No-knock raids

To Whom It May Concern:

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

Documents sufficient to show the number of no-knock raids of homes in each calendar year from 2013 through 2017, plus 2018 through the date of this request. If they are tallied separately, I also request documents sufficient to show the number of raids of homes by “SWAT” teams, in each calendar year from 2013 through 2017, plus 2018 through the date of this request. I also request documents sufficient to show, for each calendar year you have available, how many no-knock or SWAT raids (or each separately, if data on them is maintained separately) occurred in each ward or precinct.

For example, CPD might maintain a data set of these incidents. If so, I request that data set, in Excel format, with column redactions only when necessary to comply with the purpose of a FOIA exemption. If CPD does not maintain a data set, I request numbers of no-knock or SWAT raids (or each separately, if data on them is maintained separately) per year, per ward or precinct.

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,

Brandon Smith

Dear CPD FOIA staff:

In case you weren't aware, I am a journalist, have written about CPD for many publications, and continue to write about CPD for many publications. Please take a look at the full text of the language you cited, and please get back to me with an estimated date of completion.

(g) "Recurrent requester", as used in Section 3.2 of this Act, means a person that, in the 12 months immediately preceding the request, has submitted to the same public body (i) a minimum of 50 requests for records, (ii) a minimum of 15 requests for records within a 30-day period, or (iii) a minimum of 7 requests for records within a 7-day period. For purposes of this definition, requests made by news media and non-profit, scientific, or academic organizations shall not be considered in calculating the number of requests made in the time periods in this definition when the principal purpose of the requests is (i) to access and disseminate information concerning news and current or passing events, (ii) for articles of opinion or features of interest to the public, or (iii) for the purpose of academic, scientific, or public research or education.

Best,
Brandon Smith