Lane von Herzen: Email to the Public Access Counselor of the Illinois Attorney General's Office

My Third Novel's Conclusion, My Heartbreak

My heart begins to break when I think about completing this particular book -- because this narrative has sustained me like no other story I've known. It's both more personal and more universal than my other works. But beyond memory and archetype, it's a cri-de-coeur about needing to become the person one is destined to be. And in the writing, I have met my own life's work, my own fated journey -- having the sense all the while that the pages are suffused with a resonance, an energy, an electrified field that defies explanation. Writers hope and pray to be overtaken by a work in this way -- to be conscripted into passionate service of a profound story. To experience it even once in a lifetime seems a great privilege. I still have several months before this novel is complete, and this constitutes my reprieve. Because I'm not ready for the beauty to end.

Friday, August 21, 2026

Email to the Public Access Counselor of the Illinois Attorney General's Office

Sent to the Public Access Counselor of the Illinois Attorney General's Office on August 21, 2026 at 10:12 AM Central Time, with a copy sent to the OIG Hotline at 10:15 AM Central Time:

Dear Public Access Counselor:

I received no communication from your Office pursuant to my August 9, 2026 Request for Review of an improper denial of my FOIA request of the Illinois Secretary of State Police. Can you please assist me by conveying to me via return email whether followup correspondence was sent regarding this matter? If so, might your Office provide me with a copy of that correspondence via return email?

Please be aware that U.S. Postal Service mail has been often obstructed regarding my search for records relating to this case, and is unlikely to be reliable if used as the only form of communication.

Redundant efforts to communicate appear to be the most effective, with email being desirable as a traceable means of follow up.

Having said that, I anticipate that files held by the Illinois Secretary of State Police are likely to be false and defamatory. So with regard to communication of files from that Office, secure, sealed documentation sent to my address, 4200 Conestoga Drive, Suite 102, #212, Springfield, Illinois 62711, is requested, as previously described.

Please be informed that I do need to travel out of the state of Illinois briefly, though I am maintaining a physical residence within Illinois during that time period. It is my hope and expectation that my FOIA request and Request for Review will remain in full force and effect in an ongoing way.

Thank you very much for your support regarding this matter.

Respectfully,