Lake County Gazette

A Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request was sent to the Lake Zurich Community Unit School District 95 regarding emails and memos on January 28, 2025. The request, made by us at the Lake County Gazette, seeks access to all emails and memos from the past year that contain the keywords "Lucy Calkins" and "Units of Study."

We at the Lake County Gazette are a media organization committed to providing comprehensive and accurate news coverage on local governmental affairs. As part of our journalistic duty, we aim to hold public institutions accountable and provide transparency to the public through access to public records.

In this particular case, we have requested these records under the Illinois Freedom of Information Act, 5 ILCS 140. We believe that as members of the media involved in gathering and reporting news to the public, we are eligible for a fee waiver as media professionals.

According to the Illinois Report Card, the average state teacher salary in 2023 was $73,916, and the state average Administrative Salary was $116,908. The average student-to-administrative ratio is 141:1, and the average student-to-teacher ratio is 17:1. Interestingly enough, 58% of teachers in Illinois have a master's degree or higher.

We await a response from Lake Zurich Community Unit School District 95 regarding our FOIA request. We will continue our efforts in ensuring transparency in our local government institutions.