University of Illinois Graduate Workers Strike Feb.26-March 10, 2018

Ms. Farkus,

You should receive a response no later than April 24th.

April 17, 2019

Via electronic mail
Mackenzie Farkus
MuckRock News
requests@muckrock.com

Re: FOIA Request 19-333

Dear Ms. Farkus:

I am responding to your request dated April 10, 2019, under the Illinois Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) in which you requested:

"All emails on or related to the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Teaching Assistants Strike from February 26-March 10 containing the keywords "Graduate Employees Organization," "GEO," "graduate workers," "strike," and "union." Please search the emails of Provost Andreas Cangellaris, Chancellor Robert Jones, and Vice Chancellor Danita Brown Young."

I am writing to invoke an extension of the deadline for responding to the request under the following section(s) of the FOIA, which allow for additional time when:

* 140/3(e)(i) the requested records are stored in whole or in part at other locations than the office having charge of the requested records;
* 140/(3)(e)(vi) the request for records cannot be complied with by the public body within the time limits prescribed by paragraph (c) of this Section without unduly burdening or interfering with the operations of the public body.

I am taking the additional five days allowed by law to review information. The revised deadline will now be April 24, 2019.

Sincerely,

Thomas P. Hardy
Executive Director, University Relations

April 24, 2019

Via electronic mail
Mackenzie Farkus
MuckRock News
requests@muckrock.com

Re: FOIA Request 19-333

Dear Ms. Farkus:

I am responding to your request dated April 10, 2019, under the Illinois Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) in which you requested:

"All emails on or related to the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Teaching Assistants Strike from February 26-March 10 containing the keywords "Graduate Employees Organization," "GEO," "graduate workers," "strike," and "union." Please search the emails of Provost Andreas Cangellaris, Chancellor Robert Jones, and Vice Chancellor Danita Brown Young."

Your request would require us to search, gather, review and redact over 2,000 potentially responsive records. As a result, the University has determined that compliance with your request is unduly burdensome under section 3(g) of FOIA (5 ILCS 140/3(g)).

Pursuant to Section 3(g) of the Act, we would like to extend to you an opportunity to modify your request. Specifically, we request that you limit the keywords and email accounts. If you do not reduce the request, it shall be treated as a denial.

You have a right, under the law, to seek a review of this response by the Public Access Counselor (PAC) in the Office of the Attorney General. The PAC may be reached by phone at 877-299-3642, by email to publicaccess@atg.state.il.us, or by postal mail at the Public Access Bureau, 500 S. 2nd Street, Springfield, Illinois 62706. You also have the right to seek judicial review under section 11 of this Act.

If you have any questions, or would like to discuss how to narrow the scope of your request, please contact me at 217-333-6400.

Sincerely,

Thomas P. Hardy
Executive Director
and Chief Records Officer

May 2, 2019

Via electronic mail
Mackenzie Farkus
MuckRock News
requests@muckrock.com

Re: FOIA Request 19-382

Dear Ms. Farkus:

I am responding to your request dated May 2, 2019, under the Illinois Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) in which you requested:

"all emails on or related to the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Teaching Assistants Strike from February 26-March 10 containing the keywords "Graduate Employees Organization," and "strike." Please search the emails of Provost Andreas Cangellaris and Chancellor Robert Jones."

I am writing to invoke an extension of the deadline for responding to the request under the following section(s) of the FOIA, which allow for additional time when:

* 140/3(e)(i) the requested records are stored in whole or in part at other locations than the office having charge of the requested records;
* 140/(3)(e)(vi) the request for records cannot be complied with by the public body within the time limits prescribed by paragraph (c) of this Section without unduly burdening or interfering with the operations of the public body.

I am taking the additional five days allowed by law to review information. The revised deadline will now be May 9, 2019.

Sincerely,

Thomas P. Hardy
Executive Director, University Relations

Hi Mackenzie,

We are still in the process of gather and reviewing documents. Would you agree to an extension to next Wednesday 5/15?

Hi Mackenzie - Sorry for the confusion, but you are okay with us extending the deadline for requests to both Urbana and Chicago to 5/15?

May 10, 2019

Via electronic mail
Mackenzie Farkus
MuckRock News
requests@muckrock.com

Re: FOIA Request 19-382

Dear Ms. Farkus:

I am responding to your request dated May 2, 2019, under the Illinois Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) in which you requested:

"all emails on or related to the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Teaching Assistants Strike from February 26-March 10 containing the keywords "Graduate Employees Organization," and "strike." Please search the emails of Provost Andreas Cangellaris and Chancellor Robert Jones."

Information responsive to your request is available and attached. These are public documents numbering 302 pages.

Portions of these documents have been redacted pursuant to the following section(s) of the Act:

* 140/7(1)(a) that exempts from disclosure "Information specifically prohibited from disclosure by federal or State law or rules and regulations implementing adopted under federal or State law." Under this exemption, documents containing legal advice given by an attorney that is required to remain confidential under state law, including, without limitation, the Illinois Rules of Professional Conduct were redacted or withheld from the responsive documents. The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) (20 U.S.C. §1232g) protects the privacy of student education records and prohibits the release of any information from a student's education record without the consent of the eligible student.
* 140/7(1)(b) that exempts from disclosure "Private information, unless disclosure is required by another provision of this Act, a State or federal law or a court order."
* 140/7(1)(c) that exempts from disclosure "Personal information contained within public records, the disclosure of which, if disclosed, would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of personal privacy, unless the disclosure is consented to in writing by the individual subjects of the information."
* 140/7(1)(f) that exempts from disclosure "Preliminary 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 exempt when the record is publicly cited and identified by the head of the public body."
* 140/7(1)(m) that exempts from disclosure "Communications between a public body and an attorney or auditor representing the public body that would not be subject to discovery in litigation, and materials prepared or compiled by or for a public body in anticipation of a criminal, civil or administrative proceeding upon the request of an attorney advising the public body, . . ."

Please call my office if you wish to inspect or receive a physical copy of these documents.

You have a right, under the law, to seek a review of this response by the Public Access Counselor (PAC) in the Office of the Attorney General. The PAC may be reached by phone at 877-299-3642, by email to publicaccess@atg.state.il.us, or by postal mail at the Public Access Bureau, 500 S. 2nd Street, Springfield, Illinois 62706. You also have the right to seek judicial review under section 11 of this Act.

If you have questions for our office, please contact 217-333-6400.

Sincerely,

Thomas P. Hardy

Executive Director

and Chief Records Officer