CITY OF ELMHURST

SCOTT M. LEVIN
MAYOR
JACKIE HADDAD-TAMER
209 NORTH YORK STREET CITY CLERK
DAN CURRAN
ELMHURST, ILLINOIS 60126-2759 CITY TREASURER
(630) 530-3000 JAMES A. GRABOWSKI
www.elmhurst.org CITY MANAGER

March 15, 2024

RE: Freedom of Information Act Request for Records

Dear Mr. Giuliani:

The City of Elmhurst (“City”) is recently in receipt of your Freedom of Information

Act (“FOIA”) request for public records received March 8, 2023, seeking the following:

“Police reports regarding police responses to Elmhurst City Hall, 209 N. York St., between
March 25, 2023, and April 11, 2023.”

Please be advised that it has been determined that the records responsive to your FOIA
request are exempt from disclosure pursuant to Section 7(1)(c) of FOIA.

Section 7(1)(c) of FOIA provides that, “[p]ersonal information contained within public
records, the disclosure of which would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of
personal privacy …” is exempt from disclosure. The City is bound by strict confidentiality
provisions mandated by certain State law as it relates to the records requested and the
disclosure of the records responsive to your FOIA would constitute a clearly unwarranted
invasion of personal privacy that does not outweigh a legitimate public interest obtaining
the information. Furthermore, it has been determined that it is not feasible to disclose
any information contained in the responsive records without violating applicable State
law or resulting in a clearly unwarranted invasion of personal privacy.

Accordingly, it has further been determined that the records responsive to your FOIA
request are also exempt from disclosure pursuant to Section 7(1)(a) of FOIA. Section
7(1)(a) of FOIA provides an exemption for “[i]nformation specifically prohibited from
disclosure by federal or State law or rules and regulations implementing federal or State
law.” In this case, and as stated above, the records relate to matters that are subject to
strict confidentiality requirements covered by State statute. At this time, even the
identification of the applicable State statute would violate the confidentiality provisions
of the law and would infringe upon the privacy protections provided by the statute,
exposing the City to additional independent civil liability. Consequently, your
FOIA request has been denied. A PAC opinion has already been determined anis
attached below for your reference.

The person responsible for the decision to deny your request is the FOIA Officer,
Amanda Melone. In accordance with Section 9 (a) of the FOIA, you are hereby
notified that you have the right to file a request for review regarding the decision
made by the City of
Elmhurst Freedom of Information Officer with the Public Access Counselor at the Illinois
Attorney General’s Office. You can file your request for review with the Public Access
Counselor by writing to:

Public Access Counselor, Leah Bartelt

Office of the Attorney General
500 S. 2nd Street
Springfield, Illinois, 62706
Phone: 312-814-5526
Fax: 217-782-1396
E-mail: public.access@ilag.gov

Also, you have the right to judicial review of the decision made by the City of Elmhurst Freedom
of Information Officer pursuant to Section 11 of the FOIA.

Very truly yours,

Amanda Melone
FOIA Officer

2
 OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL
STATE OF ILLINOIS

KWAME RAOUL
ATTORNEY GENERAL

December 7, 2023

Via electronic mail

Mr. Edgar Pal
epal183@gmail.com

Via electronic mail

Mr. Andrew Y. Acker
Storino, Ramello & Durkin
9501 West Devon Avenue, 8th Floor
Rosemont, Illinois 60018
andrew@srd-law.com

RE: FOIA Request for Review – 2023 PAC 77617

Dear Mr. Pal and Mr. Acker:

This determination is issued pursuant to section 9.5(f) of the Freedom of

Information Act (FOIA) (5 ILCS 140/9.5(f) (West 2022)).

On June 11, 2023, Mr. Edgar Pal submitted a FOIA request to the City of
Elmhurst (City) via its FOIA request portal seeking copies of: "Police reports regarding police
responses to Elmhurst City Hall, 209 N. York St., between March 25, 2023, and April 11,
2023." 1 On June 19, 2023, the City e-mailed Mr. Pal to seek an extension to respond. That same
day, Mr. Pal agreed to the extension. On June 27, 2023, the City denied Mr. Pal's request
pursuant to sections 7(1)(a) and 7(1)(c) of FOIA. 2 Those exemptions apply, respectively, to
information that is prohibited from being disclosed by federal of State law or rules and
regulations implementing federal and State laws, and information that would constitute a clearly
unwarranted invasion of personal privacy if disclosed. On August 7, 2023, Mr. Pal submitted the
above-referenced Request for Review disputing the City's denial of his request. Mr. Pal noted
that there is a significant public interest in what happens within City Hall and that the City did

1
FOIA portal message from Edgar Pal to City of Elmhurst (June 11, 2023).
2
5 ILCS 140/7(1)(a), (1)(c) (West 2022).

500 South Second Street, Springfield, Illinois 62701 • (217) 782-1090 • TTY: (877) 844-5461 • Fax: (217) 782-7046
100 West Randolph Street, Chicago, Illinois 60601 • (312) 814-3000 • TTY: (800) 964-3013 • Fax: (312) 814-3806
601 South University Ave., Carbondale, Illinois 62901 • (618) 529-6400 • TTY: (877) 675-9339 • Fax: (618) 529-6416
Mr. Edgar Pal
Mr. Andrew Y. Acker
December 7, 2023
Page 2

not identify the specific federal or State laws that prohibit disclosure of the report under section
7(1)(a) of FOIA.

On August 9, 2023, the Public Access Bureau forwarded a copy of the Request
for Review to the City and asked it to provide unredacted copies of records that were withheld
for this office's confidential review, together with a detailed explanation of the legal and factual
bases for the applicability of the asserted exemptions. On August 18, 2023, the City provided a
written response but did not furnish the report at issue. That same day, this office forwarded the
City's written response to Mr. Pal. On September 26, 2023, this office asked Mr. Pal if he was
satisfied with the City's explanation of the nature of the record and why it was withheld. On
October 4, 2023, Mr. Pal replied, stating:

Any incidents at City Hall would involve City employees,

and under section 7(1)(c) of FOIA, "The disclosure of information
that bears on the public duties of public employees and officials
shall not be considered an invasion of personal privacy." The City's
reliance on strict confidentiality and privacy protections seem
conclusory, and they are not providing any factual basis for their
reliance on this exemption.

Section 9.5(c) of FOIA already provides that "To the extent

that records or documents produced by a public body contain
information that is claimed to be exempt from disclosure under
Section 7 of this Act, the Public Access Counselor shall not further
disclose that information." The City should produce the requested
records to the PAC for its confidential review, as the City has no
reason to fear any disclosure by the PAC.[3]

The City subsequently provided the report for this office's confidential review.

DETERMINATION

All public records in the possession or custody of a public body are "presumed to
be open to inspection or copying." 5 ILCS 140/1.2 (West 2022); see also Southern Illinoisan v.
Illinois Dept. of Public Health, 218 Ill. 2d 390, 415 (2006). A public body "has the burden of
proving by clear and convincing evidence" that a record is exempt from disclosure. 5 ILCS

3
E-mail from Edgar Pal to [Katie] Goldsmith, James Grabowski, and Andrew Y. Acker (October
4, 2023).
Mr. Edgar Pal
Mr. Andrew Y. Acker
December 7, 2023
Page 3

140/1.2 (West 2022). The exemptions from disclosure are to be narrowly construed. Lieber v.
Board of Trustees of Southern Illinois University, 176 Ill. 2d 401, 407 (1997).

Section 7(1)(c) of FOIA exempts from disclosure "[p]ersonal information

contained within public records, the disclosure of which would constitute a clearly unwarranted
invasion of personal privacy, unless the disclosure is consented to in writing by the individual
subjects of the information." Section 7(1)(c) defines "unwarranted invasion of personal privacy"
as "the disclosure of information that is highly personal or objectionable to a reasonable person
and in which the subject's right to privacy outweighs any legitimate public interest in obtaining
the information." Additionally, section 7(1)(c) provides that "[t]he disclosure of information that
bears on the public duties of public employees and officials shall not be considered an invasion
of personal privacy."

The City's response to this office stated that a newspaper reporter submitted an
earlier FOIA request seeking reports of police responses to City Hall, which may have involved
relatives or partners of employees, on the same dates listed in Mr. Pal's subsequent request. The
City stated that it denied the request based on "a good faith belief that the requester had
knowledge of the identity of the specific employee(s) implicated by the disclosure." 4 In light of
the similar wording in Mr. Pal's request, the City asserted that it had a "good faith belief that Mr.
Pal also has or could easily acquire knowledge of the identity of the specific individual(s)
implicated by the request and any subsequent disclosure." 5

Although "arrestees * * * 'and the basic facts which identify them and describe
generally the investigations and their arrests become matters of legitimate public interest' that are
subject to disclosure[,]" 6 the right to privacy "is strongest where the individuals in question 'have
been investigated but never publicly charged.'" Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in
Washington v. United States Dep't of Justice, 846 F. Supp. 2d 63, 71 (D.D.C. 2012) (quoting
American Civil Liberties Union v. United States Dep't of Justice, 655 F.3d 1, 7 (D.C. Cir. 2011));
see also Coleman v. F.B.I., 13 F. Supp. 2d 75, 80 (D.D.C. 1998) (disclosure of FBI documents
would constitute an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy because "it is evident that release
of any portion would reveal the identities of innocent third parties, witnesses or victims.").

4
Letter from Andrew Y. Acker, Storino, Ramello & Durkin, to Katherine Goldsmith, Assistant
Attorney General, Public Access Bureau (August 18, 2023), at 1.
5
Letter from Andrew Y. Acker, Storino, Ramello & Durkin, to Katherine Goldsmith, Assistant
Attorney General, Public Access Bureau (August 18, 2023), at 1-2.
6
Ill. Att'y Gen. Pub. Acc. Op. No. 12-006, issued March 16, 2012, at 7 (citing Tennessean
Newspaper, Inc. v. Levi, 403 F. Supp. 1318, 1321 (D.C. Tenn. 1975)).
Mr. Edgar Pal
Mr. Andrew Y. Acker
December 7, 2023
Page 4

This office has reviewed the report, which consists of highly personal
information, the disclosure of which would be objectionable to a reasonable person. No arrests
were made nor was anyone charged with a crime in connection with the underlying incident or
incidents. The incident or incidents discussed are unrelated to the performance of any City
employee(s)' public duties, and the report does not document a police response to a disturbance
that occurred at City Hall, as Mr. Pal appears to assume. 7 Accordingly, the exclusion in section
7(1)(c) for information that bears on the public duties of public employees is not applicable.
While the City's suggestion that Mr. Pal is aware of the identity of individual(s) involved in the
incident or incidents is speculative, it does appear from this office's review of the report that the
identity of one or more individual(s) could be discerned from the content even if their name and
contact information was redacted. Under these circumstances, there is no legitimate public
interest that outweighs the right to privacy in the highly personal information in the report.
Therefore, this office concludes that the report is exempt from disclosure in its entirety pursuant
to section 7(1)(c) of FOIA. 8

The Public Access Counselor has determined that resolution of this matter does
not require the issuance of a binding opinion. This letter serves to close this file. If you have
any questions, please contact me at katherine.goldsmith@ilag.gov or the Chicago address listed
on the first page of this letter.

Very truly yours,

KATIE GOLDSMITH
Assistant Attorney General
Public Access Bureau

77617 f 71c proper mun

If Mr. Pal's intent was to seek records of such disturbances, the report is not responsive to his
7

request.
8
Because this office has determined that the report as a whole is exempt from disclosure pursuant
to section 7(1)(c) of FOIA, it is unnecessary to analyze the applicability of section 7(1)(a) of FOIA.
Mr. Edgar Pal
Mr. Andrew Y. Acker
December 7, 2023
Page 5

cc: Via electronic mail

Ms. Melissa M. Wolf
Storino, Ramello & Durkin
9501 West Devon Avenue, 8th Floor
Rosemont, Illinois 60018
melissa@srd-law.com