Illinois Freedom of Information Act

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The Illinois Freedom of Information Act, or Illinois FOIA, is a series of laws designed to guarantee that the public has access to public records of government bodies at all levels in Illinois. The law was first enacted in 1984. The latest law was enacted in August 2009, and will go into effect on January 1, 2010.

The Illinois FOIA is based on an assertion in the statute that access to "full and complete information regarding the affairs of government" is "necessary to enable the people to fulfill their duties of discussing public issues fully and freely, making informed political judgments and monitoring government to ensure that it is being conducted in the public interest."^[1]

The Illinois Open Meetings Act legislates the methods by which public meetings are conducted.

To learn more about how to make a public records request in this state, please see: Illinois FOIA procedures

[edit] Recent news

See also: Illinois transparency headlines

[edit] Transparency blocking

• FOIA becomes a political weapon in Illinois community  Apr 13, 2010
• Dekalb Daily Chronicle editor: "Transparency already foggy"  Jan 17, 2010
• School board shuts out one of its own in Community High School District 99  Jul 23, 2009

More transparency blocking news from across the country.

[edit] Litigation

• Fairview Heights receives FOIA over attorneys' fees  Jul 22, 2009
• Cook County sued over Freedom of Information Act  Jul 20, 2009
• Lawsuit develops in records fight  May 31, 2009

More FOIA litigation news from across the country.

[edit] Legislation

• Gov. Quinn signs partial veto of IL employee evaluation bill  Jul 27, 2010
• Chicago Mayor announces new FOIA website  May 26, 2010
• Illinois Legislature works to roll back new FOIA laws  Mar 02, 2010

More FOIA legislation news from across the country.

[edit] Sunshine Guardians

• Liberty man wins Sunshine Award  May 31, 2009

Other Sunshine Guardians from across the country.

[edit] Relevant legal cases

See also: Court cases with an impact on state FOIA

Here is a list of lawsuits in Illinois. For more information go the page or go to Illinois sunshine lawsuits.
(The cases are listed alphabetically. To order them by year please click the icon to the right of the Year heading)

Lawsuit	Year
AFSCME v. Cook County	1990
Board of Regents of the Regency University System v. Reynard	1997
Carrigan v. Harkrader	1986
Duncan Publishing v. City of Chicago	1999
Family Life League v. Department of Public Aid	1986
Kenyon v. Garrels	1989
Lieber v. Board of Trustees of Southern Illinois University	1996
Mark O. Stern v. Wheaton-Warrenville Community Unity School District 200	2009
People ex rel. Ulrich v. Stukel	1997
People ex. rel. Gibson v. Peller	1962
Rockford Newspapers Inc. v. Northern Illinois Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependency	1978
Roulette v. Department of Central Mgmt. Servs	1986

[edit] Proposed transparency legislation

[edit] 2010

See also Proposed transparency legislation, 2010

Here is a list of transparency legislation for Illinois in 2010:

Rating	Bill	Current Status	Progress	Information
A	House Bill 1345	Current Status:Y (Signed into law on 08/28/2009, Effective Same Date)	9	HB 1345 would amend the definition of a "public record" in the Illinois Freedom of Information Act. The bill would expand the term "public record" to any settlement agreement entered into or on behalf of a public body that shows any total amount of money or anything of value gained from the agreement. The record would only be made public if a public body reached a settlement agreement or was a plaintiff or defendant in a lawsuit[1] ↑ Illinois General Assembly "History of HB 1345 (2009-2010)"
A	House Bill 4165	Current Status:Z(Died in House Rules Committee on 05/07/2010)	3	HB 4165 would require each public body in Illinois Government to have a Freedom of Information Officer designed to process open records requests[1]. Also, the bill would establish a Public Access Counselor in the Attorney General's office. The Attorney General would appoint the person to serve as public access counselor. The law amends the Illinois Attorney General Act, Illinois Freedom of Information Act, and the Illinois Open Meetings Act[1]. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Illinois General Assembly "Text of HB 4165"
A	House Bill 5007	Current Status:Y (Signed into law on 07/29/2010, Effective Same Date)	9	HB 5007 will create the Juvenile Justice Mortality Review Team within the Department of Juvenile Justice and would exempt any records created by the review team.[1] ↑ text of HB 5007
B	House Bill 5069	Current Status:Z(Died in House Rules Committee on 05/07/2010)	3	HB 5069 will eliminate many of the new laws on fees that can be charged through records, including removing the prohibition against charging for the first 50 copies, removing the cap on fees and removing the requirement to charge the actual cost for duplication. It will also lift the requirement that electronic records must be delivered in the requested format. [1] ↑ text of HB 5069
B	House Bill 5143	Current Status:Z (Died in House Rules Committee on 05/07/2010)	3	HB 5143 will exempt personal information of certain "service recipients, registrants, licensees and program participants".[1] ↑ Text of HB 5143
B	House Bill 5154	Current Status:Z(Vetoed by the Governor on 7-26-2010)	8	HB 5154 will exempt all public employee performance evaluations from disclosure. [1]. The bill would exempt the personnel evaluations of law enforcement employees from being made public[2]. ↑ text of HB 5154 ↑ Springfield Journal Reigster "Quinn veto would allow disclosure of public employee evaluations"
A	House Bill 5483	Current Status:Y (Signed into law on 08-23-2010, enrolled same date)	9	House Bill 5483 would amend the current Open Meetings Act and require “a public body to make proposed minutes of an open meeting available for public inspection within 8 business days after the meeting to which the minutes relate and make approved minutes of an open meeting available for public inspection within 5 business days after approval (now, make available within 7 business days after approval).”[1][2] ↑ Illinois Policy Institute, Is This Really Asking Too Much?, February 19, 2010 ↑ Illinois General Assembly, Full Text of HB5483
A	Senate Bill 1633	Current Status:Z(Died in Senate Assignments Committee on 05/07/2010)	3	SB 1633 would allow summary investigations that are delivered from the Inspector General to the Executive Ethics Commission to be accessed by the public[1]. The bill would no longer exempt investigations from the Executive Ethics Commission from the Illinois Freedom of Information Act[1]. Also, all personal information would have be redacted before a summary investigation is made public. ↑ 1.0 1.1 ' 'Illinois General Assembly "Text of SB 1633"
B	Senate Bill 3040	Current Status:Z(Died in Senate Assignments Committee on 05/07/2010)	3	SB 3040 will exempt from disclosure performance evaluations of law enforcement officials.[1] ↑ text of SB 3040
B	Senate Bill 3130	Current Status:Z(Died in Senate Assignments Committee on 06/27/2010)	3	SB 3040 amends the Illinois Freedom of Information Act to establish strict deadlines for public units to respond to open requests made under the Illinois Freedom of Information Act. The bill would require any public unit to respond to Freedom of Information Act requests within five days of receipt. Also, the bill grants a five day extension if an agency cites any extenuating circumstances. The extension would only be granted one time[1]. ↑ [hhttp://www.ilga.gov/legislation/BillStatus.asp?DocNum=3130&GAID=10&DocTypeID=SB&LegID=50853&SessionID=76&GA=96&SpecSess=0 Illinois General Assembly "History of SB 3130"]
B	Senate Bill 315	Current Status:Y (Signed 01/15/2010)	9	Senate Bill 315, passed and was signed on January 15, only 15 days after the new FOIA law went into effect. [1] The bill created an exemption within the Illinois FOIA for all teacher performance evaluations. The changes to the FOIA law were attached to a bill that would require stricter teacher evaluations and qualify Illinois for a $500 million dollar federal education stimulus grant. The attorney general maintained neutrality on the teacher bill, probably due to the highly charged political atmosphere surrounding the goal of obtaining the federal grant. However, Public Access Counselor Cara Smith has told the press, "We are 42 days into a new FOIA law, the sky has not fallen. Our position is that we oppose any bill that weakens FOIA" including any bill that would restrict access to performance evaluations of other public employees. [2] ↑ The Times, "With new bill, personnel evaluations would no longer be public" ↑ State Journal Register, "FOIA overhaul already under siege by legislators"

[edit] 2009

Main article: Proposed reforms in state sunshine laws, 2009

[edit] HB 1345 (2009)

House Bill 1345 ^[1] would amend the Illinois Freedom of Information Act to include settlement financial information that a public body might enter into. HB1345 was referred to the Rules Committee on 2/18/09.

[edit] HB 1370 (2009)

House Bill 1370 ^[2] was signed into law by Gov. Pat Quinn on August 18, 2009.^[3] HB 1370 does these things:

• Makes it clear that access to public records improves government transparency.
• Protects employees from retaliation from their superiors for releasing public information.
• Permits attorney fees to be paid when access issues go to court.
• Creates a fine of up to $5,000 for government agencies found to have "willfully and intentionally" failed to comply with the law.
• Shortens the required response time from seven days to five.
• Makes the first 25 pages of copies free, and sets a fee of $0.15 per page for any copies after that.
• Specifies that records should be provided electronically if possible.
• Gives the Office of the Attorney General of Illinois "sweeping new powers to interpret what records are public and settle disputes" over FOIA requests.^[3]

HB1370 was sponsored by Michael J. Madigan, Barbara Flynn Currie, Jim Watson, Paul D. Froehlich. Attorney General Lisa Madigan is pushing for it's passage. ^[4]

[edit] Requested reforms

In November 2008, the State Journal-Register asked in an editorial, "How many stories have to be written about Illinois’ broken Freedom of Information Act before Attorney General Lisa Madigan proposes an overhaul?"

The newspaper cited as areas for reform:

• Limits on how much public agencies can charge for records.
• Ending a practice whereby those who request records are charged less if they cite the Illinois FOIA law in their request, versus those who do not cite the law in their request. The newspaper cites a case where mention of the law gains a requestor a 94% reduction in fees.
• Curtailing the practice of requiring groups to get court orders to obtain public records.
• "The General Assembly has gummed up the FOIA law with so many exemptions, it’s nearly impossible to interpret with any clarity which records are subject to it."
• "It’s been six years since Madigan campaigned on a promise to reform the law. It’s been 19 months since this newspaper’s award-winning series, 'Request Denied,' showed how the public — not just pesky newspaper reporters — is not being served by a toothless and loophole-laden law. It’s been 14 months since Madigan told the Illinois Press Association, 'Let me be clear: I am committed to legislatively reforming the Freedom of Information Act.'"^[5]

[edit] Fines

On February 23, 2009, the Springfield State Journal-Register editorialized in favor of altering the law to impose fines on government officials who willfully evade its requirements. They wrote, "Attorney General Lisa Madigan’s idea to impose fines on Illinois governments that do not follow the state’s Freedom of Information law must be the first priority in any rewrite of the law."^[6]

[edit] Transparency report card

A 2008 study, BGA - Alper Integrity Index, conducted by the Better Government Association and sponsored by Alper Services, ranked Illinois #11 in the nation (along with Arizona and West Virginia) with an overall percentage of 58.00%. ^[7]

A 2007 study, Graded state responsiveness to FOI requests, conducted by BGA and the NFOIC, gave Illinois 59 points out of a possible 100, a letter grade of "F", and a ranking of 13 out of the 50 states.^[8]

A 2002 study, Freedom of Information in the USA, conducted by IRE and BGA, ranked Illinois's law as the 26th worst in the country, giving it a letter grade of "C-".^[9]

[edit] Features of the law

[edit] The new law

The new law added a number of measures to the Illinois FOIA law greatly strengthening it. The law will require each public agency to nominate an officer to be the official keeper of public records. Further, all of these nominated individuals must complete the online training course, established by the attorney general. The act also gave the Attorney General's Office the power to review and issue decisions on FOIA requests, prior to trial. The new law also added strong new enforcement policies. ^[10]

[edit] What records are covered?

5 ILCS 140(2)(c) defines public records as "all records, reports, forms, writings, letters, memoranda, books, papers, maps, photographs, microfilms, cards, tapes, recordings, electronic data processing records, recorded information and all other documentary materials, regardless of physical form or characteristics, having been prepared, or having been or being used, received, possessed or under the control of any public body."

However, the new Illinois law further's this definition, stating:

All records in the custody or possession of a public body are presumed to be open to inspection or copying. Any public body that asserts that a record is exempt from disclosure has the burden of proving by clear and convincing evidence that it is exempt.^[10]

[edit] Exemptions

[edit] What agencies are covered?

The Illinois FOIA says that any agency in the state that is supported in whole or in part by tax revenue, or which expends tax revenue, is subject to the act. More specifically, it says that any legislative, executive, administrative or advisory bodies, state universities and colleges, counties, townships, cities, villages, incorporated towns, school districts and all other municipal corporations, boards, bureaus, committees or commissions of Illinois, and any other subsidiary bodies of any of the foregoing including but not limited to committees and subcommittees.

However, the law defines a number of exemptions.

• Child death review teams established under the Child Death Review Team Act are explicitly excluded from the law's definition of a public body.

[edit] Who may request records?

See also: List of who can make public record requests by state.

Anyone may request public documents in Illinois. All "persons are entitled to full and complete information regarding the affairs of government". 5 ILCS 140(2)(b) defines a "person" as "any individual, corporation, partnership, firm, organization or association, acting individually or as a group."^[11]

[edit] Must a purpose be stated?

5 ILCS 140(1) says that the Illinois FOIA law is not supposed to be used to:

• Further a commercial enterprise.
• Violate individual privacy.
• Disrupt the day-to-day working of the public body.

This wording could be taken to imply that record custodians of public documents in the state have the right to ask a requestor why he or she wants the records, because the wording implies that a government agent has the right to deny records to someone whose purpose in obtaining the records is to use the records for commercial reasons, to violate someone's privacy or to disrupt the day-to-day working of the public body.

However, in 1997, the Illinois Supreme Court ruled that this wording, since it is only in the preamble to the Illinois sunshine law, is a "declaration of policy" with "no substantive legal force".

In Family Life League v. Department of Public Aid, a 1986 decision of the Illinois Supreme Court, the court said that the Illinois FOIA law does not require that people requesting information under the act explain why they want it or what they plan to do with it.

There are five districts in the Illinois Appellate Court. Rulings in three of the districts agree that the purpose of the requestor is irrelevant.

• In People ex rel. Ulrich v. Stukel (1997), the court said, "...as long as the particular request is not barred under the Act's exemptions, the purpose of the requestor in making his request is irrelevant".
• In Lieber v. Board of Trustees of Southern Illinois University (2000), the court said, "...for purposes of disclosure, the court should not concern itself with the plaintiff's purpose in requesting the information."

[edit] How can records be used?

The law says that the law is not to be used to (a) further a commercial enterprise, (b) violate individual privacy or (c) disrupt the day-to-day working of the public body. However, the law makes no specific restrictions on ways that public documents can be used once someone has obtained the documents.

I believe Point (a) to be incorrect as quoted below from the Illinois FOIA:

"(5 ILCS 140/3.1)

   Sec. 3.1. Requests for commercial purposes. 
   (a) A public body shall respond to a request for records to be used for a commercial purpose within 21 working days after receipt. The response shall (i) provide to the requester an estimate of the time required by the public body to provide the records requested and an estimate of the fees to be charged, which the public body may require the person to pay in full before copying the requested documents, (ii) deny the request pursuant to one or more of the exemptions set out in this Act, (iii) notify the requester that the request is unduly burdensome and extend an opportunity to the requester to attempt to reduce the request to manageable proportions, or (iv) provide the records requested.
   (b) Unless the records are exempt from disclosure, a public body shall comply with a request within a reasonable period considering the size and complexity of the request, and giving priority to records requested for non‑commercial purposes.
   (c) It is a violation of this Act for a person to knowingly obtain a public record for a commercial purpose without disclosing that it is for a commercial purpose, if requested to do so by the public body. 

(Source: P.A. 96‑542, eff. 1‑1‑10.)"

[edit] Time allowed for response

See also Request response times by state

Government agencies must either comply with or deny a written request for public records within five working days after receiving it. The five-day rule goes into effect on January 1, 2010. Prior to then, the legal response time is seven days.^[3]

Under 5 ILCS 140/3(d), the 5-working-day time limit can be extended for 5 additional working days under these circumstances:

• If the requested records are stored in whole or in part at other locations than the office having charge of the requested records;
• If the request requires the collection of a substantial number of specified records;
• If the request is couched in categorical terms and requires an extensive search for the records responsive to it;
• If the requested records have not been located in the course of routine search and additional efforts are being made to locate them;
• If the requested records require examination and evaluation by personnel having the necessary competence and discretion to determine if they are exempt from disclosure under the exemption provisions of the Act or should be revealed only with appropriate deletions;
• If the request for records cannot be complied with by the public body within the 7-working-days time limit without unduly burdening or interfering with the operations of the public body;
• If there is a need for consultation, which must be conducted with all practicable speed, with another public body or among two or more components of a public body having a substantial interest in the determination or in the subject matter of the request.

[edit] Fees for records

Government agencies are allowed to set fees that are "reasonably calculated to reimburse its actual cost for reproducing and certifying public records and for the use, by any person, of the equipment of the public body to copy records."

Also:

• "Such fees shall exclude the costs of any search for and review of the record." (See Sunshine laws and search fees).
• The fees "shall not exceed the actual cost of reproduction and certification, unless otherwise provided by State statute."
• "Such fees shall be imposed according to a standard scale of fees, established and made public by the body imposing them."
• The law doesn't say anything about whether fees must be paid in advance, leaving specific agencies free to set their own policies with regard to the timing of payments.
• If any agency is found to have purposefully imposed a fee that is inconsistent with the law, this imposition is to be considered a denial of the request for purposes of judicial review.

The governing statute is 5 ILCS 140/6, from Ch. 116, par. 206.

[edit] For internet access

In 2000, the Illinois Attorney General issued an opinion that said that if county recorders place public information on a website, they are not allowed to charge a fee for access to those online records.

[edit] Fee waivers

Government agencies are required to waive or reduce the fee under these conditions:

• If a request for documents states the specific purpose for the request.
• If the request indicates that a waiver or reduction of fees is in the public interest.
• A request is thought to be in "the public interest" if the principal purpose of the request is to access and disseminate information regarding the health, safety and welfare or the legal rights of the general public, and not principally for personal or commercial benefit.

It is up to the public body itself to determine whether a particular request meets these conditions.

[edit] Enforcement

The new Freedom of Information Act added some additional force to the Illinois FOIA creating fines of up to $5000 for agencies who knowingly violate open records laws. The law also eliminated the chance for agencies to charge fees for copying if they fail to meet the records request within the time limits. ^[10]

[edit] Public Access Counselor

The 2009 FOIA revisions established the role of the Illinois Public Access Counselor as a position under the Office of the attorney general. To read more about this new position, please see our page entitled, Illinois Public Access Counselor

[edit] Open meetings

To read more about open meetings in Illinois, please see: Illinois Open Meetings Act

"The intent of the Illinois Open Meetings Act is to ensure that public business is conducted in public view by prohibiting secret deliberations and actions on matters that should be discussed in a public forum."^[12]

[edit] Notable requests

[edit] See also

• Illinois Public Access Counselor
• Illinois FOIA procedures
• Illinois transparency headlines
• Illinois transparency advocates
• Illinois transparency legislation
• Private agency, public dollars-Illinois
• Illinois Open Meetings Act

[edit] External links

• New Illinois Law
• Illinois Attorney General "Ensuring Open and Honest Government" webpage
• Illinois Freedom of Information Act
• Open Government Guide to Illinois
• Past articles on Illinois

[edit] References

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