Complaints in town of Cicero
It is a clone of this request.
| Tracking # |
129327 |
| Submitted | Jan. 12, 2024 |
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Communications
From: Dillon Bergin
To Whom It May Concern:
Pursuant to the Illinois Freedom of Information Act., I hereby request the following records:
All pollution complaints submitted to IEPA, which are now submitted by the form at this URL: https://epa.illinois.gov/pollution-complaint/submit-a-complaint.html that were received from complainants in the town of Cicero, including but not limited to zip codes 60804 and 60632.
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,
Dillon Bergin
From: Illinois Environmental Protection Agency
[A close up of a logoDescription generated with high confidence]
January 18, 2024
N/A
Attn: Mr. Dillon Bergin
MuckRock News, Dept MR157210
263 Huntington Ave
Boston, MA 02115
Re: Freedom of Information Act Request - 129327
Dear Mr. Bergin:
This letter is in response to your Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) (5 ILCS 140/1 et seq.)
request dated January 14, 2024 and received by the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency
(Illinois EPA) on January 16, 2024.
Following a search, the Illinois EPA has determined there to be no information responsive to your request.
Requested Information - Koppers Inc - 3900 S Laramie Ave, Cicero
Complaints submitted in Cicero via the online form since 2013
The Agency previously provided you with this information in response to FOIA 128996 on December 20, 2023. No new complaints have been received since that response. The address of complainants is exempt under Section 7(1)(b) of FOIA as private information. We are unable to provide you with complaints submitted within the Town of Cicero.
Sincerely,
[cid:image002.jpg@01DA49FD.7DF87780]
Anwar Johnson
Illinois EPA FOIA Officer
217.558.5101
http://www.epa.illinois.gov/foia/index
State of Illinois - CONFIDENTIALITY NOTICE: The information contained in this communication is confidential, may be attorney-client privileged or attorney work product, may constitute inside information or internal deliberative staff communication, and is intended only for the use of the addressee. Unauthorized use, disclosure or copying of this communication or any part thereof is strictly prohibited and may be unlawful. If you have received this communication in error, please notify the sender immediately by return e-mail and destroy this communication and all copies thereof, including all attachments. Receipt by an unintended recipient does not waive attorney-client privilege, attorney work product privilege, or any other exemption from disclosure.
From: Dillon Bergin
Hi Anwar,
It was my intention in this request to request all complaints that were sent from the town of Cicero, not just from Koppers. Thus, this request was not a reiteration of my earlier request, but an expansion of that earlier request.
Does your denial of this request conclude that because complainants' personal information is private, all complaints from a given zipcode or town are exempt, because the request itself would reveal the zipcode? I believe providing information at the zipcode level is widely-used standard for anonymizing information that is important for the public. For example, most public health departments provide COVID-19 cases, tests, and deaths by ZIP code without providing private information of individuals. I do not believe there is a risk of de-anonymizing complaints at the zipcode level, nor do I believe zipcodes qualify as private information as described in 7(c) of federal FOIA law as an "unwarranted invasion of personal privacy."
Please do let me know if my understanding of this rejection is correct. If you so, I will start the appeal process.
Thank you and all best,
Dillon
From: Illinois Environmental Protection Agency
Good morning Mr. Bergin
I misunderstood your request to be limited to online complaints submitted regarding Koppers. Since the Agency had previously provided those documents, we did not have any new information to provide.
I will pull all online complaints submitted by residents of Cicero and provide those to you in a supplemental response as soon as they are available.
I apologize for the misunderstanding
Sharon
From: Dillon Bergin
That's fine, Sharon. I understand!
I appreciate your response and continued work on this request. Let me know if you have any other questions for me!
My best,
Dillon
From: Illinois Environmental Protection Agency
[A close up of a logoDescription generated with high confidence]
February 1, 2024
MuckRock
Attn: Mr. Dillon Bergin
MuckRock News, Dept MR157210
263 Huntington Ave
Boston, MA 02115
Re: Freedom of Information Act Request - 129327
Dear Mr. Bergin:
This letter is in response to your Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) (5 ILCS 140/1 et seq.)
request dated January 14, 2024 and received by the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency
(Illinois EPA) on January 16, 2024.
After reviewing the Illinois EPA's files, and pursuant to Section 7 of FOIA and 2 Ill. Adm. Code 1828.202, the Illinois EPA has determined that some of the public records requested are exempt from disclosure under FOIA. Complainant names, addresses, phone numbers, email addresses and other identifiers were redacted pursuant to Sections 7(1)(b) and 7(1)(d)(iv). Pursuant to Section 9.5 of FOIA and 2 Ill. Adm. Code 1828.505, you may file a request for review with the Public Access Counselor (PAC) established in the Office of the Attorney General no later than 60 days after the date of the Illinois EPA's final denial. Contact information for the PAC is as follows:
Leah Bartelt
Public Access Counselor
Office of the Attorney General
500 S. 2nd Street
Springfield, Illinois 62701
Phone: 312-814-5526 or
1-877-299-FOIA (1-877-299-3642)
Fax: 217-782-1396
E-mail: Public.Access@ilag.gov<mailto:Public.Access@ilag.gov>
You also have the right to seek judicial review of the denial of your request by filing a lawsuit in circuit court, pursuant to 5 ILCS 140/11.
The public records that are not exempt from disclosure are described below.
Requested Information
Complaints submitted online from any resident of Cicero
The records responsive to your request are attached.
Sincerely,
[cid:image002.jpg@01DA54EE.AB59CE30]
Anwar Johnson
Illinois EPA FOIA Officer
217.558.5101
http://www.epa.illinois.gov/foia/index
State of Illinois - CONFIDENTIALITY NOTICE: The information contained in this communication is confidential, may be attorney-client privileged or attorney work product, may constitute inside information or internal deliberative staff communication, and is intended only for the use of the addressee. Unauthorized use, disclosure or copying of this communication or any part thereof is strictly prohibited and may be unlawful. If you have received this communication in error, please notify the sender immediately by return e-mail and destroy this communication and all copies thereof, including all attachments. Receipt by an unintended recipient does not waive attorney-client privilege, attorney work product privilege, or any other exemption from disclosure.
From: Dillon Bergin
Hi,
Thanks so much for your help with this request! I really appreciate it.
Sincerely,
Dillon Bergin