Niles Illinois Police Department Racism
| Tracking # |
20-506 |
| Submitted | Nov. 3, 2020 |
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Communications
From: Northwestside Coalition
To Whom It May Concern:
Pursuant to the Illinois Freedom of Information Act., I hereby request the following records:
Any and all written records (including but not limited to hard-copy documents, memos, emails, word processor documents, PDF documents, etc.) with regards to the "racially and politically-charged emails" as reported by Journal & Topics Reporter Tom Robb*. This includes specifically but exclusively:
– the racist emails in question including the by Investigations Division Commander Dennis McEnerney, Sergeant Thomas Fragassi, and Chief Dean Strzelecki.
Example queries include:
“How I Got Shot”
“dog poop”
“Important Public Service Announcement”
“The term (N word) Rigged’ is no longer acceptable, effective immediately it will now be referred to as ‘Presidential Solution’”
“Somewhere in Kenya a village is missing its idiot”
“Chains we can believe in”
“Don’t blame me, I voted for the American”
– the March 2013 "Highly Confidential" Ethics Committee report.
– the original ethics complaint alleging racist behavior filed in 2012.
– the memorandum sent by acting Village Manager Steve Vinezeano to the ethics board in January, 2013
– documentation of annual "sensitivity" training in 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020.
– documentation of the current Niles Police Department "sensitivity training" policy and procedure.
– documentation of all required annual trainings for Niles police officers.
– any metrics or procedures used to quantify or qualify that "racism doesn't exist" in Niles Police Department (monitoring tools etc.).
*ARTICLE:
Niles Ethics Board Questions Police Over Offensive Emails 5/01/2013
https://www.journal-topics.com/articles/niles-ethics-board-questions-police-over-offensive-emails/
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,
Northwestside Coalition
From:
Village of Niles
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Hi there
Your first Village of Niles record request (request number #20-506) has been submitted.
It is currently unpublished and is not available for the general public to view.
Thank you for filing a Freedom of Information Act Request with Village of Niles. This request will be processed accordingly.
Village of Niles FOIA Officer
As the requester, you can always see the status of your
request by signing into the Village of Niles Public Records
portal here.
If you haven't already activated your account,
click here to get started.
Once your account is activated, your request will be visible at the following link:
Request #20-506.
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<em>Questions about your request?</em> Reply to this email or sign in to contact staff at Village of Niles.<br></br><em>Technical support:</em> See our <a href='https://www.nextrequest.com/support'>help page</a>
From:
Use this to confirm your account. The link is only valid for 24 hours.
Village of Niles
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Hello Northwestside Coalition!
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Magic link: http://niles.nextrequest.com/users/confirmation?confirmation_token=FnVoXzmisyhkyhs7-3Cz
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From: Village Of Niles Illinois
Village of Niles
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Hi there
Documents have been released to you for record request #20-506:
* 16.017C.pdf
* VILLAGE-06-015C.pdf
Document links are valid for one month.
After December 10, you will need to sign in to view the document(s).
************************************************************************
<em>Questions about your request?</em> Reply to this email or sign in to contact staff at Village of Niles.<br></br><em>Technical support:</em> See our <a href='https://www.nextrequest.com/support'>help page</a>
From: Village Of Niles Illinois
Village of Niles
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Hi there
A message was sent to you regarding record request #20-506:
Dear Requestor:
Thank you for writing to Village of Niles with your request for information pursuant to the Illinois Freedom of Information Act, 5 ILCS 140/1 et seq.
On Nov. 3, 2020, you requested the following documents:
Pursuant to the Illinois Freedom of Information Act., I hereby request the following records:
Any and all written records (including but not limited to hard-copy documents, memos, emails, word processor documents, PDF documents, etc.) with regards to the "racially and politically-charged emails" as reported by Journal & Topics Reporter Tom Robb*. This includes specifically but exclusively:
– the racist emails in question including the by Investigations Division Commander Dennis McEnerney, Sergeant Thomas Fragassi, and Chief Dean Strzelecki.
Example queries include:
“How I Got Shot”
“dog poop”
“Important Public Service Announcement”
“The term (N word) Rigged’ is no longer acceptable, effective immediately it will now be referred to as ‘Presidential Solution’”
“Somewhere in Kenya a village is missing its idiot”
“Chains we can believe in”
“Don’t blame me, I voted for the American”
– the March 2013 "Highly Confidential" Ethics Committee report.
– the original ethics complaint alleging racist behavior filed in 2012.
– the memorandum sent by acting Village Manager Steve Vinezeano to the ethics board in January, 2013
– documentation of annual "sensitivity" training in 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020.
– documentation of the current Niles Police Department "sensitivity training" policy and procedure.
– documentation of all required annual trainings for Niles police officers.
– any metrics or procedures used to quantify or qualify that "racism doesn't exist" in Niles Police Department (monitoring tools etc.).
Under the Freedom of Information Act, a public body may extend the time to respond to a FOIA request by up to 5 business days for a limited number of reasons. 5 ILCS 140/3(e). We are extending the time to respond to your request by 5 business days for the following reason(s):
We store the requested records in whole or in part at another location(s); and
Responding to the request requires that we collect a substantial number of specified records; and
The request is couched in categorical terms and requires that we conduct an extensive search for the records responsive to it.
As per the following documents sought:
– the racist emails in question including the by Investigations Division Commander Dennis McEnerney, Sergeant Thomas Fragassi, and Chief Dean Strzelecki.
Example queries include:
“How I Got Shot”
“dog poop”
“Important Public Service Announcement”
“The term (N word) Rigged’ is no longer acceptable, effective immediately it will now be referred to as ‘Presidential Solution’”
“Somewhere in Kenya a village is missing its idiot”
“Chains we can believe in”
“Don’t blame me, I voted for the American”
In accordance with the Local Records Retention Act, these email has been since destroyed. The certificates have been released pursuant to your request.
The public body asserts the following facts in support of the above reasons for an extension of time. The Village will respond to your request by Nov. 19. Please acknowledge receipt of this request for extension.
Sincerely,
Kathy Thake
FOIA Officer
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<em>Questions about your request?</em> Reply to this email or sign in to contact staff at Village of Niles.<br></br><em>Technical support:</em> See our <a href='https://www.nextrequest.com/support'>help page</a>
From: Northwestside Coalition
Hello Kathy,
Thanks for your diligence in researching this request. The time extension is reasonable, we appreciate your efforts.
Thanks,
NorthwestSide Coalition
From: Village Of Niles Illinois
Village of Niles
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Hi there
Documents have been released to you for record request #20-506:
* 2016-04-06 VllgeNiles - Civility Attendance AM.pdf
* 2016-04-06 VllgeNiles - Civility Attendance PM.pdf
* 2016-04-06 VllgeNiles - Civility Attendance.pdf
* 2016-04-07 VllgeNiles - Civility Attendance AM.pdf
* 2016-04-07 VllgeNiles - Civility Attendance PM - .pdf
* 2016-04-07 VllgeNiles - Civility Attendance.pdf
* De-Escalation Training Sign-in Sheet.pdf
* 2014-3-12 AM Attendance VlgNiles.pdf
* 2014-3-12 PM Attendance VlgNiles.pdf
* Diveristy Sign in March 2014.pdf
* Public Services Diversity Training Sign Up 2016.docx
* Diversity Training June 11.pdf
* Diversity Training June 14.pdf
* Diversity Training June 17.pdf
* Diversity and Equity Training Flyer.pdf
* Check in Supervisor EAP training 2018.pdf
* supervisor training sign in 3.6.18.pdf
* sexual harassment sign in March 2015.pdf
* 334.10 Training.pdf
* 206 - Training.pdf
* 314 - Discriminatory Harassment.pdf
* 321 - Standards of Conduct.pdf
* 335- Public Safety Video Surveillance System.pdf
* 401 - Bias-Based Policing.pdf
* 412 - Immigration Violations.pdf
* 431 - First Amendment Assemblies.pdf
* 432 - Suspicious Activity Reporting.pdf
* 1000 - Recruitment and Selection.pdf
* 1001 - Evaluation of Employees.pdf
* 1035 - Grievance Procedure.pdf
* 349 - Community Relations.pdf
* 504 - Traffic Enforcement Documentation.pdf
* 1020 - Personnel Complaints.pdf
* 1024 - Personal Appearance Standards.pdf
* Traffic Stop Study 2016.pdf
* Traffic Stop Study 2017.pdf
* Traffic Stop Study 2018.pdf
* TRaffic Stop Study 2019.pdf
Document links are valid for one month.
After December 12, you will need to sign in to view the document(s).
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<em>Questions about your request?</em> Reply to this email or sign in to contact staff at Village of Niles.<br></br><em>Technical support:</em> See our <a href='https://www.nextrequest.com/support'>help page</a>
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From: Village Of Niles Illinois
Village of Niles
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Hi there
A document has been released to you for record request #20-506:
* civility sign in april 2016.pdf
Document links are valid for one month.
After December 21, you will need to sign in to view the document(s).
************************************************************************
<em>Questions about your request?</em> Reply to this email or sign in to contact staff at Village of Niles.<br></br><em>Technical support:</em> See our <a href='https://www.nextrequest.com/support'>help page</a>
From: Village Of Niles Illinois
Village of Niles
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Hi there
A message was sent to you regarding record request #20-506:
Dear Requester, The Village is still processing your request, we should have this complete by Nov. 24. I apologize for the delay.
Kathy Thake, FOIA Officer
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<em>Questions about your request?</em> Reply to this email or sign in to contact staff at Village of Niles.<br></br><em>Technical support:</em> See our <a href='https://www.nextrequest.com/support'>help page</a>
From: Muckrock Staff
To Whom It May Concern:
I'm following up on the following Illinois Freedom of Information Act. request, copied below, and originally submitted on Nov. 3, 2020. You previously indicated that it would be completed on Nov. 24, 2020. I wanted to let you know that I am still interested in the following documents, and to see if that date was still accurate. You had assigned it reference number #20-506.
Thanks for your help, and let me know if further clarification is needed.
From: Village Of Niles Illinois
Village of Niles
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Hi there
A document has been released to you for record request #20-506:
* Attachments to Report.pdf
Document links are valid for one month.
After December 24, you will need to sign in to view the document(s).
************************************************************************
<em>Questions about your request?</em> Reply to this email or sign in to contact staff at Village of Niles.<br></br><em>Technical support:</em> See our <a href='https://www.nextrequest.com/support'>help page</a>
From: Village Of Niles Illinois
Village of Niles
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Hi there
A document has been released to you for record request #20-506:
* Ethicboardletter.pdf
Document links are valid for one month.
After December 24, you will need to sign in to view the document(s).
************************************************************************
<em>Questions about your request?</em> Reply to this email or sign in to contact staff at Village of Niles.<br></br><em>Technical support:</em> See our <a href='https://www.nextrequest.com/support'>help page</a>
From: Village Of Niles Illinois
Village of Niles
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Hi there
A message was sent to you regarding record request #20-506:
Dear Requester:
Thank you for writing to Village of Niles with your request for information pursuant to the Illinois Freedom of Information Act, 5 ILCS 140/1 et seq.
On Nov. 3, 2020, you requested the following documents several document as outlined in the request #20-506. Your request is granted.
We have enclosed copies of the documents that you requested. As mentioned previously, any documents which have not been included have been since destroyed in accordance with the Local Record Retention Act. Certificates of destruction have been included in the request.
Sincerely,
Kathy Thake
FOIA Officer
Village of Niles
************************************************************************
<em>Questions about your request?</em> Reply to this email or sign in to contact staff at Village of Niles.<br></br><em>Technical support:</em> See our <a href='https://www.nextrequest.com/support'>help page</a>
From: Village Of Niles Illinois
Village of Niles
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Hi there
Record request #20-506 has been closed. The closure reason supplied was:
All document have been released pursuant to your request.
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<em>Questions about your request?</em> Reply to this email or sign in to contact staff at Village of Niles.<br></br><em>Technical support:</em> See our <a href='https://www.nextrequest.com/support'>help page</a>
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