F086246 Response Letter

O FFICE O F M AYOR B RANDON J OHNSON
CITY OF CHICAG O
October 23, 2024
VIA ELECTRONIC CORRESPONDENCE

Judith Crown
[email protected]
RE: Notice of Response to FOIA Request

FOIA File No.: F086246
Dear Judith Crown,
On behalf of the City of Chicago Office of the Mayor, I am responding to your Freedom of
Information Act request received by this department on October 8, 2024, requesting:
Bridget Early
June 1, 2024 to Oct. 1, 2024
Chicago Public Schools
Hello, I am looking for communications from Bridget Early, deputy mayor for labor
relations, to Jianan Shi and Elizabeth Todd-Breland regarding the status/contract of CPS
CEO Pedro Martinez.
As permitted by Section 5 ILCS 140/3(e) of the Act, the time was extended to conduct a thorough
search for these records. Your request was reviewed by the undersigned and a search of the
Mayor’s Office records was conducted based upon the parameters provided. Information
responsive to your request is available and attached.
Please be advised that certain information has been redacted from the enclosed responsive records
pursuant to 5 ILCS 140/7(1)(c) and 5 ILCS 140/7(1)(f). Details of the redactions are set forth
below:
Please be advised that City issued cell phone numbers were redacted pursuant to 5 ILCS
140/7(1)(c) of FOIA. Section 7(1)(c) exempts from inspection and copying the following:
“[P]ersonal information contained within public records, the disclosure of which

would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of personal privacy…
‘Unwarranted invasion of personal privacy’ means the disclosure of information
is that highly personal or objectionable to reasonable person and in which the
12 1 N ORT H LAS AL LE STREET, SU ITE 50 0, CHI CAGO , IL LINOI S 6 0 60 2

subject’s right to privacy outweighs any legitimate public interest in obtaining the
information.” Id.
As publicly available City issued cell phone numbers would subject these employees to invasive
and unsolicited communications, the disclosure of this information would burden employees’
privacy interest. Additionally, access to this information would not advance the public interest in
understanding “the affairs of government and the official acts and policies of those who represent
them[.]” 5 ILCS 140/1. Further, the landline numbers and other email addresses for these
employees is available to the public, which further limits the de minimis public interest in the
contact information of the requested employees. See Shurtleff v. United States Environmental
Protection Agency, 991 F. Supp. 2d 1, 18 (D.D.C. Sept. 30, 2013) (“The EPA has proferred a
substantial privacy interest at stake in disclosing the official internal email address of the EPA
Administrator and the work email address of employees at the EOP: these few individuals have ‘a
significant personal interest in preventing the burden of unsolicited emails and harassment.’”);
Buckovetz v. U.S. Department of the Navy, Case No. 14-cv-2115-BEN, 2016 WL 4801335 at *2-
3 (S.D. Cal. Apr. 7, 2016) (affirming the redaction of an employee’s cell phone number, because
“the [employee’s] privacy rights in this information outweigh the public’s interest in disclosure”).”
Moreover, please be advised that any deliberative and pre-decisional materials are exempt and
were redacted from the records pursuant to Section 7(1)(f). Section 7(1)(f) exempts from copying
and inspection the following:
“[P]reliminary 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 body.”
You have the right to a review under 5 ILCS 140-9.5(a) by the Public Access Counselor (PAC)
at the Office of the Illinois Attorney General, 500 South 2nd Street, Springfield, Illinois 62706,
Phone: (877)299-3642, Fax: (217)782-1396, E-mail: [email protected]. You may also seek
judicial review of a denial under 5 ILCS 140/11 by filing a lawsuit in the State Circuit Court.
Sincerely,
Hibo Aden
Freedom of Information Act Officer

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O FFICE O F M AYOR B RANDON J OHNSON

October 23, 2024

VIA ELECTRONIC CORRESPONDENCE

RE: Notice of Response to FOIA Request

Dear Judith Crown,

“[P]ersonal information contained within public records, the disclosure of which

12 1 N ORT H LAS AL LE STREET, SU ITE 50 0, CHI CAGO , IL LINOI S 6 0 60 2

“[P]reliminary drafts, notes, recommendations, memoranda and other records in which

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