Arlington Heights School District 25 stonewalls FOIA requests, denying accountability for children’s welfare

Romanucci & Blandin asks Illinois Attorney General’s Office to review FOIA delays and declines

CHICAGO (July 15, 2024) – In their latest attempt to avoid responsibility, Arlington Heights, Illinois School District 25 (the District) officials are stonewalling efforts by attorneys for parents of Westgate Elementary School children who are seeking critical details regarding the administration of prescription medication to their young ones and details regarding District policies and processes. By refusing to cooperate with multiple Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests, Romanucci & Blandin believes the District continues to not only intentionally inflict emotional distress on these families and but also avoid transparency for the public. In the three months since Arlington Heights School District 25 told parents of some Westgate Elementary School children there were concerns about the administration of prescription medicine by the school nurse, District officials have delayed or denied several Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests by Romanucci & Blandin seeking information on who knew about concerns over medication and when and how the District handled these concerns. The legal team representing nine families has now filed a request with the Illinois Attorney General to review the District’s denials of these FOIA requests, which has both impeded the civil investigation and prevented the parents and the public from having any peace of mind about the welfare of the children in District 25.  Since the District has refused to authorize an independent third-party investigation, the compliance with FOIA requests is critical.

“District 25 is shirking its responsibility to the public by not complying with our multiple FOIA requests and stonewalling on the transparency the public deserves. This is smoke and mirrors to distract from the administration’s reckless conduct. We firmly believe the school administrators disregarded the safety of young students and have broken the trust our clients placed in the District. This reckless conduct in regard to children’s health and safety is absolutely atrocious. The children involved deserve nothing less than full transparency. Further, the fact that the District has not retained an independent investigator appears suspicious and an attempt to cover-up information they don’t want to share. If they have nothing to hide, an investigation will show the truth. If they are truly care about the safety of children and the community their actions thus far certainly don’t show it,” said Gina A. DeBoni, Managing Partner, Romanucci & Blandin. 

She added, “This type of gamesmanship should not be acceptable, especially when dealing with highly sensitive matters such as this because it undermines the integrity and seriousness of the situation. Such matters often involve significant stakes, including people's lives, well-being, and trust, which require a high level of honesty, transparency, and ethical behavior. Engaging in manipulative or deceptive tactics can erode the public’s trust, create unnecessary conflicts, and lead to decisions that are not in the best interest of the public or, in this case, children. In sensitive matters such as this, prioritizing clear, straightforward, and truthful communication is essential to ensure that all parties are accurately informed and that the outcomes are just and effective.”

Therefore, we ask that District’s most recent FOIA request denial be reviewed by the Public Access Counselor (PAC) at the Office of the Illinois Attorney General.

The law firm began conducting a civil investigation within hours of the school notifying parents on April 22, 2024 of a problem with the administration of medicine by the school nurse to children. This reckless disregard for the safety of multiple students exposed at least one child to the opioid, fentanyl. We have information that administrators ignored reported concerns by parents and others dating back to 2022 about the administration of medication and missing medications, which put children’s health and well-being at risk. In addition to the apparent deliberate conduct of a school nurse, who was apparently allowed to act with impunity, we have evidence of District 25 leaders’ deliberate indifference to the health and well-being of the students they were entrusted with.

District 25 officials voted to terminate the employment of the nurse on May 8, 2024.

In a letter to the Public Access Counselor (PAC) at the Office of the Attorney General dated July 12, 2024, Romanucci & Blandin states that multiple FOIA requests were placed by the law firm on May 2, 2024, and an additional FOIA with a revised and reduced scope was submitted on June 2, 2024. The intent of these FOIAs is to learn what the District knew about the medication concerns, when they may have known about it and what they did or did not do in response to protect the well-being of children. The District has replied that it is unable to search its “search” of the District’s or School’s electronically stored information, and later stated the requests were “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.”

Under FOIA, a public body is required to conduct a “reasonable search tailored to the nature of a particular request.” Campbell v. United States Dep't of Justice, 164 F.3d 20, 28 (D.C. Cir. 1998). A public body's search must be “reasonably calculated to uncover all relevant documents.” Weisberg v. Department of Justice, 705 F.2d 1344, 1351 (D.C. Cir. 1983). A public body is not required to “search every record system[,]” but it “cannot limit its search to only one record system if there are others that are likely to turn up the requested information.” Oglesby v. United States Dep't of the Army, 920 F.2d 57, 68 (C.A.D.C. 1990).

A public body asserting the unduly burdensome exemption must make a clear and convincing showing that the burden of compliance outweighs public interest in the disclosure of the requested records under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) 5 Ill. Comp. Stat. Ann. 140/3(g). In this matter, no such information was provided, which is a violation of the Open Records Act.

The families’ names and their children’s identities, health histories and exact medications are being withheld to protect the children’s privacy.  The legal team includes Romanucci & Blandin Founding Partner Antonio M. Romanucci, Managing Partner Gina A. DeBoni, Partner Michael E. Holden, Partner Jason J. Friedl, Partner Daisy Ayllon, and Senior Attorney Debra Thomas.

Anyone with information about the administration of medicine to students at Westgate Elementary School is encouraged to contact the legal team at Romanucci & Blandin at 312-458-1000.

To learn more, please visit our website: https://www.rblaw.net/casestudy-investigation-medicine-westgate-elementary-school-arlington-heights-illinois-fentanyl.

About Romanucci & Blandin, LLC

Romanucci & Blandin is a Chicago-based national trial practice committed to fighting for victims of negligence, abuse and wrongful death through impact litigation. For more than 25 years, we have secured more than $1 billion in verdicts and settlements for our clients - many for millions of dollars or record-setting awards. Our experience ranges from mass shootings, civil rights and police misconduct to medical malpractice, sexual abuse, motor vehicle accidents or workplace injury cases involving individual or institutional negligence. Romanucci & Blandin is a valuable legal resource to individuals and groups of people who have been injured by others’ wrongdoing. Referring attorneys and clients say several factors distinguish our firm: Our record of success, depth of experience, talented and dedicated legal team, tireless preparation, and strategic use of communications to fight for the rights of those whose lives have been changed forever. We differ from other personal injury firms in that our work does not stop when a verdict or settlement is secured. Our clients’ experiences often inspire us to commit resources to transforming lives and communities. For more information about Romanucci & Blandin, please visit: www.rblaw.net.