A requester asked Chicago Public Schools for five years of disciplinary records for ten different security guards. Because the requester was classified as a 'recurrent requester,' the school district took extra time to process the request, which the requester complained about to the Attorney General. The Attorney General's office reviewed the situation and decided the school district's timeline was acceptable, so they closed the case.
Legal question
Whether a public body's estimated time for responding to a FOIA request from a recurrent requester is reasonable under section 3 of FOIA.
Holding
The PAC concluded that no further action was warranted because the public body's estimated response time was reasonable under the circumstances.
Summary
The requester challenged the Chicago Public Schools' (CPS) timeline for responding to a FOIA request for disciplinary records of security personnel. The PAC determined that the school district's estimated response time was not unreasonable given the volume of records requested.
recurrent requesterresponse timedisciplinary recordsschool records
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Dear
records" and that " the response time will be within a reasonable period considering the size and complexity of your request[.] i2 On October 18, 2019, CPS responded to you that " the reasonable date for a response * * * is December 20, 2019." 3 Later that day, you submitted a Request for Review asking this office " to persuade CPS to respond with the requested information to me in a timelier manner." 4 Section 3. 2( a) of FOIA ( 5 ILCS 140/ 3. 2( a) ( West 2018)) provides that:
A] public body shall respond to a request from a recurrent requester, as defined in subsection ( g) of Section 2, within 21 business days after receipt. The response shall ( i) provide to the requester an estimate of the time required by the public body to provide the records requested and an estimate of the fees to be charged, which the public body may require the person to pay in full before copying the requested documents, ( ii) deny the request pursuant to one or more of the exemptions set out in this Act, (iii) notify the requester that the request is unduly burdensome and extend an opportunity to the requester to attempt to reduce the request to manageable proportions, or (iv) provide the records This file is closed. If you have any questions, please contact me at 312- 814- 5201 or at the Chicago address listed on the bottom of the first page of this letter.
Very t y yours,
E TEINBERG
Assistant Attorney General Public Access Bureau 60222 f no fi war sd cc: Via electronic mail Mr. Andrew Mason FOIA Officer Chicago Public Schools One North Dearborn Street, 9th Floor Chicago, Illinois 60602
Notes from the original PDF (3)
This determination letter is issued pursuant to section 9. 5( c) of the Freedom of Information Act ( FOIA) ( 5 ILCS 140/ 9. 5( c) ( West 2018)). For the reasons set forth below, the Public Access Bureau concludes that no further action in this matter is warranted. On September 19, 2019, you submitted a FOIA request to the Chicago Public Schools ( CPS) seeking: The documents relating to the disciplinary records and/ or incident reports for these Steinmetz High School security personnel: a. Anselmo Chaparro b. Noah Washington c. Luis Jaime Lopez d. William Daugherty e. Leonard Guziec f. Marcelo Rosa I11 g. Taniah Hall h. Yvonne Gonzalez I. Sophia Matarazzo j. Samuel Pearson who was assigned to Steinmetz High School for the following school years: 2015- 16 through 2019- 20. 1' i That same day, CPS notified you that you are a recurrent requester pursuant to section 2( g) of FOIA ( 5 ILCS 140/ 2( g) ( West 2018)), and would, therefore, send you an initial response within 21 days after receipt of your FOIA request. CPS also informed you that, among other things, its initial response will "[n]otify you of an estimate of the time required to provide the requested 2019). FOIA request via the Chicago Public Schools FOIA Center from September 19,
requested. In addition, section 3. 2( c) of FOIA (5 ILCS 140/ 3. 2( c) ( West 2018)) provides that "[ u] nless the records are exempt from disclosure, a public body shall comply with a request within a reasonable period considering the size and complexity of the request." Your Request for Review does not dispute that you qualify as a recurrent requester under section 2( g) of FOIA. Your request broadly sought " documents relating to the disciplinary records and/ or incident reports" of 10 individuals over a five- year period. We have not been provided any information that indicates a response by December 20, 2019. is unreasonable under these circumstances. Accordingly, this office concludes that that no further action is warranted in this matter. 2E -mail from Elyssa Shull, Freedom of Information Officer, Chicago Public Schools, via the Chicago Public Schools FOIA Center, to [ September 19, 2019). 3E -mail from Elyssa Shull, Freedom of Information Officer, Chicago Public Schools. via the Chicago Public Schools FOIA Center, to [ October 18. 2019). 4E -mail from to the Public Access Counselor ( October 18, 2019).