Request… a lot of them. (2/18 — 2/23/2026)

An apple a day keeps the horse track betting at bay

Hey, welcome to week nine of foiaday!

I could write up a spiel about how I haven’t been publishing for a myriad of reasons (illness, doctor-palooza, reporting on deadline, prepping for NICAR next week!), but I’ll hold off in favor of writing up a mega email of every request filed in the past week of foiaday!

On Saturday, I’ll send out a big monthly update for February of every request filed this month and where they stand. Daily subscribers, you’ll get it like normal. Weekly subscribers, you can always check out the archive on Saturday or change your subscription frequency at the bottom of this email!

So, let’s get into it: week eight of foiaday, plus tonight’s request, on apples.

If there's a coworker or friend you think would benefit from this newsletter, feel free to forward it to them! If they subscribe, they'll also get a link to a template for the tracker I like to use to keep tabs on requests I've filed.

Request 049 — defense sector college recruiting 💣

Tabling is a tough job — I did it a lot in college, and I’m pretty sure the steady stream of rejections and cold pitches made me a much stronger reporter than I would’ve been without it.

In this climate, though, how tough is it for recruiters in the defense sector? Let’s go for a balance of new and old: Palantir, Flock, Lockheed, Northrop Grumman.

There’s a good request to pick from that was already filed with UIUC in October from Noam Perry, so we’ll pull from that language, and add to it a little to accommodate the other companies and the time since then.

All in:

- Emails between 1/1/2024 and present (2/23/2026), between Department of Aerospace Engineering, School for Computer Science employees or Courtney McLearin (mcleari@illinois.edu) related to interfacing with companies on recruitment and Palantir Technologies Inc. Please search for the company's email domain which is: "@palantir.com", and please release records in a .pdf format with any necessary PII redacted.

- Emails between 1/1/2024 and present (2/23/2026), between Department of Aerospace Engineering, School for Computer Science employees or Courtney McLearin (mcleari@illinois.edu) related to interfacing with companies on recruitment and Flock Safety. Please search for the company's email domain which is: "@flocksafety.com", and please release records in a .pdf format with any necessary PII redacted.

- Emails between 1/1/2024 and present (2/23/2026), between Department of Aerospace Engineering, School for Computer Science employees or Courtney McLearin (mcleari@illinois.edu) related to interfacing with companies on recruitment and Lockheed Martin. Please search for the company's email domain which is: "@lmco.com", and please release records in a .pdf format with any necessary PII redacted.

- Emails between 1/1/2024 and present (2/23/2026), between Department of Aerospace Engineering, School for Computer Science employees or Courtney McLearin (mcleari@illinois.edu) related to interfacing with companies on recruitment and Northrop Grumman. Please search for the company's email domain which is "@ngc.com" or "@northropgrumman.careers", and please release records in a .pdf format with any necessary PII redacted.

Request 050! 🎉 — Pittsburgh ambulance chasing

If you’ve been ravenously watching The Pitt like I have, you might remember the opening scene for season two, which involves Noah Wyle on a motorcycle chasing after an ambulance as he rides — without a helmet!!111!1!1!1!!1 — into work.

The scene, reportedly, actually was shot out of compliance with the permit they filed, and caused a bit of a traffic backup on the Rachel Carson Bridge.

In the city of Pittsburgh, permits for film projects and special events are filed with, you guessed it, the Office of Film and Event Management. They have an online approval form for permits that organizations and companies can file, which means they have a database where those permits are being filed.

Let’s request for all permits filed last year, and this year so far, and details about them, like the company filing the permit, the name of the project, the date the permit was filed, the proposed filming location and whether it was approved:

- Data or documents sufficient to show a list of all film project permits filed in 2025 and 2026. Please include the name of the company or individual filing the permit, the name of the project, the date the permit was filed, the proposed filming location and the outcome of the permit, along with other associated metadata for the application located here: https://eproval.pittsburghpa.gov/ Please release records in a machine-readable format, like a .xlsx, .csv or .sqlite file.

New agency! 🚨 I’ve filed records requests in Pennsylvania in the past, but never to this agency nested within the City of Pittsburgh:

- A log, list, document or data to show all records requests filed with this agency (like a "FOIA log") between 1/1/2024 and the present. Please release documents in a digitized format and include a description of the request, the date of the request, the name or affiliation of the requester and the outcome of the request. Please release the document in a .xlsx or .csv if possible, or a .pdf if not.

- The most recent records retention schedule for the agency, which includes a list of documents kept by the agency and for how long each record is retained. This may be called a general records schedule, a records index, or something else. Please release this in a .pdf if possible.

Request 051 — railway cops 🚆

I’ll keep this brief: yes, rail cops are real cops. Yes, I learned that the hard way after being stopped by rail cops while out reporting, and yes, I was chastised for not taking their authority seriously. 🤩

Rail cops are unique in that they have powers vested in them by the state and feds, but they essentially defend private property. (Though legal precedent, thanks to interstate commerce laws, will say it’s private, but federal, property.)

It’s not entirely clear to me where a request of this nature would go. Part of my gut says ILETSB, which by law is a repository for some documents for these police departments. The other part says the Illinois Commerce Commission, just because they oversee so much related to rail in the state, but I don’t think that’s the case.

So I think these have to go to the companies themselves? Illinois has six Class I rail companies all intersecting here, one of two places in the counry where that’s the case. Let’s request records retention, FOIA logs, aggregate details about reports and maybe some budget info, too, from those: BNSF, Norfolk Southern, CSX, Canadian National, Union Pacific and CPKC.

And, hell. Let’s do Amtrak, too.

- A list, log, data or documents sufficient to show all tickets, citations or warnings issued by police officers between 1/1/2025 and 2/23/2026. Please include all associated metadata with the ticket, citation or warning, including the date issued, the violation or specific ordinance being violated, any associated narrative reports, and the outcome of the violation. Please release data in a machine-readable format, like .xslx or .csv.

- Data or documents sufficient to show the 2025 and 2026 budget for policing and law enforcement. Please release records in a .pdf format or .csv format.

- Data or documents sufficient to show line-item expenditures for policing and law enforcement in 2025 and 2026, including reimbursements. Please include a description of the line item, the category of the line item, the date of expense, the cost of the expense, and any associated metadata with the expense. Please release records in a .xlsx, .csv or .pdf format.

And logs and schedules:

- A log, list, document or data to show all records requests filed with this agency (like a "FOIA log") between 1/1/2024 and the present. Please release documents in a digitized format and include a description of the request, the date of the request, the name or affiliation of the requester and the outcome of the request. Please release the document in a .xlsx or .csv if possible, or a .pdf if not.

- The most recent records retention schedule for the agency, which includes a list of documents kept by the agency and for how long each record is retained. This may be called a general records schedule, a records index, or something else. Please release this in a .pdf if possible.

Request 052 — crypto ATMs 💸

The Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation is the agency that simply will not get out of my head. And for good reason! There’s a lot of ground that they cover.

One new area of growth for the agency are crypto ATMs. The agency already regulates things like currency exchanges and credit unions. Why should Bitcoin ATMs be any different?

Last year, the state legislature passed a bill that would require crypto ATMs to register with the state, which includes the location of the ATM itself.

It seems like current ATM operators have until July 2027 to register, but I’m kind of curious to see how many ATMs have registered since the bill went into effect.

- A list of all registrations and licenses issued for crypto ATMs, pursuant to the Digital Asset Kiosk Act. Please include the name of the applicant or company, the date the ATM is registered, and the location of the ATM, as well as any associated metadata with the registration process. Please release documents in a .xlsx or .csv or .pdf format.

Request 053 — horse racing 🏇

So, like. Have you heard of the Illinois Racing Board?

They’re in charge of a pretty discrete set of activities and places around the state: horse racing, horse race betting, and horse race betting facilities. That includes the Hawthorne Race Track, as well as a handful of off-track betting facilities around Illinois.

I’m going to throw it back to a previous request we filed with the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, and take the same approach here. Let’s request for conflict of interest filings and any sort of financial disclosure forms filed by board members or managers, and maybe also a list of contracts awarded and the proposed bid amount?

- Documents or records sufficient to show financial disclosure or conflict of interest forms filed by board members in 2025 and 2026. Please release documents in a .pdf format.

- Data, documents, lists or records sufficient to show all contracts awarded in 2025 and 2026, and the proposed winning bid amount. Please release records in a .xlsx or .csv format, and include the business name, the services being rendered or provided, and the date the contract was awarded.

And… newwwww agency!

- A log, list, document or data to show all records requests filed with this agency (like a "FOIA log") between 1/1/2024 and the present. Please release documents in a digitized format and include a description of the request, the date of the request, the name or affiliation of the requester and the outcome of the request. Please release the document in a .xlsx or .csv if possible, or a .pdf if not.

- The most recent records retention schedule for the agency, which includes a list of documents kept by the agency and for how long each record is retained. This may be called a general records schedule, a records index, or something else. Please release this in a .pdf if possible.

Request 054 — AI misconduct 🤖

Or, rather, misconduct with AI. At U of I!

Every year, the university releases an aggregate of academic/student code violations by type, including cheating, plagiarism, fabrication, bribes, etc, etc, by college.

Being the state’s largest university, and, like I mentioned earlier, a university anchored by technological advancements, I’m super curious to see if the number of infractions have gone up over time. Based on the student code, which has its own records retention section, “a record of the infraction will remain in the student’s department and college files (both the student’s college of enrollment and the college in which the course or examination was conducted), pursuant to the university’s record retention policy,” and “the Director of the Office for Student Conflict Resolution will retain the information pursuant to the university’s records retention policy.”

So, in theory, I would maybe be able to request either the number of records returned by searching for "artificial intelligence" or something of that nature, to get details in aggregate, or redacted individual reports filed with the university, save for any PII that may be protected by FERPA. Maybe?

Let’s try:

- Documents or data sufficient to show all academic integrity and student code infractions involving artificial intelligence or generative AI (including, but not limited to, ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini or Copilot), in 2025. Please redact any PII in accordance with FERPA, but include the following to the extent possible: the nature of the alleged violation of academic integrity; if applicable, the appeal procedures followed and the recommendation of any hearing committee; and the final decision and sanction(s) imposed. 

Request 055 — apple deets 🍏

Running through the trend of government agencies I didn’t know about, did you know that Wikipedia has a list of quasi-public entities in the U.S.?

And, relatedly, did you know that the state of Washington has an apple agency?

The Washington Apple Commission was created in 1937, by order of the Washington state legislature. It’s a state agency staffed by growers and has a killer website:

Commodity commissions in Washington are in part overseen by the Director of Agriculture, so that’s where I’ll direct my request. Aside from getting details on what PRA requests may have been filed in the past, and what records they might keep, I’m also curious about license plate sales , because look at this thing:

The website says that the plates can be purchased from the Washington State Department of Licensing (fitting), so we’ll have to request some records from the WAC, and some from the WSDoL.

- Data or documents sufficient to show sales of the Washington Apple Commission/Washington apple specialty license plate in 2025. Please include any revenue as well as the volume of plates sold. 

- Data or documents sufficient to show revenue from specialty license plate sales aggregated by plate type in 2025. Please release records in a .xlsx or .csv format.

And then from WAC (actually, from both — because they’re both new!):

- A log, list, document or data to show all records requests filed with this agency (like a "FOIA log") between 1/1/2024 and the present. Please release documents in a digitized format and include a description of the request, the date of the request, the name or affiliation of the requester and the outcome of the request. Please release the document in a .xlsx or .csv if possible, or a .pdf if not.

- The most recent records retention schedule for the agency, which includes a list of documents kept by the agency and for how long each record is retained. This may be called a general records schedule, a records index, or something else. Please release this in a .pdf if possible.

Phew! That’s a good stretch of records.

Weekly requests summary 😤

Ooookay! Here’s our week full of requests:

Alllllllrighty! Let’s keep tabs on those through this week — hopefully I’ll have some kind of update by Saturday for the monthly round-up! Later today, we’ll file request number 56. (Which isn’t actually request 56 — it’s more like request 108-ish. But who’s counting?)

🗣️ICYMI 🗣️, buy tickets to NICAR, FOIA Fest or Sunshine Fest and hear me talk about foiaday live on stage! (Or, if you’ll be there in person and want to catch up over coffee, drop me a line!)

Take care, everyone! Happy filing! Have a good week!

Cam