Illinois FOIA & OMA Reference: 7(1)(j)(iv)https://illinoisfoia.org/exemptions/7-1-j-iv/2025-10-07T00:00:00ZUniversity of Illinois properly withheld police training curriculum as educational records under 7(1)(j)(iv)https://illinoisfoia.org/opinions/letter-88300/2025-10-07T00:00:00ZA requester asked the University of Illinois for police training curriculum and lesson plans. The University refused to release them, claiming they were protected educational records. The Attorney General's office agreed with the University, concluding that the records are exempt from disclosure because they are used by faculty for educational purposes.University of Illinois properly withheld lecture recording under 7(1)(j)(iv)https://illinoisfoia.org/opinions/letter-85864/2025-10-02T00:00:00ZA requester asked the University of Illinois for a recording of a specific virtual lecture. The University refused to provide it, arguing that the recording was a teaching material exempt from disclosure. The Attorney General's office agreed with the University, finding that the lecture recording is protected under FOIA as material prepared for teaching purposes.Chicago Public Schools properly withheld curriculum materials as proprietary under 7(1)(j)(iv)https://illinoisfoia.org/opinions/letter-78019/2024-01-05T00:00:00ZA requester asked Chicago Public Schools for educational materials used in gender and sexuality sessions provided by an outside vendor. The school district refused to release the documents, arguing they were proprietary teaching materials. The Attorney General's office reviewed the documents and agreed that the district was legally allowed to keep them private.University of Illinois improperly withheld IRB research investigation records under multiple exemptionshttps://illinoisfoia.org/opinions/letter-53007/2019-02-01T00:00:00ZA reporter requested records from the University of Illinois regarding an investigation into a professor's research. The University redacted or withheld portions of the records, citing exemptions under state and federal law. The Illinois Attorney General's Public Access Bureau concluded that the University improperly denied portions of the records responsive to the requests.PAC cannot review University of Illinois FOIA denial for commercial purposehttps://illinoisfoia.org/opinions/letter-36229/2015-07-30T00:00:00ZA requester asked the University of Illinois for training materials to help his company win a government contract. The Attorney General's office decided it could not help him challenge the University's refusal to provide the records because the law prohibits the PAC from reviewing requests made for commercial purposes. The requester must now file a lawsuit in court if he wishes to pursue the records further.University of Illinois properly withheld animal medical records but improperly redacted protocol nameshttps://illinoisfoia.org/opinions/letter-35091/2015-07-14T00:00:00ZThe requester sought an animal's medical and research records from a public university, which withheld the animal's medical records entirely and redacted portions of the related research protocol. The PAC determined the medical records were properly exempt as research materials, but that the university had not shown that the names of individuals, departments, companies, and buildings in the protocol, or the sponsor's identity and the drug or device name, met any claimed exemption, and that only