* Evanston Roundtable has really upped its game…

A conservative activist group filed a lawsuit Thursday against the office of Evanston Mayor Daniel Biss for records related to federal immigration enforcement in Evanston.

Biss has participated in several protests near the ICE facility in Broadview and Evanston since the Department of Homeland Security began its immigration enforcement campaign in September known as “Operation Midway Blitz.”

Judicial Watch, a conservative group based in Washington, DC, sought several records on Sept. 25 from the city of Evanston through a Freedom of Information Act request, including city photographs, video or audio of Biss participating in protests near the ICE facility in Broadview; information on sanctuary city policies and ICE non-cooperation, license plate camera deactivation; and records of usage of city resources and taxpayer time on ICE-related protests. […]

Judicial Watch filed a similar FOIA lawsuit Wednesday against Illinois Governor JB Pritzker for records on Illinois’s role in “providing refuge” to Texas Democratic lawmakers who left the state to deny quorum to block a redistricting vote.

Hmm. What might that lawsuit against the state be about?

* To the Judicial Watch suit…

In light of the repeated public statements by Governor Pritzker that the state of Illinois would protect the Texas legislators, Plaintiff submitted to the Governor’s Office a FOIA request seeking access to the following public records:

A. All audio/visual recordings, handwritten notes, agendas, minutes, and reports related to a meeting or meetings held between Governor Pritzker and congressional Democrats at which Texas congressional redistricting and/or Illinois possibly housing Texas Democratic state lawmakers was discussed.

B. All audio/visual recordings, handwritten notes, agendas, minutes, and reports related to a meeting held between Governor Pritzker and Democratic party officials in late June 2025 in Oklahoma regarding congressional redistricting matters, as discussed at https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/inside-texas-democrats-plan-to-seek-refuge-with-illinois-gov-j-b-pritzker/ar-AA1JVS1T?ocid=socialshare.

C. All emails sent between and among officials in Governor Pritzker’s immediate office, including but not limited to Governor Pritzker and his chief of staff, regarding Texas congressional redistricting.

The timeframe of the request was identified as “March 1, 2025, to present.”

By letter dated August 8, 2025, the Governor’s Office informed Plaintiff that “the Governor’s Office did not find any records responsive” to the request. […]

The September 3, 2025 letter suggests, at a minimum, that at least some responsive public records exist: calendar entries. In addition, Governor Pritzker’s statements at press conferences, on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, and to the media, plainly suggest other public records exist. Therefore, on information and belief, the Governor’s Office possesses public records responsive to Plaintiff’s request.

The main problem with this lawsuit is that Pritzker did all of that Texas lawmakers’ stuff on campaign time. No government press releases were sent about the fleeing lawmakers. The relevant press conferences all emanated from his campaign account. He was asked about the fleeing lawmakers during state press conferences, but those events were not about that topic. You cannot FOIA campaign activities.

Also, if you think he’s stupid enough to email his chief of staff about those political refugees on a state email account, you probably have another think coming.

And his campaign and non-state activities are not considered FOIA-able.

Also, too, I don’t think this applies, but this is from the exemptions listed by the attorney general’s office…

Preliminary drafts or notes in which opinions are expressed or policies are formulated, unless the record is publicly cited and identified by the head of the public body.