Post by Kyle Mitchell on Nov 24, 2016 15:58:45 GMT -6
Below is a letter that I sent to our City's Freedom Of Information Act Official yesterday because they seem to just continue to play their games trying to hide information from the public.
In the spirit of the holidays, I have offered them the opportunity to make right this violation of our laws. Perhaps they should just start doing their jobs properly and get better legal advice.
Dear Linda,
I am very disappointed in your response to my FOIA requests. You repeat many times the details of Section 7(1)(a,b, and c) of FOIA, yet seem to fail to provide any legal explanation for the redaction of so many names in your response.
As you should probably know, I was contacted by Sheryl Churney after filing my request, asking to limit the amount of information being requested and for more time to prepare it because of her loaded down work schedule. I courteously accepted her proposed terms. I thought it very strange that providing the citizens access to public information suddenly became such a legal duty obviously costing the taxpayers considerably in attorney fees.
This raises many questions for me, particularly pertaining to the motivations of the law firm that our City employs on the tax payers' dollars. You know, the ones at the Council Meetings with the stopwatch, interrupting my train of thought to give me the 30 second warning that my strictly limited three minutes of our precious Council's time is just about over, those attorneys!
Does my wanting to see an updated Police report really warrant having you, our "FOIA Official", hire a team of attorneys to redact some names from a police report? Since you did, shouldn't you be able to also provide a legal explanation for redacting the names from the report?
Is there even any such legal justification? Does that law firm care if there is legal justification? Are they even concerned about laws and what is best for our community who pays their bills, or do they eagerly anticipate the tax dollars as they act on the political whims of some leaders? Haven't we seen similar actions from these attorneys in the past?
Didn't we read in the newspaper that the law firm told a court in a Ransom case that some harmless laying hens had created damages but when questioned about it, wasn't able to provide any non-hearsay proof? Didn't they collect a large bill from the residents of the small community, to try to just present hearsay damage speculation? Does it seem that they were following our laws to try to best serve that community, or just going for the tax funded billable hours?
When I provided the Council my requested opinion at my portion of the Public Forum, and was told that the Council had everything that they needed and would "SEE ME IN COURT!", those attorneys didn't speak up to remind the Council that just making such threats was a violation of their Oath of Office to uphold the US Constitution, did they? Did they just have the Streator tax payers' dollar signs blinding their judgement of providing our Council with sound legal advice pertaining to citizens' Freedom of Speech?
If there were a legal justification for redacting the names, wouldn't you, armed with our tax funded legal team, already have provided it along with the greatly repeated explanations as to why many other pieces of information are allowed to be redacted? If it is legally challenged, doesn't that just equate to more billable hours for the attorneys? Is that law firm interested in serving our community, or just obtaining more tax funded billable hours and trying to stop the public from talking?
Did you ever see the very incomplete and false report filed by Officer Pesavento when my building was ransacked and thousands of dollars worth of very personal, irreplaceable property was damaged and missing? I'll be happy to send you (or anyone) a copy, if you haven't seen it. I consider it a disgrace to our community, supporting the poor image that Streator already has as the result of such a lack of proper enforcement of our laws. Don't you feel that I have a right to see how the situation was corrected, or if a correction was even attempted? Do you think that my simply asking for better for my community is such a bad thing as to feel the need to involve a law firm to try to keep a victim from knowing what some witnesses said? Should it cost taxpayers of our community more money in attorney's fees? Really?
Who do you think SPD was trying to protect when filing such an incomplete and false report, bashing the victim to the SAO rather than providing pertinent information about the actual crime? Is it the escort, her local clients, the inept job being done by our leaders, or some political whim that is now trying to be protected by continuing to try to hide the Police report information pertaining to the crime?
Here are links to just a couple of the woman's online ads:
lasalle.backpage.com/FemaleEscorts/100spec-100-realandready-guaranteed-815-343-3111/33395266
www.adultlook.com/p/1138048
Does looking at those ads disgust you, as it does me? I didn't authorize that woman to be in my building. When I went to SPD for help, they refused to even go question the suspected thieving squatter. Officer Pesavento's actions and his report filed with the SAO seem to me to continue to try to protect her, as does your redaction of names.
Below is a link to an interview of her conducted by LaSalle Police in an investigation that we are told resulted in a Police Sergeant there being punished for the following:
Unauthorized Prohibited Associations
Unauthorized Persons in Police Vehicles
Unauthorized Personal Business
Conduct (inappropriate)
Unauthorized Leaving the City of LaSalle
Unauthorized Personal Use of Cell Phone
www.youtube.com/watch?v=on-azvrRRpk
Does Jillian Sherman really seem like the type of person you are proud to see our community's tax dollars spent trying to protect? Doesn't our City's protection send the message to her and others that Streator is the type of place to set up their type of business activities? Is that what you want for Streator?
It is not only during the holiday season that I am thankful that brave people endured great hardships to escape oppressive governments when trying to create a country with open and forthcoming governments that are by the people and for the people. Because I am also thankful for my.job that helps support my family, I try to do it to the fullest of my ability to best serve those who employ me. I enjoy being proud of the results I create for them.
Do you feel that spending more tax dollars on attorney's fees to try to hide the names in a theft incident report is really serving our community well?
I would like to extend to you the courtesy of allowing you to provide the previously requested materials, without the name redactions, ASAP. I also request the complete investigative file pertaining to the theft incident #16-15965, including but not limited to copies of the audio and video recordings of witnesses and any notes As with my other requests, this is for my personal use and I believe the fee should be waived since it is for the purpose of trying to protect my Constitutional Right to talk about the lack of proper enforcement of our laws without being charged for it with more lack of proper enforcement. I am interested in both inspecting and copying the information. Written information is preferred in electronic format by email; for the recorded information, I will be happy to pick up a DVD when it is ready.
Have a Happy Thanksgiving,
Kyle Mitchell
110 N. Vermillion St.
Streator, Illinois 61364
(602)810-4308
In the spirit of the holidays, I have offered them the opportunity to make right this violation of our laws. Perhaps they should just start doing their jobs properly and get better legal advice.
Dear Linda,
I am very disappointed in your response to my FOIA requests. You repeat many times the details of Section 7(1)(a,b, and c) of FOIA, yet seem to fail to provide any legal explanation for the redaction of so many names in your response.
As you should probably know, I was contacted by Sheryl Churney after filing my request, asking to limit the amount of information being requested and for more time to prepare it because of her loaded down work schedule. I courteously accepted her proposed terms. I thought it very strange that providing the citizens access to public information suddenly became such a legal duty obviously costing the taxpayers considerably in attorney fees.
This raises many questions for me, particularly pertaining to the motivations of the law firm that our City employs on the tax payers' dollars. You know, the ones at the Council Meetings with the stopwatch, interrupting my train of thought to give me the 30 second warning that my strictly limited three minutes of our precious Council's time is just about over, those attorneys!
Does my wanting to see an updated Police report really warrant having you, our "FOIA Official", hire a team of attorneys to redact some names from a police report? Since you did, shouldn't you be able to also provide a legal explanation for redacting the names from the report?
Is there even any such legal justification? Does that law firm care if there is legal justification? Are they even concerned about laws and what is best for our community who pays their bills, or do they eagerly anticipate the tax dollars as they act on the political whims of some leaders? Haven't we seen similar actions from these attorneys in the past?
Didn't we read in the newspaper that the law firm told a court in a Ransom case that some harmless laying hens had created damages but when questioned about it, wasn't able to provide any non-hearsay proof? Didn't they collect a large bill from the residents of the small community, to try to just present hearsay damage speculation? Does it seem that they were following our laws to try to best serve that community, or just going for the tax funded billable hours?
When I provided the Council my requested opinion at my portion of the Public Forum, and was told that the Council had everything that they needed and would "SEE ME IN COURT!", those attorneys didn't speak up to remind the Council that just making such threats was a violation of their Oath of Office to uphold the US Constitution, did they? Did they just have the Streator tax payers' dollar signs blinding their judgement of providing our Council with sound legal advice pertaining to citizens' Freedom of Speech?
If there were a legal justification for redacting the names, wouldn't you, armed with our tax funded legal team, already have provided it along with the greatly repeated explanations as to why many other pieces of information are allowed to be redacted? If it is legally challenged, doesn't that just equate to more billable hours for the attorneys? Is that law firm interested in serving our community, or just obtaining more tax funded billable hours and trying to stop the public from talking?
Did you ever see the very incomplete and false report filed by Officer Pesavento when my building was ransacked and thousands of dollars worth of very personal, irreplaceable property was damaged and missing? I'll be happy to send you (or anyone) a copy, if you haven't seen it. I consider it a disgrace to our community, supporting the poor image that Streator already has as the result of such a lack of proper enforcement of our laws. Don't you feel that I have a right to see how the situation was corrected, or if a correction was even attempted? Do you think that my simply asking for better for my community is such a bad thing as to feel the need to involve a law firm to try to keep a victim from knowing what some witnesses said? Should it cost taxpayers of our community more money in attorney's fees? Really?
Who do you think SPD was trying to protect when filing such an incomplete and false report, bashing the victim to the SAO rather than providing pertinent information about the actual crime? Is it the escort, her local clients, the inept job being done by our leaders, or some political whim that is now trying to be protected by continuing to try to hide the Police report information pertaining to the crime?
Here are links to just a couple of the woman's online ads:
lasalle.backpage.com/FemaleEscorts/100spec-100-realandready-guaranteed-815-343-3111/33395266
www.adultlook.com/p/1138048
Does looking at those ads disgust you, as it does me? I didn't authorize that woman to be in my building. When I went to SPD for help, they refused to even go question the suspected thieving squatter. Officer Pesavento's actions and his report filed with the SAO seem to me to continue to try to protect her, as does your redaction of names.
Below is a link to an interview of her conducted by LaSalle Police in an investigation that we are told resulted in a Police Sergeant there being punished for the following:
Unauthorized Prohibited Associations
Unauthorized Persons in Police Vehicles
Unauthorized Personal Business
Conduct (inappropriate)
Unauthorized Leaving the City of LaSalle
Unauthorized Personal Use of Cell Phone
www.youtube.com/watch?v=on-azvrRRpk
Does Jillian Sherman really seem like the type of person you are proud to see our community's tax dollars spent trying to protect? Doesn't our City's protection send the message to her and others that Streator is the type of place to set up their type of business activities? Is that what you want for Streator?
It is not only during the holiday season that I am thankful that brave people endured great hardships to escape oppressive governments when trying to create a country with open and forthcoming governments that are by the people and for the people. Because I am also thankful for my.job that helps support my family, I try to do it to the fullest of my ability to best serve those who employ me. I enjoy being proud of the results I create for them.
Do you feel that spending more tax dollars on attorney's fees to try to hide the names in a theft incident report is really serving our community well?
I would like to extend to you the courtesy of allowing you to provide the previously requested materials, without the name redactions, ASAP. I also request the complete investigative file pertaining to the theft incident #16-15965, including but not limited to copies of the audio and video recordings of witnesses and any notes As with my other requests, this is for my personal use and I believe the fee should be waived since it is for the purpose of trying to protect my Constitutional Right to talk about the lack of proper enforcement of our laws without being charged for it with more lack of proper enforcement. I am interested in both inspecting and copying the information. Written information is preferred in electronic format by email; for the recorded information, I will be happy to pick up a DVD when it is ready.
Have a Happy Thanksgiving,
Kyle Mitchell
110 N. Vermillion St.
Streator, Illinois 61364
(602)810-4308