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* From Assistant Attorney General Caitlin Knutte…
OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL S’T'ATE OF ILLINOIS
September 8, 2015VIA ELECTRONIC MAIL
Mr. John Kraft
7060 Illinois Highway 1
Paris, Illinois 61944
john@illinoisleaks.com
RE: Freedom of Information Act Request 2015 FOIA 036774Dear Mr.Kraft:
Thank you for writing to the Office of the Illinois Attorney General with your request for information pursuant to the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) (5 ILCS 140/1 et seq. (West 2014)).
In an e-mail received on August 10, 2015, you requested “[c]opies of all communication between anyone employed with Illinois Attorney General’s office and “Capitol Fax” - for the past 24 months.”
Pursuant to section 3(e)( iii) of FOIA (5 ILCS 140/3(e)( iii) (West 2014)), we extended the time to respond by five business days on August 17, 2015, because the request was couched in categorical terms and required an extensive search for the records responsive to it.
We further extended the deadline for this office to respond to September 8, 2015, per a telephone conversation you and I had on August 24, 2015.
Per our telephone conversation on August 28, 2015, you agreed to exclude attachments to any responsive e-mails from the scope of your request.
Your request is granted in part and denied in part. Some responsive records are being withheld from copying and distribution pursuant to section 7( 1)( a) of FOIA. 5 ILCS 140/7( 1)( a) ( West 2014). Section 7( 1)( a) of FOIA exempts from disclosure “[i]nformation specifically prohibited from disclosure by federal or State law or rules and regulations implementing federal or State law.” The federal Copyright Act (17 USC § 101 et seq. (West 2014)) provides that “the owner of [a] copyright * * * has the exclusive rights to do and to authorize any of the following:”
1) to reproduce the copyrighted work in copies[;] [and]
3) to distribute copies * * * of the copyrighted work to the public by sale or other transfer of ownership[.]”(Emphasis added.) 17 USC§§106(1),( 3)(West2014).
The Office of the Attorney General maintains a subscription to the publication, Capitol Fax. As a result, a representative of this office receives an e-mail from Capitol Fax containing a copy of the Capitol Fax publication each time a new issue is disseminated. The Capitol Fax is a copyrighted work. Accordingly, this office is withholding approximately 625 pages of the Capitol Fax that constitute copyrighted works, exempt from copying and distribution pursuant to section 7(1)(a) of FOIA and the Copyright Act. Please note that the withheld records themselves do not contain any notes, writings, or other annotations and were not the subject of any e-mail exchanges.
While this office is prohibited from copying and distributing the responsive copyrighted works, we may make the records available for public inspection. See Ill. Att’y Gen. PAC Req. Rev. Ltr. 11145, issued January 12, 2011. If you would like to review copies of the Capitol Fax received by this office, you may do so at the Attorney General’ s Springfield office during normal business hours. Please contact me at (312) 814-xxxx if you wish to schedule a time to review the indicated records.
With regard to the records we are providing today, we have redacted unique identifiers as” private information” as that term is defined in section 2(c-5) of FOIA (5 ILCS 140/2(c-5)(West 2014)). ” Private information” is exempt from disclosure under section 7(1)(b) of FOIA. 5 ILCS 140/7(1)(b) (West 2014). Specifically, we have redacted personal telephone numbers and a personal e-mail address.
And then it goes on to explain how to appeal the partial denial.
* Download it all yourself…
They really screwed up. They shoulda FOIA’d me going back 25 months instead of just 24. Wow, I sure lucked out there, as did all of my fellow cabal members.
/snark
posted by Rich Miller
Wednesday, Sep 9, 15 @ 5:53 pm
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Hope you’ve got a big time attorney…this sounds serious.
/snark
Comment by Bulldog58 Wednesday, Sep 9, 15 @ 5:59 pm
If I had to choose my favorite email?
I think its the one asking for the subscriber password…
… It’s tough to choose.
Comment by Oswego Willy Wednesday, Sep 9, 15 @ 6:01 pm
Nice to know that while the State’s in dire fiscal condition and short staffed, FOIA fishing expeditions continue.
I support transparency, but wish those fishing could be more precise.
Comment by Sir Reel Wednesday, Sep 9, 15 @ 6:17 pm
Let us know if the appeal eventually goes to the IL Supreme Court.
Comment by Wensicia Wednesday, Sep 9, 15 @ 6:23 pm
wow, that was scintillating reading! /s
Comment by G'Kar Wednesday, Sep 9, 15 @ 6:23 pm
Those Edgar County Watchdog guys are always good for a laugh.
Comment by Bluefish Wednesday, Sep 9, 15 @ 6:35 pm
I, for one, will sleep more soundly tonight knowing that all is secure in our great state.
Comment by Archiesmom Wednesday, Sep 9, 15 @ 6:37 pm
Holy cow! Who is Mr. John Kraft, and who is he representing?
Comment by Mama Wednesday, Sep 9, 15 @ 6:51 pm
I see an uncensored password in there for a months-old edition of CapitolFax!
Comment by Tournaround Agenda Wednesday, Sep 9, 15 @ 6:51 pm
So what’s the person trying to prove with the FOIA request? This actually looks better than what I get. Does the person making the request think there is some kind of person out to get them?
Comment by Anonymous Wednesday, Sep 9, 15 @ 6:52 pm
Also curious to know what the Edgar County Watchdog’s angle is with wanting this information.
Comment by Tournaround Agenda Wednesday, Sep 9, 15 @ 6:53 pm
I would like to know why in the time of severe economic distress, the State is wasting money on Capitol Fax subscriptions. /s
Comment by Huh? Wednesday, Sep 9, 15 @ 6:56 pm
Is this the same John Kraft that is the Digital Content Producer for the SJ-R?
Comment by Cheswick Wednesday, Sep 9, 15 @ 6:57 pm
I wonder how much these flakes increase the cost of running Illinois government with their fishing expeditions?
Comment by PublicServant Wednesday, Sep 9, 15 @ 7:00 pm
”
I would like to know why in the time of severe economic distress, the State is wasting money on Capitol Fax subscriptions. /s”
Why? Because people who work for & in government need to know what is happening at the Capitol. Government information does not flow freely.
Comment by Mama Wednesday, Sep 9, 15 @ 7:00 pm
Heh. You’ve finally made the big time /s
Comment by HearMeRoar Wednesday, Sep 9, 15 @ 7:03 pm
No proof either, but to answer my own question, in retrospect, I don’t think so.
Comment by Cheswick Wednesday, Sep 9, 15 @ 7:04 pm
You got that right Mama.
Comment by Anonymous Wednesday, Sep 9, 15 @ 7:08 pm
Caitlin is awesome.
Comment by Jorge Wednesday, Sep 9, 15 @ 7:09 pm
I once knew someone, he said, If it’s not in writing, it doesn’t exist.
Comment by Anonymous Wednesday, Sep 9, 15 @ 7:12 pm
Change to: Cabal Fax.
Comment by Excessively Rabid Wednesday, Sep 9, 15 @ 7:15 pm
How did your patootie fare in the frigid lake? Don’t leave us hanging.
Comment by Dome Gnome Wednesday, Sep 9, 15 @ 7:28 pm
Nice try, Rich.
Anyone who knows anything knows the cabal is just a red herring put out by the Bilderbergers to throw people off their track.
They also know that all real communications are processed through the dark web email servers managed by the descendants of the Knights Templars.
Comment by Pelonski Wednesday, Sep 9, 15 @ 7:29 pm
I always thought there was a code in the Fax to give secrets to Lisa. (/s)
Comment by Norseman Wednesday, Sep 9, 15 @ 7:30 pm
Wow the man just had bypass surgery. Cold….
Comment by present Wednesday, Sep 9, 15 @ 7:39 pm
==I wonder how much these flakes increase the cost of running Illinois government with their fishing expeditions?==
Let’s FOIA that information to find out how much they cost!
Comment by AC Wednesday, Sep 9, 15 @ 7:55 pm
So you’re part of the Combine,huh. Thank God we’ve got the Watchdogs watching out for us.
Comment by Anonymous Wednesday, Sep 9, 15 @ 8:03 pm
A secret, private server Rich? Shame on you!
/snark
Comment by walker Wednesday, Sep 9, 15 @ 8:39 pm
Maybe he is just trying to get a free read of Capitol Fax rather than paying for a subscription.
Comment by CarreerBureaucrat Wednesday, Sep 9, 15 @ 8:40 pm
I wonder how many FOIA’d documents specifically refer to your ‘patooty’ Rich? If that isn’t ‘personally identifiable information’ I don’t know what is?
Comment by Fur and Loathing Wednesday, Sep 9, 15 @ 9:20 pm
Meanwhile Roman is burning…..
Comment by Denisquared Wednesday, Sep 9, 15 @ 9:39 pm
Wow - you’re pretty boring in your correspondence with Natalie. I fell asleep twice reviewing these docs!
Comment by Chicago Cynic Wednesday, Sep 9, 15 @ 10:20 pm
Looks like Benghazi all over again.
Comment by Blue dog dem Wednesday, Sep 9, 15 @ 11:37 pm
Woke up on the keyboard and now I have the letters G and H pressed into my forehead…
Comment by Mouthy Wednesday, Sep 9, 15 @ 11:57 pm
I see a Subject Matter Hearing or Committee of the Whole in your future Mr. Miller.
Comment by Give Me A Break Thursday, Sep 10, 15 @ 7:06 am
Don’t underestimate these crime stoppers, beware of the dreaded “citizens arrest”…..it was these clowns that tried that at a park district meeting once.
Comment by Elliott Ness Thursday, Sep 10, 15 @ 7:19 am
Now you and Hillary have two things in common.
Comment by pool boy Thursday, Sep 10, 15 @ 7:58 am
I feel bad for the local elected officials in that area that have to deal with this every day. What a waste of resources.
Comment by ToughGuy Thursday, Sep 10, 15 @ 8:25 am
I mever realized that reporters interacted with the communications offices to get information. Good to know we have crack investigators getting to the bottom of this evil
Comment by Ghost Thursday, Sep 10, 15 @ 8:28 am
There are always going to be people who file nuisance FOIA requests. You roll your eyes at them, give them the information, and hope they don’t contact you again. These types of requests come from individuals who have nothing better to do that take up the limited time and resources agencies have. I wish these FOIA requests could be denied for stupidity.
Comment by Demoralized Thursday, Sep 10, 15 @ 8:29 am
As Reagan said about the ACLU’s lawsuit against him. “I wear it as a badge of honor.”
Comment by John A Logan Thursday, Sep 10, 15 @ 8:40 am
Spurred on by this concerned citizens inquiry, I spent last night scouring the internet for any connections between Rich Miller/Capitol Fax and the Council on Foreign Relations, the Bilderberg Group, Wall Street, the Federal Reserve System, the Freemasons, the Illuminati, the Justice Department, the Open Society Foundation, the Invisible College, the Rothschilds, the or the Trilateral Commission.
I found nothing.
I found comfort in this, but only for a moment. Because it was then, in the hours just before dawn, that I troubling, terrifying thought: “My God! How much pull must Miller have to scrub all of his ties to global power elite from the entire internet? Even HRC, Clooney and Kanye don’t have those kinds of connections!”
And then I thought about how an Illinois state senator with a funny name rocketed through the ranks to become the most powerful man in the world. And all of Illinois governors and power brokers imprisoned (or worse!) since the advent of Capitol Fax. The one constant axis of power around which all Illinois politics rotates wasn’t Rich Daley and it isn’t Mike Madigan — it’s Rich Miller! No matter what party or faction controls the mayors office, the city counsel, the legislature or governor’s seat, at the top of the pyramid there is always the smiling, cherubic face of Rich Miller!!
The Truth was now so clear. So obvious. But what should I do about it? What COULD I do about it? After much soul-searching, I realized that there was only one think I could do — I had to follow the lead of Chicago’s greatest hero, John Kass, and pull back the curtain and expose Rich Miller and THE TRUTH!!1!
But in doing so, I have tipped my hand. Strange men sit in an unmarked white van across the street. Two new black SUVs are parked in the neighbor’s driveway. And soon there will be a knock on the door.
It’s too late for me. Save yourselves.
– MrJM
Comment by @MisterJayEm Thursday, Sep 10, 15 @ 8:48 am
MrJM? Won’t see him no more.
Comment by Rich Miller Thursday, Sep 10, 15 @ 8:53 am
(A very well-deserved closed eyes, head bowed, tipping of the cap to - @MisterJayEm -. No words necessary.)
Comment by Oswego Willy Thursday, Sep 10, 15 @ 8:55 am
Can I pay you to send someone an email saying you’re getting frustrated with a lack of response?
Comment by lake county democrat Thursday, Sep 10, 15 @ 9:06 am
I wondered why I saw those black helicopters flying overhead when I went to vote this morning. They must be transporting MrJM to the secret detention facility put up by FEMA after Hurricane Katrina.
Comment by G'Kar Thursday, Sep 10, 15 @ 9:09 am
The most newsworthy item to come out of this treasure trove of correspondence is that in a moment of weakness, or perhaps fatigue from all of Rich’s queries, I thought it appropriate to incorporate the word “patooty” into my lexicon. Sigh …
Comment by Nat Bauer Luce Thursday, Sep 10, 15 @ 9:11 am
=== to incorporate the word “patooty” into my lexicon===
Yeah. You kinda sounded like a grandma in that one. lol
Comment by Rich Miller Thursday, Sep 10, 15 @ 9:22 am