Identity Theft Concerns Rise: Chicago Workers’ Data Mailed to Wrong People

Names, Social Security numbers and home addresses of nearly 1,740 former Chicago school employees were mistakenly mailed to other members of the group, prompting concerns the information could be used for identity theft.

All Printing & Graphics Inc., which Chicago Public Schools hired to print and mail health-insurance information to the former employees, said Sunday it hadn’t realized one document it sent contained personal data belonging to all of them.

The printer based in suburban Broadview mailed the former employees a spreadsheet used to make mailing labels, thinking it was a list of health care providers, district spokesman Michael Vaughn said.

Officials weren’t certain how many of the former employees received the 125-page list of personal information, Vaughn said. “We sincerely apologize for the error in the mailing,” he said.

The general manager of All Printing & Graphics, Ralph Fowlkes, cited “human error” and apologized.