To The Daily Northwestern,

The article “Citizens urge FOIA reform,” published Nov. 8, should have been called “The Devon Reid and Bobby Burns Show!”

My recent Freedom of Information Act request was denied, and I believe Evanston staff acted to contradict both the letter and spirit of regulations on the matter.

Therefore, last week’s public meeting to me seemed like a public relations spectacle for the city clerk and his deputy — showing off all the FOIA requests they made as upstarts for public office against the City of Evanston, rather than helping ordinary people like me get public records.

Perhaps they actually lack the competence to implement the reforms they advocate, as open data is challenging. If Reid and Burns were so concerned with the public, my request would have been handled in accords with the letter and spirit of FOIA resolution 43-R-14, which governs this matter.

My daughter was injured at Roycemore School in March 2017 and had to go to the emergency room. In my fight with the school over how the matter was handled, I learned of the school’s poor financial state. It was precarious despite a government-facilitated bond deal in 2011, which raised more than $14 million for new building acquisition and renovation. My contention is the school discriminated against me to protect its money and reputation. Some of the private school’s financial information related to this bond deal and subsequent city-regulated land development process is public.

The legal department specifically defined and described the records as “unduly burdensome.”

Burns referred me to the city’s website in general, though in last week’s meeting he said it was bad practice to do just that. The request was denied without appropriate explanation of other processes mentioned in the resolution. Follow-up has been futile.

Rather than try to score political points, Reid and Burns should focus on helping everyday people get access to information. In a resolution to facilitate the bond deal for Roycemore, City Council noted the school’s importance to the community. I would think releasing the documents showing that the Roycemore deal was, from the beginning, an unwise, public-facilitated financing, would also benefit that same community. It would show Reid and Burns can get information about something other than what makes them look good.

Sincerely,

Marlon Millner, Evanston resident