Village of Oak Park properly withheld employee survey as deliberative process material under 7(1)(f)

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Dear Mr. Inklebarger and Mr. Stephanides:

On February 3, 2016, the office forwarded a copy of this Request for Review to the Village and requested that it provide a copy of the responsive. records for our confidential review together with a detailed explanation of the factual and legal bases for the assertion of section 7( 1)( f). On February 26, 2016, the Village responded and provided the survey results for our confidential review. In its response, the Village maintained that its denial was proper under section 7( 1)( f) and added an assertion that the survey is also exempt from disclosure pursuant to section 7( 1)( g) of FOIA (5 ILCS 140/ 7( 1)( g) ( West 2014), as amended by Public Acts 99- 298, effective August 6, 2015; 99- 346, effective January 1, 2016). On February 29, 2016, this office forwarded the Village' s response to Mr. Inklebarger; he did not reply. On May 11, 2016, in an e- mail to an Assistant Attorney General in the Public Access Bureau, Mr. Inklebarger clarified that he is seeking copies of the Village employees' responses to the survey.

DETERMINATION

All public records in the possession or custody of a public body " are presumed to be open to inspection and copying." 5 ILCS 140/ 1. 2 (West 2014); see also Southern Illinoisan v. Illinois Dept. ofPublic Health, 218 Ill. 2d 390, 415 ( 2006). Any public body that asserts that a record is exempt from disclosure " has the burden of proving by clear and convincing evidence" that a record is exempt from disclosure. 5 ILCS 140/ 1. 2 ( West 2014). The exemptions from disclosure are to be narrowly construed. Lieber v. Board of Trustees of Southern Illinois University, 176 Ill. 2d 401, 407 ( 1997).

Section 7( 1)( f) of FOIA exempts from disclosure "[ p] reliminary 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 Board to conduct its annual review of the Village Manager' s performance * * * If the results were to be released, it may have a negative effect on open communications and truthful answers to the questions posed by the survey * * * It may also have a chilling effect on the future use of the survey or other similar types of surveys of Village employees in order to determine policies or actions to be taken with regard to employees.' In addition, the Village included with its response to this office an e-mail from the Village Manager to Village Supervisors, explaining the purpose of the survey:

Again this year, we will be asking employees to participate in the Oak Park Employee Survey * * * [ B] y sharing their opinions and making their voices heard, they provide us with knowledge of the overall employee opinions and this information guide both the Village Manager and the Village Board in knowing how and where Because this office has determined that the Village did not improperly withhold the survey under section 7( 1)( f) of FOIA, we need not determine whether it is exempt under section 7( 1)( g) of FOIA.

The Public Access Counselor has determined that resolution of this matter does not require the issuance of a binding opinion. This letter shall serve to close this matter. If you have any questions, you may contact me at the Chicago address listed on the first page of this letter.

Very truly yours,