Hinsdale Sued Over Withheld Traffic Survey Data

HINSDALE, IL – A watchdog is suing Hinsdale over withholding the results of a downtown traffic and pedestrian safety survey in response to a public records request.

Last fall, Edgar Pal, a longtime area watchdog, requested the data from the survey. He did so after Patch alerted him about the situation.

In a Sept. 24 response to Pal, the village said the survey results contain anonymous opinions and recommendations, rather than factual information. It cited the exception for preliminary notes under the state's open records law, known as the Freedom of Information Act.

The village's denial letter stated that attorney Mallory Milluzi of the Chicago-based Klein, Thorpe & Jenkins law firm was responsible for the decision.

In late November, Pal's attorneys from the Loevy & Loevy law firm sued over the denial. The lawsuit was served last Monday.

In response to Patch's inquiry on Monday, Village President Greg Hart said the findings of the first phase of the traffic and safety study were released at last week's Public Safety and Transportation Commission meeting. The results have been publicly available since then, he said.

Hart said the village has been communicating with Pal's lawyers on the release. He said Hinsdale followed the guidance of the attorney general's office. The office told the village in a written determination that it was appropriate to wait to release the materials until they were complete and ready for public discussion.

"The Village remains committed to transparency and to continuing to share updates with the community as the study moves forward," Hart said in an email.

The lawsuit stated the village could have redacted information that fell under the permitted exemption.

"As of the date of this filing, Hinsdale has failed to demonstrate how any of the information contained in the responsive records is exempt from disclosure and has furnished no evidence supporting its exemption claims," the lawsuit said.

The exception for preliminary notes was designed to allow the free flow of ideas among policymakers. The lawsuit said the survey respondents were not village employees, officials or consultants.

In a statement to Patch on Monday, Pal said the village didn't need to wait for a public meeting to release the survey responses. The survey responses, he said, should never have been withheld in the first place.

He said the exemption does not apply to communications between a public body and private citizens representing their independent interests.

"The (attorney general's) opinion was non-binding, and my attorneys disagreed with the (attorney general's) conclusion that the FOIA exemption applied in this case," Pal said.

Last year, Lyons Township High School denied Patch's request for teacher and student survey data, saying the survey company owned the intellectual property rights to the questions. But the company told Patch its clients were free to disclose the questions.

Patch informed the high school of the company's position, but the school did not respond, so Patch filed a complaint with the attorney general.

Along the way, the school quietly posted all the survey data to its site.

For years, Hinsdale High School District 86 has been publishing its survey results online.