CPS: Email log, Special Assistant to the CEO

Dear Miriam:

Thank you for your interest in Chicago Public Schools. Your FOIA request has been submitted. Your FOIA Center reference number for tracking purposes is: N015416-061624
You have requested the following records: To Whom It May Concern:

Pursuant to the Illinois Freedom of Information Act., I hereby request the following records:

A log of all emails to/from the Vanessa Hernandez, Special Assistant to the CEO, from June 1, 2024 to June 14, 2024.

1. Please search all CPS email accounts as well as personal accounts used for public business. The log should include but not be limited to: sender, recipient(s), date and time, subject line, and attachment.

Because this request is in the public interest for Illinois nonprofit The FOIA Bakery’s work to advocate for public education, please waive any fees in accordance with 5 ILCS § 140/6(c). Feel free to contact me with any questions, or if clarification is needed.

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,

Miriam Bhimani

Upload documents directly: https://www.muckrock.com/

Chicago Public Schools (CPS) responds to all public records requests in accordance with the Illinois Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), 5 ILCS 140/1 et seq.
Due to the volume and complexity of requests received in the normal course of business, CPS is extending the time for its initial response to your request by an additional 5 business days (to 10 business days total beginning on the first business day following receipt of the request) pursuant to 5 ILCS 140/3(e)(v) which allows for the examination and evaluation of the requested records by personnel to determine if they are exempt from disclosure under Section 7 of Illinois FOIA or should be revealed only with appropriate deletions.
Upon the completion of a response, CPS will provide the first 50 pages to you at no charge.  If a response is more than 50 pages, a fee of 15¢ per page will be charged for each additional page. Copies of video recordings have a fee of $48. All applicable fees must be paid prior to the copying. CPS will inform you of any fees due if your paper response exceeds 50 pages. You can monitor the progress of your request at the link below and you’ll receive an email when your request has been completed. Thank you for using the CPS FOIA Center.

Track the issue status and respond at: https://cps.mycusthelp.com/WEBAPP//_rs/RequestEdit.aspx?rid=15416

--- Please respond above this line ---
July 2, 2024 Miriam Bhimani requests@muckrock.com
RE: Chicago Public Schools FOIA Request N015416-061624
Dear Ms. Bhimani: This letter is in reply to your Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request seeking the following information: Pursuant to the Illinois Freedom of Information Act., I hereby request the following records:

A log of all emails to/from the Vanessa Hernandez, Special Assistant to the CEO, from June 1, 2024 to June 14, 2024.

1. Please search all CPS email accounts as well as personal accounts used for public business. The log should include but not be limited to: sender, recipient(s), date and time, subject line, and attachment.
RESPONSE : The Chicago Public Schools (CPS) FOIA Office has reviewed your request and determined that, as currently written, it is unduly burdensome beyond the public interest. The CPS FOIA Office has conducted a preliminary e-discovery search with the parameters set forth in this request, which yielded 1,774 search results. Due to the nature of the email search, in seeking two weeks’ worth of the CPS Special Assistant to the CEO’s email account without a filter by subject matter or keyword, subject line and sender and recipient lines are extremely likely to contain student and personal email addresses, identities of parents communicating with their child’s school, details pertaining to pending investigatory, predecisional, or attorney client privileged matters, and other student information which would require a careful and timely review of not only each of the 1,774 lines of metadata pulled in the log, but the emails themselves in order to determine if any portion of the data is exempt from disclosure. Accordingly, reviewing the requested records would require numerous staff hours and therefore, as your FOIA request is currently written, the dedication of staff and/or resources is unduly burdensome on the daily operations of the CPS beyond the public interest. This is not a denial of your request. Pursuant to 5 ILCS 140/3(g), we are asking that you narrow your request, in writing, to more manageable proportions.  If you do not modify or revise your request to more manageable proportions within five (5) business days, your request will be considered denied. If you do seek to narrow this request, you may to specify keywords or a subject matter for which you seek records, modify the request to seek a log of emails between Ms. Hernandez and other specified individuals, and/or limit the timeframe of the search. To the extent you consider this a denial, pursuant to 5 ILCS 140/9.5(a) you may file a Request for Review with the Public Access Counselor (PAC) at: Public Access Counselor; Office of the Attorney General; 500 South 2nd Street; Springfield, IL 62706.  You also have the right to seek judicial review of your denial by filing a lawsuit in the State circuit court; 5 ILCS 140/11. If you have any questions, please contact our office at (773) 553-3500. Thank you for your request. Sincerely, Annie Righi Freedom of Information Act Officer Chicago Public Schools