E-Notice

2018-CH-01393
CALENDAR: 04
To: Matthew Vincent Topic
matt@loevy.com

NOTICE OF ELECTRONIC FILING

IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS
LUCY PARSONS LABS vs. CITY OF CHICAGO MAYOR'S OFFICE

The transmission was received on 02/01/2018 at 9:11 AM and was ACCEPTED with
the Clerk of the Circuit Court of Cook County on 02/01/2018 at 10:10 AM.

CHANCERY_ACTION_COVER_SHEET (CHANCERY DIVISION)

COMPLAINT

EXHIBITS (GROUP EXHIBIT A)

Filer's Email: matt@loevy.com

Filer's Fax: (312) 243-5902
Notice Date: 2/1/2018 10:10:22 AM
Total Pages: 12

DOROTHY BROWN
CLERK OF THE CIRCUIT COURT
COOK COUNTY
RICHARD J. DALEY CENTER, ROOM 1001
CHICAGO, IL 60602

(312) 603-5031
courtclerk@cookcountycourt.com
Chancery Division Civil Cover Sheet - General Chancery Section (Rev. 12/30/15) CCCH 0623

IN THE CIRCUIT CIVIL COURT OF COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS

COUNTY DEPARTMENT, COUNTY DIVISION

LUCY PARSONS LABS

Plantiff
ELECTRONICALLY FILED
v. 2/1/2018 9:11 AM
No. 2018-CH-01393
CALENDAR: 04
CITY OF CHICAGO MAYOR'S OFFICE CIRCUIT COURT OF
Defendant COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS
CHANCERY DIVISION
CLERK DOROTHY BROWN

CHANCERY DIVISION CIVIL COVER SHEET

GENERAL CHANCERY SECTION

A Chancery Division Civil Cover Sheet - General Chancery Section shall be fi led with the initial complaint in all
actions fi led in the General Chancery Section of Chancery Division. The information contained herein is for administra-
tive purposes only. Please check the box in front of the appropriate category which best characterizes your action being
filed.
0005 Administrative Review
0001 Class Action
0002 Declaratory Judgment
0004 Injunction

0007 General Chancery 0019 Partition

0010 Accounting 0020 Quiet Title
0011 Arbitration 0021 Quo Warranto
0012 Certiorari 0022 Redemption Rights
0013 Dissolution of Corporation 0023 Reformation of a Contract
0014 Dissolution of Partnership 0024 Rescission of a Contract
0015 Equitable Lien 0025 Specific Performance
0016 Interpleader 0026 Trust Construction
0017 Mandamus 0027 Foreign Transcript
0018 Ne Exeat 0085 Petition to Register Foreign Judgment
Other (specify)
By: /s MATTHEW VINCENT TOPIC
Atty. No.: 41295 Pro Se 99500 Pro Se Only: I have read and agree to the terms of the
Name: LOEVY & LOEVY Clerk's Office Electronic Notice Policy and choose to opt
Atty. for: LUCY PARSONS LABS in to electronic notice from the Clerk’s office for this caseat
this email address:
Address: 311 N ABERDEEN 3FL
City/State/Zip: CHICAGO, IL 60607
Telephone: (312) 243-5900
Primary Email Address:
matt@loevy.com
Secondary Email Address(es):
joshb@loevy.com
caroline@loevy.com

DOROTHY BROWN, CLERK OF THE CIRCUIT COURT OF COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS

Page 1 of 1
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CALENDAR: 04
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CIRCUIT COURT OF
COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS
CHANCERY DIVISION
IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS
CLERK DOROTHY BROWN
COUNTY DEPARTMENT, CHANCERY DIVISION

LUCY PARSONS LABS, )

)
Plaintiff, )
)
v. )
)
CITY OF CHICAGO MAYOR’S )
OFFICE, )
)
Defendant. )

COMPLAINT

NOW COMES Plaintiff, LUCY PARSONS LABS, by its undersigned attorneys,

LOEVY & LOEVY, and brings this suit to overturn Defendant CITY OF CHICAGO MAYOR’S

OFFICE’s refusal, in willful violation of the Illinois Freedom of Information Act, to produce

records related to Chicago’s bid for Amazon’s new headquarters. In support of its Complaint,

LPL states as follows:

INTRODUCTION

1. Pursuant to the fundamental philosophy of the American constitutional form of

government, it is the public policy of the State of Illinois that all persons are entitled to full and

complete information regarding the affairs of government and the official acts and policies of

those who are represent them as public officials and public employees consistent with the terms

of the Illinois Freedom of Information Act (“FOIA”). 5 ILCS 140/1.

2. Restraints on access to information, to the extent permitted by FOIA are limited

exceptions to the principle that the people of this state have a right to full disclosure of

information relating to the decisions, policies, procedures, rules, standards, and other aspects of
 government activity that affect the conduct of government and the lives of the people. 5 ILCS

140/1.

3. All public records of a public body are presumed to be open to inspection or

copying. Any public body that asserts that a record is exempt from disclosure had the burden of

proving by clear and convincing evidence that it is exempt. 5 ILCS 140/3.

4. Under FOIA Section 11(h), “except as to causes the court considers to be of

greater importance, proceedings arising under [FOIA] shall take precedence on the docket over

all other causes and be assigned for hearing and trial at the earliest practicable date and expedited

in every way.”

PARTIES
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5. Plaintiff LUCY PARSONS LABS is a non-profit based in Illinois and is the

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FOIA requester in this case. The request was sent by its executive director Freddy Martinez.

6. Defendant CITY OF CHICAGO MAYOR’S OFFICE is a public body located in

Cook County, Illinois.

BACKGROUND

7. In September 2017, Amazon released a request for proposal for its second North

American headquarters, known as HQ2. Since Amazon released the RFP prospective cities have

offered billions of dollars in tax breaks against city and state taxes. The Mayor’s Office has

offered ten locations as the site for HQ2, but very little information on the details of the bid.

8. At last estimate, the City of Chicago’s parking meter deal has cost tax payers $41

million dollars since inception and that amount will continue to rise since the city must

reimburse the parking meter company for any lost revenue. The First District Appellate Court
 had the following to say about the controversial parking meter privatization deal while holding

that the taxpayers could not undo it:

The City of Chicago, as do other governmental units throughout the state and
country, faces fiscal challenges. There is no doubt that when presented with an
opportunity to receive over $1.15 billion to be put to use for the public purposes
and benefit, the City saw a chance to ease its financial burdens. *** Despite these
benefits received by the City, the concession agreement has been criticized and
subjected to healthy debate. We urge the City and the city council to debate and
act wisely in the future when seeking to ease the financial crisis.

Independent Voters of Illinois Independent Precinct Organization v. Ahmad, 2014 IL App (1st)

123629, at ¶ 89.

9. The bidding period for Amazon’s HQ2 headquarters ended in October 2017.

Since the bidding period has ended disclosure cannot result in competitive harm.
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10. Moreover, other bidders for Amazon’s HQ2 headquarters including Boston,
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Miami, Philadelphia and Montgomery County, Maryland have all released their bids publicly,

highlighting the fact that disclosure will not cause competitive harm.

https://www.muckrock.com/news/archives/2018/jan/18/amazon-

finalists/?utm_source=MuckRock+Wide+List&utm_campaign=e7a625a459-

europa&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_20aa4a931d-e7a625a459-364944069.

NOVEMBER 8, 2017 FOIA REQUEST

11. On November 8, 2017, LPL requested, “[a] copy of the bid submitted in response

to Amazon’s request for proposals for the site of its second headquarters, any contracts with

third-party providers for services rendered regarding the Amazon HQ2 bid, and any marketing

budgets regarding Amazon-related expenditures from September 1, 2017 to the date this request

is received.” LPL also requested “[a]ny and all communications between the Mayor's office and

Amazon.” A true and correct copy is attached as Group Exhibit A.

 12. After receiving no response from the MAYOR’s OFFICE, LPL followed up on

November 16, 2017. A true and correct copy of the correspondence is attached as part of Group

Exhibit A.

13. On November 16, 2017, MAYOR’s OFFICE responded stating that Section

7(1)(h) exempts the bid itself from disclosure. 5 ILCS 140/7(1)(h).

14. Section 7(1)(h) exempts bids that were solicited by the public body, not the public

body’s bids to someone else. 5 ILCS 140/7(1)(h). Moreover, as the bidding period has ended,

disclosure cannot result in competitive harm. A true and correct copy is attached as part of

Group Exhibit A.

15. Citing Section 3(g), the MAYOR’s OFFICE also stated that there was insufficient
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public interest to warrant disclosure of communications between the MAYOR’s OFFICE and
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Amazon. A true and correct copy is attached as part of Group Exhibit A.

16. The MAYOR’s OFFICE produced some records residing on the Mayor’s non-

governmental email accounts (but nothing from governmental email accounts) and redactions

were made pursuant to Section 7(1)(b). A true and correct copy is attached as part of Group

Exhibit A.

17. The MAYOR’s OFFICE stated that it did not have any records responsive to the

requests for contracts with third-party vendors and marketing budgets. A true and correct copy is

attached as part of Group Exhibit A.

COUNT I – WILLFUL VIOLATION OF FOIA

18. The above paragraphs are incorporated by reference.

19. CITY OF CHICAGO MAYOR’s OFFICE is a public body under FOIA.

 20. The records sought in LPL’s FOIA request are non-exempt public records of

MAYOR’s OFFICE.

21. CITY OF CHICAGO MAYOR’s OFFICE has violated FOIA by refusing to

produce the requested records.

WHEREFORE, LPL asks the Court:

i. in accordance with FOIA Section 11(f), afford this case precedence on the Court’s

docket except as to causes the Court considers to be of greater importance, assign

this case for hearing and trial at the earliest practicable date, and expedite this

case in every way;

ii. declare that the MAYOR’s OFFICE has violated FOIA;

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iii. order MAYOR’s OFFICE to produce the requested records under FOIA;
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iv. enjoin MAYOR’s OFFICE from withholding non-exempt public records under

FOIA;

v. order the MAYOR’s OFFICE to pay civil penalties;

vi. award LPL reasonable attorney’s fees and costs; and

vii. award such other relief the Court considers appropriate.

RESPECTFULLY SUBMITTED,

/s/ Joshua Hart Burday

____________________________

Attorneys for Plaintiff

LUCY PARSONS LABS

Matthew Topic
Joshua Burday
 LOEVY & LOEVY
311 North Aberdeen, 3rd Floor
Chicago, IL 60607
312-243-5900
foia@loevy.com
Atty. No. 41295
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 ELECTRONICALLY FILED
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CIRCUIT COURT OF
COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS
CHANCERY DIVISION
CLERK DOROTHY BROWN

O FFICE O F M AYOR R AHM E MANUEL

C ITY O F C H IC A G O

November 16, 2017

Freddy Martinez
45662-38023675@requests.muckrock.com

Dear Mr. Martinez:

On behalf of the City of Chicago Office of the Mayor (“Mayor’s Office”), I am responding to
your Freedom of Information Act (“FOIA”) request dated November 8, 2017, in which you are
seeking:

A copy of the bid submitted in response to Amazon's request for proposals for the
site of its second headquarters, any contracts with third-party providers for
services rendered regarding the Amazon HQ2 bid, and any marketing budgets
regarding Amazon-related expenditures from September 1, 2017 to the date this
request is received.

Any and all communications between the Mayor's office and Amazon. Please do
not forget to query any "private" email addresses such as the one at
rahmemail.com

With respect the portion of your request seeking “A copy of the bid submitted in response to
Amazon's request for proposals for the site of its second headquarters,” the records you seek are
exempt from disclosure pursuant to Section 7(1)(h) of FOIA, which exempts:

Proposals and bids for any contract, grant, or agreement, including information
which if it were disclosed would frustrate procurement or give an advantage to
any person proposing to enter into a contractor agreement with the body, until an
award or final selection is made. Information prepared by or for the body in
preparation of a bid solicitation shall be exempt until an award or final selection is
made.

5 ILCS 140/7(1)(h). Because of the ongoing competitive process, the public release of the City’s
proposal materials could give an advantage to another applicant. For this reason, these materials
are exempt from production under this section.

With respect to the portion of your request seeking, “any contracts with third-party providers for
services rendered regarding the Amazon HQ2 bid, and any marketing budgets regarding
121 NORTH LASALLE STREET, SUITE 500, CHICAGO, ILLINOIS 60602

GROUP EXHIBIT A
 Amazon-related expenditures from September 1, 2017 to the date this request is received,”
please be advised that the Mayor’s Office has not responsive records.

With respect to the portion of your request seeking, “any and all communications between the
Mayor's office and Amazon,” as it related to the Mayor’s City email accounts, please be advised
that your request is unduly burdensome. Section 3(g) of FOIA provide that “requests for all
records falling within a category shall be complied with unless compliance with the request
would be unduly burdensome for the complying public body and there is no way to narrow the
request and the burden on the public body outweighs the public interest in the information.”

In order to effectively run an email search, the Mayor’s Office needs the following search
parameters: (1) the e-mail address(es) or employee name(s) of the account(s) you wish searched;
(2) key words you wish to search for; and (3) the timeframe to be searched. Without search
parameters, the Mayor’s Office would need to review all department emails to determine
whether any are responsive to your request. Such an undertaking would pose an immense
burden on the department.

With respect to the portion of your request seeking records residing on a non-government email
account of Mayor Rahm Emanuel, I am producing herewith responsive records. On a quarterly
basis, the Mayor’s Office receives all emails concerning City business residing on the Mayor’s
non-government email accounts. At the end of the third quarter, the Mayor’s Office received
emails from June through September, 2017. Emails from October and November will become
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available at the end of the fourth quarter.

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Personal email addresses have been redacted from the produced records pursuant to Section
7(1)(b) of FOIA, which exempts “private information, unless disclosure is required by another
provision of this Act, a State or federal law or a court order.” 5 ILCS 140/7(1)(b). Section 2(c-5)
defines “private information" as:

unique identifiers, including a person's social security number, driver's license

number, employee identification number, biometric identifiers, personal financial
information, passwords or other access codes, medical records, home or personal
telephone numbers, and personal email addresses. Private information also
includes home address and personal license plates, except as otherwise provided
by law or when compiled without possibility of attribution to any person.

5 ILCS 140/2(c-5). Because personal email addresses are specifically exempted under Section
7(1)(b), they have been properly withheld.

It is necessary that your FOIA request be narrowed and clarified. If you would like assistance in
narrowing your request, please contact me, and I will assist you. Otherwise, for the reasons
provided above, the Mayor’s Office is unable to respond to your FOIA request as currently
drafted.

If you agree to narrow your request, you must submit a revised written request to my attention.
The Mayor’s Office will take no further action or send you any further correspondence unless
and until your current request is narrowed in writing. If we do not receive your narrowed request
within fourteen (14) calendar days of the date of this letter, your current request will be denied.
 In the event that we do not receive a narrowed request and your current FOIA request is
therefore denied, you have the right to have a denial reviewed by the Public Access Counselor
(PAC) at the Office of the Illinois Attorney General, 500 S. 2nd Street, Springfield, Illinois
62706, (877) 299-3642. You also have the right to seek judicial review of your denial by filing a
lawsuit in Cook County Circuit Court.

Sincerely,

Shannon Leonard
Freedom of Information Officer
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 Message
From: Melissa Green [melissagreen@rationa1360.com]
Sent: 9/8/2017 1:01:12 PM
~ ,: To: Sarah Feinberg
CC: Rahm Emanuel [mayor_re@rahmemail.com]
Subject: Re: NYTimes: Amazon Announces Plans for Huge New North America Headquarters

Yes. Huge opportunity here. Transit and also investments in workforce training and high tech DMDI
initiative. No better place to put this HQ and campus than Chi.

sent from my iPhone

> On Sep 8, 2017, at 8:57 AM, Sarah Feinberg < wrote:

> The investments you all have made in transit and infrastructure should be highlighted

> No other city has been able to do it

> Especially NYC

> Cincinnati, Austin, San Fran, Charlotte have all failed

> sent from my iPhone

» On Sep 7, 2017, at 8:47 AM, Rahm Emanuel <mayor_re@rahmemail.com> wrote:

» Yes
ELECTRONICALLY FILED

» sent from my iPhone

2/1/2018 9:11 AM

>» On Sep 7, 2017, at 6:52 AM, Sarah Feinberg

2018-CH-01393

wrote:
>»
PAGE 4 of 5

»> Chicago would be great for this?

»>
»> https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/07/technology/amazon-headquarters-north-america.html?smprod=nytcore-
iphone&smid=nytcore-iphone-share
>»
»> The online retail giant said it expected the offices would cost as much as $5 billion to build and
operate, and would be used by as many as 50,000 employees.
»>
»>
»> sent from my iPhone
 Message
From: Rick Waddell [fhw@ntrs.com]
r Sent: 9/12/2017 2:19:04 PM
To: Rahm Emanuel(emanuel.rahm@gmail.com)[emanuel.rahm@gmail.com]
Subject: Civic Committee/Amazon

Rahm—congrats on the school funding bill. Good compromise all around.

The Civic Committee met this morning and we, of course, stand ready to help you and your team in any way as you
respond to the Amazon RFP.

Best,

Rick

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5C~ ~ouf~: L~ Sa le Slre~~, B•3, Chicago, i':iinc~is l~~~C3 USA
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ELECTRONICALLY FILED

are r:~±tt~e i~:t~^tied seCi~lettt, ple:~se notify t;;e s~nci~rf~~t?? and de ete t~:'ss rress~ge'r~ r ya;:s sysier^. P TAC:3`~:s_
LC
2/1/2018 9:11 AM
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Summons - Alias Summons (12/31/15) CCG N001

IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS

LUCY PARSONS LABS
No. 2018-CH-01393
v.
Defendant Address:
CITY OF CHICAGO MAYOR'S OFFICE CITY OF CHICAGO MAYOR'S OFFICE
121 N. LASALLE
507
CHICAGO, IL 60602

SUMMONS ALIAS - SUMMONS

To each defendant:
YOU ARE SUMMONED and required to file an answer to the complaint in this case, a copy of which is hereto
attached, or otherwise file your appearance, and pay the required fee, in the Office of the Clerk of this Court at the
following location:
Richard J. Daley Center, 50 W. Washington, Room 802 ,Chicago, Illinois 60602
District 2 - Skokie District 3 - Rolling Meadows District 4 - Maywood
5600 Old Orchard Rd. 2121 Euclid 1500 Maybrook Ave.
Skokie, IL 60077 Rolling Meadows, IL 60008 Maywood, IL 60153
District 5 - Bridgeview District 6 - Markham Richard J. Daley Center
10220 S. 76th Ave. 16501 S. Kedzie Pkwy. 50 W. Washington, LL-01
Bridgeview, IL 60455 Markham, IL 60428 Chicago, IL 60602
You must file within 30 days after service of this Summons, not counting the day of service.

IF YOU FAIL TO DO SO, A JUDGMENT BY DEFAULT MAY BE ENTERED AGAINST YOU FOR THE
RELIEF REQUESTED IN THE COMPLAINT.

To the officer:
This Summons must be returned by the officer or other person to whom it was given for service, with endorsement
of service and fees, if any, immediately after service. If service cannot be made, this Summons shall be returned so
endorsed. This Summons may not be served later than thirty (30) days after its date.

Witness: Thursday, 01 February 2018

Atty. No.: 41295
Name: LOEVY & LOEVY
/s DOROTHY BROWN
Atty. for: LUCY PARSONS LABS DOROTHY BROWN, Clerk of Court
Address: 311 N ABERDEEN 3FL
Date of Service:
City/State/Zip Code: CHICAGO, IL 60607
(To be inserted by officer on copy left with Defendant or other person)
Telephone: (312) 243-5900
Primary Email Address: matt@loevy.com
**Service by Facsimile Transmission will be accepted at:
Secondary Email Address(es):
joshb@loevy.com
(Area Code) (Facsimile Telephone Number)

DOROTHY BROWN, CLERK OF THE CIRCUIT COURT OF COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS

Page 1 of 1
 Chancery DIVISION
Litigant List

Printed on 02/01/2018

Case Number: 2018-CH-01393 Page 1 of 1

Plaintiffs
Plaintiffs Name Plaintiffs Address State Zip Unit #

LUCY PARSONS LABS

Total Plaintiffs: 1

Defendants
Defendant Name Defendant Address State Unit # Service By
CITY OF CHICAGO MAYOR'S 121 N. LASALLE CHICAGO, IL 60602 507 Sheriff-Clerk
OFFICE

Total Defendants: 1