Chicago City Wire

FOIA Request to Chicago Public School District 299 regarding records concerning employees on H-1B visas on November 13, 2025.

A request for information has been submitted to the Chicago Public School District 299 under the Illinois Freedom of Information Act. The request seeks detailed records related to district employees who are or have been employed on H-1B or other employment-based nonimmigrant visas. This inquiry covers a specified period, with the aim of obtaining data in an electronic format.

The requested records include any existing reports, spreadsheets, or summaries that list or describe such employees. For each employee, where available, the requester seeks information on position title, employing campus or department, full-time/part-time status, annual base salary or hourly rate, and date of hire or start date with the district.

Additionally, the request includes any existing records submitted to or received from the U.S. Department of Labor or U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) regarding H-1B petitions filed by the district during the same period. This encompasses Labor Condition Applications (LCAs), prevailing wage determinations, and certified H-1B postings.

Furthermore, if available, aggregate or de-identified data showing the number of employees working under H-1B or similar visas is requested. This data should be broken down by job category (e.g., teacher, instructional aide), campus or department, and salary range in $10,000 bands.

The request explicitly states that disclosure of confidential information such as dates of birth and Social Security numbers is not required. Instead, it requests redacted versions of documents containing such information. If certain details are deemed confidential by law, a written explanation citing specific statutory exemptions is requested.

The requestor emphasizes that they do not seek new record creation but only access to existing documents maintained in the ordinary course of business by the district. Communication via email is preferred for any questions regarding this request.

Chicago City Wire is part of The Coalition Opposing Governmental Secrecy which assists media companies in investigating governmental agencies through Freedom of Information laws. According to the Illinois Report Card for 2023, state teacher salaries averaged $73,916 while administrative salaries averaged $116,908. The student-to-administrative ratio was 141:1 and student-to-teacher ratio was 17:1 with 58% of teachers holding a master's degree or higher.

Our team will continue to keep you updated as we gather and report news related to this request and other matters of public interest. Please feel free to reach out if you have any questions or need further clarification regarding this matter.