. Please note that neither the state statute nor the county ordinance permit individuals to take any photographs of the records during inspection.

Thank you,
Rachel

[cid:image001.png@01CFDC92.32672470]
Rachel Dailey
Administrative Assistant V
Aide to Legal and Government Affairs | Office of the President
69 W. Washington, Suite 1415 | Chicago, IL 60602
(O) 312-603-0002
Rachel.Dailey@cookcountyil.gov<mailto:Rachel.Dailey@cookcountyil.gov>

PRIVILEGE AND CONFIDENTIALITY NOTICE: This e-mail transmission, including all attachments, is confidential information belonging to the sender and the intended recipient, may be protected by the attorney-client privilege or attorney work product privilege, and may constitute non-public pre-decisional FOIA exempt information. This information is ONLY for the intended recipient. If you are not the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that any unauthorized use, disclosure, distribution (electronic or otherwise), copying or the taking of any action in reliance on this information is strictly prohibited. If you have received this transmission in error, please immediately notify the sender of receipt of the e-mail and then destroy all copies (electronic or otherwise) of the transmission and attachments. Receipt by an unintended recipient does not waive attorney-client privilege, attorney work product privilege or any other legal exemption from disclosure.)

I just received your check for $174. I will mail you a CD with the non-exempt photographs. Please advise if this is the correct address?

MuckRock News
DEPT MR 68977
411A Highland Ave
Somerville, MA 02144-2516

Thanks

Hello,

I responded to your request on March 6, 2019. We received a check for $174 for the non-exempt photographs pertaining to this case and those photos were mailed to you on a CD.
Thanks,
Rachel