FOIA Workshop Announcement
My Holiday gift to you, a workshop!
Hello everyone! I’ve been busy with the holidays, end of year business, and had a bit of writers’ block lately. I have about 10 posts in my Drafts folder that don’t quite feel publishable yet but there are some good interesting stories I am working on.
In the mean time, I’ve had a lot of requests to talk about FOIA and how it can be used as an investigative and informational tool. I knew literally nothing about it when I started this operation in August 2021 and I think I’ve got a good grasp on it now. So I will be offering a 100% free workshop to anyone interested in learning the ropes.
Friday, January 19, 2024 12:00 – 1:00pm US Central Time
Public Google Calendar Link (This is a public event but should be anonymous when you add to your calendar - ie the guest list is shared only with me and is not public)
Google Hangouts Link: https://meet.google.com/ajr-iswm-uqf
The session will be conducted on Google Hangouts, which permits up to 100 viewers. I will also record the workshop and post a video to this newsletter. Things I will cover in this workshop:
What is FOIA? (Federal and Illinois statutes)
How do you pick from the tree of FOIA knowledge?
Resources you can leverage to get information that is hard to find and/or not in digital format, including ChatGPT.
Recourses for when your FOIA is denied.
I will use real examples for everything I present. There will be a live chat during the session.
This will essentially be a 45 minute lecture with a Q&A at the end. I will run this session basically the same way I run my class at Northwestern, so I promise it will at least be entertaining and everyone gets an A.
I wish everyone the best and a fruitful 2024.
There are a lot of things wrong in the district, but calling off school today wasn’t one of them. There was a very good chance the commute after school would put people at risk. Are people going to complain if Tuesday’s forecast of below zero temperatures and 25mph wind gusts trigger another remote day? I mean we’re talking about severe weather here.
I love this! Thank you. Unfortunately, I am unable to attend since it is during my working hours. Is this going to be recorded so that we can view it later?