Teaching Assistants Strike 3/19-4/5, 2019

April 17, 2019

Via electronic mail

Mackenzie Farkus

MuckRock.com

requests@muckrock.com<mailto:requests@muckrock.com>

Re: FOIA Request 19-332

Dear Mackenzie Farkus:

I write to respond to your Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request dated and received in my office on April 10, 2019, in which you requested:

“All emails on or related to the teaching assistants strike from March 19-April 5, 2019 containing the keywords "teaching assistants strike," "union," "Chicago Teachers Union," "CTU," "picket lines," "Graduate Employees Organization," and "GEO." Please search the email accounts of Chancellor Michael Amiridis, Provost Susan Poser, Vice Chancellor Robert Barish, Vice Chancellor Rex Tolliver, Vice Chancellor Theresa Mintle, Associate Chancellor and Director for Office for Access and Equity Caryn Bills-Windt, and Associate Chancellor and Vice Provost for Diversity Amalia Pallares.”

I am writing to invoke an extension of the deadline for responding to the request under the following section(s) of the Act, which allow for additional time when:

140/(3)(e)(vi) the request for records cannot be complied with by the public body within the time limits prescribed by paragraph (c) of this Section without unduly burdening or interfering with the operations of the public body;

140/3(e)(vii) there is a need for consultation, which shall be conducted with all practicable speed, with another public body or among two or more components of a public body having a substantial interest in the determination or in the subject matter of the request

I am taking the additional five days allowed by law to review information. The revised deadline will now be April 24, 2019.

Sincerely,

Thomas P. Hardy

Executive Director

and Chief Records Officer

April 24, 2019

Via electronic mail

Ms. Mackenzie Farkus

MuckRock.com

requests@muckrock.com<mailto:requests@muckrock.com>

Re: FOIA Request 19-332

Dear MS. Farkus:

I write to respond to your Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request dated and received in my office on April 10, 2019, in which you requested:

“[a]ll emails on or related to the teaching assistants strike from March 19-April 5, 2019 containing the keywords "teaching assistants strike," "union," "Chicago Teachers Union," "CTU," "picket lines," "Graduate Employees Organization," and "GEO." Please search the email accounts of Chancellor Michael Amiridis, Provost Susan Poser, Vice Chancellor Robert Barish, Vice Chancellor Rex Tolliver, Vice Chancellor Theresa Mintle, Associate Chancellor and Director for Office for Access and Equity Caryn Bills-Windt, and Associate Chancellor and Vice Provost for Diversity Amalia Pallares.”

Your request would require us to search, gather, review and redact over 2,000 potentially responsive records. As a result, the University has determined that compliance with your request is unduly burdensome under section 3(g) of FOIA (5 ILCS 140/3(g)).

Pursuant to Section 3(g) of the Act, we would like to extend to you an opportunity to modify your request. Specifically, we request that you limit the keywords and email accounts. If you do not reduce the request, it shall be treated as a denial.

You have a right, under the law, to seek a review of this response by the Public Access Counselor (PAC) in the Office of the Attorney General. The PAC may be reached by phone at 877-299-3642, by email to publicaccess@atg.state.il.us, or by postal mail at the Public Access Bureau, 500 S. 2nd Street, Springfield, Illinois 62706. You also have the right to seek judicial review under section 11 of this Act.

If you have any questions, or would like to discuss how to narrow the scope of your request, please contact me at 217-333-6400.

Sincerely,

Thomas P. Hardy

Executive Director

and Chief Records Officer

May 1, 2019

Via electronic mail
Mackenzie Farkus
MuckRock.com
requests@muckrock.com<mailto:requests@muckrock.com>
Re: FOIA Request 19-378

Dear Mackenzie Farkus:

I write to respond to your Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request dated and received in my office on April 24, 2019, in which you requested:

"all emails on or related to the teaching assistants strike from March 19-April 5, 2019 containing the keywords "teaching assistants strike," "Chicago Teachers Union," and "Graduate Employees Organization" in the email accounts of Chancellor Michael Amiridis, Provost Susan Poser, Vice Chancellor Rex Tolliver, Associate Chancellor and Director for Office for Access and Equity Caryn Bills-Windt, and Associate Chancellor and Vice Provost for Diversity Amalia Pallares."

I am writing to invoke an extension of the deadline for responding to the request under the following section(s) of the Act, which allow for additional time when:

140/(3)(e)(vi) the request for records cannot be complied with by the public body within the time limits prescribed by paragraph (c) of this Section without unduly burdening or interfering with the operations of the public body;

140/3(e)(vii) there is a need for consultation, which shall be conducted with all practicable speed, with another public body or among two or more components of a public body having a substantial interest in the determination or in the subject matter of the request

I am taking the additional five days allowed by law to review information. The revised deadline will now be May 8, 2019.

Sincerely,

Thomas P. Hardy

Executive Director

and Chief Records Officer

Hi Mackenzie -

To clarify, we are still gathering documents for the Chicago campus. Would you agree to an extension to 5/15?

May 15, 2019

Via electronic mail
Mackenzie Farkus
MuckRock.com
requests@muckrock.com<mailto:requests@muckrock.com>

Re: FOIA Request 19-378

Dear Mackenzie Farkus:

I write to respond to your Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request dated and received in my office on April 24, 2019, in which you requested:

"all emails on or related to the teaching assistants strike from March 19-April 5, 2019 containing the keywords "teaching assistants strike," "Chicago Teachers Union," and "Graduate Employees Organization" in the email accounts of Chancellor Michael Amiridis, Provost Susan Poser, Vice Chancellor Rex Tolliver, Associate Chancellor and Director for Office for Access and Equity Caryn Bills-Windt, and Associate Chancellor and Vice Provost for Diversity Amalia Pallares."

Information responsive to your request is available and attached. These are public documents numbering 304 pages. Information responsive to your request can be viewed here: https://uofi.box.com/s/mcva3cwfefskr59yuvpjstq36tgxvcuf

Portions of these documents have been redacted pursuant to the following section(s) of the Act:

* 140/7(1)(a) that exempts from disclosure "Information specifically prohibited from disclosure by federal or State law or rules and regulations implementing adopted under federal or State law." Under this exemption, documents containing legal advice given by an attorney that is required to remain confidential under state law, including, without limitation, the Illinois Rules of Professional Conduct were redacted or withheld from the responsive documents.
* 140/7(1)(b) that exempts from disclosure "Private information, unless disclosure is required by another provision of this Act, a State or federal law or a court order." This includes cell phone numbers, personal emails, and other unique identifiers.
* 140/7(1)(c) that exempts from disclosure "Personal information contained within public records, the disclosure of which, if disclosed, would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of personal privacy, unless the disclosure is consented to in writing by the individual subjects of the information." This includes personal and family information.

* 140/7(1)(f) that exempts from disclosure "Preliminary drafts, notes, recommendations, memoranda, and other records in which opinions are expressed, or policies or actions are formulated, except that a specific record or relevant portion of a record shall not be exempt when the record is publicly cited and identified by the head of the public body." This includes communications containing drafts, deliberations, opinions, proposed actions and recommendations.

* 140/7(1)(m) that exempts from disclosure "Communications between a public body and an attorney or auditor representing the public body that would not be subject to discovery in litigation, and materials prepared or compiled by or for a public body in anticipation of a criminal, civil or administrative proceeding upon the request of an attorney advising the public body, . . ." Pursuant to this exemption, communications covered under the attorney client privilege and/or the work product doctrine that would not be subject to discovery were redacted or withheld from the responsive records.
* 140/7(1)(p) records relating to collective negotiating matters between public bodies and their employees or representatives, except that any final contract or agreement shall be subject to inspection and copying.

You have a right, under the law, to seek a review of this response by the Public Access Counselor (PAC) in the Office of the Attorney General. The PAC may be reached by phone at 877-299-3642, by email to publicaccess@atg.state.il.us<mailto:publicaccess@atg.state.il.us>, or by postal mail at the Public Access Bureau, 500 S. 2nd Street, Springfield, Illinois 62706. You also have the right to seek judicial review under section 11 of this Act.

If you have questions for our office, please contact 217-333-6400.

Sincerely,

Thomas P. Hardy

Executive Director