Request 032 and 033 — 2/1 and 2/2/2026

Someone didn't bother reading my carefully prepared memo on commonly-used passwords…

This email was supposed to go out last night to both daily and weekly subscribers, but only went out to a handful of random daily subscribers. I'm resending it just to make sure everyone gets it. If you're receiving this twice, so sorry!

Hellllllloooooooo folks and welcome to February! Happy foiaday!

I should start a jar on my desk and put a dollar in it every time I send an email late this year. (Surefire way to save maybe… $50? Hopefully less?)

🔎 ICYMI: On Saturday, I published a monthly roundup of all requests filed in January, along with the agency it was filed to, links to the language used and brief updates on it if available. Because it’s Monday, and technically a weekly update day, I’ll have a brief update at the bottom of this newsletter for the past week. But! I’d highly recommend checking out the monthly roundup for more details.

We’ll start strong with a quick, decisive and Hackers (1995) inspired request: records related to cybersecurity for Illinois agencies! Then, we’ll move to a different realm and request documents about archaeological sites.

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.

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Request 032 — cybersecurity 💻

Phishing scams, malware and DDoS attacks are simply not limited to everyday people or multi-billion-dollar companies. They also target local government! Quite a bit.

In response to this, the State of Illinois now requires municipalities to undergo cybersecurity training based on a curriculum developed by the state’s Department of Innovation and Technology.

The Illinois DoIT requires mandatory cybersecurity training for all employees working for a municipality, and also requires each municipality over 35,000 people to send the name of a designated cybersecurity point person to the state.

Federally, something that comes into play is funding from the State Local Cybersecurity Grant Program, which is backed by CISA and FEMA. There are a few things that Illinois is trying to apply the funding toward, including beefing up that training program, as well as providing endpoint monitoring (especially for school districts) and a Cyber Navigator program that gives each region of the state a point person within DoIT for assistance with cybersecurity questions. Honestly, pretty cool!

So let’s request for some details about the program, including any records about cybersecurity training compliance and the point people for each municipality:

- Data or documents sufficient to show a list of all municipal employees who completed required annual cybersecurity training in 2025. Please release documents in a .xlsx, .csv or .pdf format. If necessary, please redact any PII (though, note that email addresses used for public business, names of employees and the agencies they work for are publicly available and not PII).

- Data or documents sufficient to show a current list of all designated points of contact for cybersecurity issues within municipalities registered with DoIT. Please release documents in a .xlsx, .csv or .pdf format. If necessary, please redact any PII (though, note that email addresses used for public business, names of employees and the agencies they work for are publicly available and not PII).

And, because this is a new agency for me to file a FOIA to, I’ll grab a records retention schedule and FOIA log:

- 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 033 — archaeological dig sites ⚱️

If you know me or my work, you know that I love history. In Illinois, there are a few agencies that handle local and state history, and one is housed within the Illinois Department of Natural Resources: the Historic Preservation Division.

They handle a range of things, like different restoration and conservation programs, but one thing in their purview is archaeological sites throughout the state. This is in part thanks to legislation, and they run a cool program called HARGIS, which is a glorious ArcGIS interactive map with historic sites.

Anyway. I could go down rabbit hole after rabbit hole, but one thing that I really want is access to a different ArcGIS map, which is focused on archaeological and paleontological sites in Illinois. The map is linked on the IDNR site, but it’s password protected.

It’s understandable to not necessarily want records on archaeological sites to be public in order to keep those sites from being looted — for example, the National Park District provides three classes of sites when it comes to disclosure of information about the site:

• Class I: “Locations of Class I sites are readily disclosed to the public. Class I sites have a long history of visitation, are marked on USGS topographic maps, are described in widely available guide books, are generally known to visitors, and/or are actively promoted as destinations.”

• Class II: “Class II site locations may only be disclosed to the public when visitors request the information by site name, photograph or description, and the requested site is on the official Class II sites list.”

• Class III: “Class III sites are considered vulnerable, fragile cultural resources. Class III site locations are withheld from the public to ensure site preservation and protection”

In Illinois, I could easily see it where Class I would be a site like Starved Rock or Shawnee National Forest; Class II would be something like the Mazon Creek fossil beds; Class III could be sites uncovered through construction, maybe like the Bolingbrook mastadon on display at the Field Museum, or things we don’t even know about right now!

So. Let’s request for the data that is driving the ArcGIS map, and maybe lean on the classes defined by NPS to exclude sites that are “vulnerable, fragile resources.” The last thing I want is to damage our local history ecosystem with a FOIA request!

- A copy of the Illinois Inventory of Archaeological Sites (https://maps.dnr.illinois.gov/portal/apps/webappviewer/index.html?id=91ce4b91ea9c4c2687fa37098b0c26d9), including the name of the site and any related data fields. Please release data in a .xlsx, .csv, .geojson, .sqlite or other machine-readable file, if possible. If there are concerns akin to that of NPS under the federal APRA (https://www.nps.gov/subjects/archeology/archaeological-resources-protection-act.htm), I am okay if you only release sites that may fall under a "Class I" or "Class II" designation, or sites that are not at imminent risk of looting or damage due to public disclosure. 

I'm happy to talk more about this request over the phone or via email; I'm also happy to receive access to inspect the records, instead of a copy of the records themselves.

And, because IDNR’s Historic Preservation Division is new, too:

- 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.

I’m taking some personal liberties with the IDNR request, because while I am very pro-disclosure and pro-making-records-public, the bleeding heart budding historian in me sees the value in keeping some things private. This is, after all, my project. You’re free to do what you want if you disagree!

That said… there is one thing that I really want. The IDNR archaeology page says that Illinois’s landscape is unique in part thanks to the glut of shipwrecks in Lake Michigan. That is something I do want:

- Documents, reports or data about shipwrecks and investigations of shipwrecks along the Lake Michigan coastline and Illinois waterways. Please release documents in a digitized format if possible.

- Data or documents sufficient to show permits filed for the investigation of shipwreck or other underwater sites in Illinois and Lake Michigan within IDNR jurisdiction between 2020 and present (2/2/2026).

I kind of feel like those might be too broad, but… okay. Now I’m done. :)

Weekly update

Now this is going to be pretty brief. On Saturday, I published a monthly update that encapsulated all of January’s requests, including the status of those requests. I’d recommend checking it out!

This is a nice, fun variety, if you ask me. The issue on territorial records (request 027) involved a good amount of research, and I learned a lot from pulling together what is effectively a resource list for open records laws in overseas territories. 😎

Okie dokie. Fingers crossed that we’ll get more records back this week — some from a couple weeks ago are starting to come back in, including additional university police budgets and other docs.

We have a bunch of new subscribers, so if you’ve stuck around to the end of the email and don’t mind filling out a quick survey (sorry) by clicking one of the links below, I’d appreciate it:

That’s it from me tonight. I’m going to go for a walk in the balmy Chicago temps (it’s like 30 outside) and catch up on some drafts.

Happy filing, and take care, everyone!

Cam