Illinois Freedom of Information Act

Response Timeline

Business days. Extension allowed for: records at other locations, substantial records collection, extensive search, records not located in routine search, examination needed to determine if exempt, or other specified reasons. Failure to respond within statutory time waives right to charge fees.

No residency requirement. Any person may request records.

How to Submit a Request

Accepted Methods

• Email
• Mail
• Fax
• In person

Request must be in writing and cannot be in the form of a question. No specific form required.

Email or portal?

The law requires a written request but does not specify a channel, so email is a valid way to submit and a portal is not mandatory.

Illinois FOIA requires a written request directed to the public body (5 ILCS 140/3(c)), so no_written_requirement does not fit here the way it does for Virginia or Ohio. But Section 3(c) lists personal delivery, mail, telefax, or 'other means available to the public body' -- it does not name email the unconditional way Pennsylvania's RTKL does -- and separately regulates how an ELECTRONIC request must be formatted (appearing entirely within the body of the submission, not an attachment, as a cybersecurity measure), which presupposes electronic requests are contemplated and accepted. Crucially, the same subsection affirmatively bars a public body from requiring 'that a request be submitted on a standard form' or from requiring the requester to specify a purpose, except to screen for a commercial purpose or evaluate a fee-waiver request. Because writing is required but no specific channel is either guaranteed by name or permitted to be made exclusive, the law requires writing while leaving the channel open: email is a defensible way to submit, and a public body may not make a portal or its own form the only way in.

• 5 ILCS 140/3(c) (written request; channels; no mandatory standard form)
• 5 ILCS 140/3.5 (FOIA officer designation; not a mandatory addressee)

No controlling case identified specifically on the submission-channel question. The verdict rests on the plain text of § 3(c), which requires writing and bars a mandatory standard form, without naming any single channel as the exclusive or guaranteed one.

Illinois public bodies vary widely: larger cities, counties, and universities often run a records-request portal or offer their own form, while most townships, villages, and school districts publish only an email address for their FOIA officer. Section 3(c) bars making that form mandatory, and Illinois Attorney General guidance and watchdog reporting (Better Government Association) both describe agencies as accepting mail, personal delivery, and email even where a form or portal is offered. Our records data for Illinois lists email, mail, fax, and in-person as accepted methods, consistent with a portal or form being optional rather than exclusive.

Last reviewed 2026-07-30.

Required Elements

• Requirement — Written request (not verbal)
• Requirement — Description of records sought (with enough specificity to enable agency to identify)
• Requirement — Name and contact information

Optional Elements

• Optional — Statement regarding purpose (only needed for fee waiver or to determine commercial status)
• Optional — Preferred format for records
• Optional — News media or nonprofit affiliation (for fee waiver consideration)

Fees

Illinois has strong fee protections. Electronic records cannot include search/review fees. Paper copies: first 50 pages free, then max $0.15/page. Failure to meet deadlines = fees waived.

Fee Waivers

• Agency must furnish records without charge or at reduced charge when disclosure serves the public interest — Public Interest Waiver — Principal purpose is to access/disseminate information regarding health, safety, welfare, or legal rights of the public; Not primarily for personal or commercial benefit of requester
• News media requests that serve public purpose qualify for fee waiver — News Media
• Nonprofits accessing information for public benefit purposes — Nonprofit Organizations
• If agency fails to respond timely, all fees are waived — Automatic Waiver for Delay

Unique Illinois feature: failure to respond on time automatically waives ALL fees. Additionally, public interest waivers are available for health/safety/welfare disclosures.

Exemptions

• Preliminary Drafts & Notes (§7(1)(a))
  Preliminary drafts, notes, recommendations, memoranda, and other records in which opinions are expressed or policies formulated
• Private Information (§7(1)(b))
  Private information including personal information that would constitute clearly unwarranted invasion of privacy
• Personnel Files (§7(1)(c))
  Personnel files and personal information related to employees
• Law Enforcement Records (§7(1)(d))
  Records in possession of law enforcement agencies created during administrative enforcement proceedings or for law enforcement purposes
• Trade Secrets (§7(1)(f))
  Trade secrets and commercial or financial information obtained from a person or business
• Attorney-Client Privilege (§7(1)(g))
  Communications between the agency and its attorneys, legal opinions, and attorney work product
• Collective Bargaining (§7(1)(m))
  Information related to collective bargaining negotiations, preliminary contract proposals and offers
• Security Measures (§7(1)(q))
  Security measures, vulnerability assessments, and emergency response plans
• Library Records (§7(1)(r))
  Information that identifies library users with specific materials
• Medical/Mental Health Records (§7(1)(s))
  Medical or mental health records protected by other laws

Illinois FOIA requires segregability - agencies must redact only exempt portions and release non-exempt material. Disclosure of information about public duties of public employees is NOT considered invasion of privacy.

Appeal Process

Illinois has a unique Public Access Counselor (PAC) system providing free administrative review through the Attorney General's office. PAC can issue binding opinions (with deference from courts), but most cases resolved through mediation. Court action available without exhausting PAC remedies.

Request Templates

Records Retention

5 ILCS 160/1 et seq.

View retention law →

All public records are state property and may not be destroyed except as provided by law. Agencies must submit an Application for Authority to Dispose of State Records. The State Records Commission must approve before disposal. The Local Records Act (50 ILCS 205) governs local government records separately.

Sources & References

• Full text of law →
• Primary source →
• RCFP Open Government Guide — Illinois →
• NFOIC State FOI Resources →

Bodies Covered

Which kinds of public body this law applies to, with the statutory basis for each claim.

Coverage notes

• No requester-standing limit: any person may ask Illinois FOIA opens records to 'any person' (§ 3(a)) with no residency or purpose qualifier, the same shape as Ohio's, Georgia's, and Arizona's, not Virginia's citizens-of-the-Commonwealth rule. 5 ILCS 140/3(a) (public body shall make records available to 'any person')
• Recurrent-requester and voluminous-request thresholds cap campaign volume per body Illinois's own trap: a 'recurrent requester' (§ 2(g)) is set by numeric thresholds against a SINGLE public body -- 50+ requests in 12 months, 15+ in 30 days, or 7+ in 7 days -- triggering a slower 21-business-day track (§ 3.2). A 'voluminous request' (§ 2(h)) is 5+ individual requests spanning 5+ categories within 20 business days, or a compile job over 500 pages, triggering a separate multi-step procedure (§ 3.6). Both definitions exclude a requester whose principal purpose is news reporting or 'academic, scientific, or public research', which MAY describe UnGovr's own civic-research mission, but this profile does not rely on an untested reading. 5 ILCS 140/2(g) (definition of 'recurrent requester': 50+ requests in 12 months, or 15+ in 30 days, or 7+ in 7 days, to the same public body; news media/nonprofit/research exclusion)
• Writing is required, but no channel or standard form may be mandatory Section 3(c) requires a request be made in writing and directed to the public body -- a real writing requirement, unlike Virginia's or Ohio's no-writing-required shape -- but the same subsection bars a public body from requiring a standard form or a stated purpose (except to screen for a commercial purpose or a fee waiver), and separately regulates how an electronic request must be formatted (in the body of the submission, not an attachment), presupposing electronic requests are accepted. No statutory text names email the unconditional way Pennsylvania's RTKL does, but none lets a body compel a portal or form either. 5 ILCS 140/3(c) (written request directed to the public body; personal delivery, mail, telefax, or other means available to the public body; no standard form or stated purpose may be required except to screen for a commercial purpose or a fee waiver)
• Five business days, one extension, and a fee forfeiture for missing the deadline A public body must comply or deny within 5 business days (§ 3(d)); silence is itself a denial. One further 5-business-day extension is available for enumerated reasons (multiple locations, a substantial or categorical search, exemption review, or interagency consultation), with written notice within the initial 5 business days (§ 3(e)). A body that misses the deadline but later produces records anyway may not charge a copying fee for them (§ 3(d)). Our letter does not cite this deadline; it is raised only in the overdue follow-up. 5 ILCS 140/3(d) (5 business days to comply or deny; missing the deadline forfeits any copying fee for records later produced) 3(e) (one 5-business-day extension for enumerated reasons)
• Commercial-purpose screening triggers only if the body asks 'Commercial purpose' means use for sale, resale, or solicitation or advertisement for sales or services (§ 2(c-10)), with the same news-media/nonprofit/research exclusion as the recurrent-requester and voluminous-request definitions. A commercial request gets a slower 21-working-day response (§ 3.1), and it is unlawful to knowingly obtain a record for a commercial purpose without disclosing that purpose IF the public body asks -- narrower than Arizona's every-requester affirmation at the time of request. UnGovr's civic-research purpose is not commercial either way. 5 ILCS 140/2(c-10) (definition of 'commercial purpose'; news media/nonprofit/research exclusion)
• The FOIA officer is a real statutory role, but not a mandatory addressee Every public body designates one or more FOIA officers with genuine statutory duties, including mandatory training (§ 3.5) -- a real titled role, the same shape as Virginia's FOIA officer, not Ohio's untitled records custodian. Unlike Pennsylvania's RTKL, § 3(c) requires only that a request be directed to the public body, not addressed to that officer by name, so reaching someone else does not invalidate the request. 5 ILCS 140/3.5 (public body designates one or more FOIA officers; officer duties, incl. mandatory training)
• Redaction is textually discretionary, but a denial must be written, specific, and cite authority Section 7(1)'s opening clause says a public body 'may elect to redact' exempt information from an otherwise responsive record and 'shall make the remaining information available' if it does -- permissive on whether to redact at all, unlike Virginia's, Ohio's, or Georgia's mandatory release-the-remainder duty. Section 9 supplies the real teeth: any denial, in whole or in part, must be written, give a detailed factual basis for the exemption claimed, name the persons responsible, cite supporting legal authority, and notify the requester of Public Access Counselor review. 5 ILCS 140/9 (written denial: detailed factual basis, names/titles of persons responsible, citation to legal authority, and notice of Public Access Counselor review)
• No search, retrieval, or review fee for a non-commercial request; 50 pages free Section 6(a) bars any search, retrieval, or review fee for a non-commercial request; the first 50 black-and-white letter/legal pages are free, and paper copies beyond that are capped at 15 cents per page (§ 6(b)). Because our letters ask for electronic delivery by reply email, duplication cost should be minimal or zero. 5 ILCS 140/6(a) (no search, retrieval, or review fee for a non-commercial request) 6(b) (first 50 black-and-white letter/legal pages free; 15 cents/page cap thereafter)
• The judiciary is excluded from FOIA by silence, and the line runs through the courthouse Section 2(a) names the legislative, executive, and administrative/advisory bodies of the State but never mentions the judicial branch; Copley Press read that silence, against the backdrop of naming the other two branches, as excluding the judiciary from FOIA entirely -- reaching further than Virginia's or Pennsylvania's court carve-outs, because even the Clerk of the Circuit Court's own administrative records, not just case-file custodial records, are outside FOIA. Nelson v. Kendall County draws the opposite line: a State's Attorney's office is executive-branch and IS covered, so 'court-adjacent' is not the same test as 'judicial branch'. 5 ILCS 140/2(a) (definition of 'public body') · Copley Press, Inc. v. Administrative Office of the Courts, 271 Ill. App. 3d 548, 648 N.E.2d 324 (Ill. App. Ct. 2d Dist. 1995) · Nelson v. Kendall County, 2014 IL 116303 (Ill. May 22, 2014)
• Private contractors: only a delegated public function is reachable Section 7(2) treats a private party's records as public records of the contracting public body only when that body delegated one of ITS OWN statutory responsibilities to the party. BGA v. Illinois High School Ass'n shows this is narrower than a generic 'functional equivalent' or 'governmental function' test: the IHSA's contracts were not covered because interscholastic athletics coordination was never one of the school district's own statutory duties to begin with, so nothing was delegated. 5 ILCS 140/2(a) (definition of 'public body') · Better Government Ass'n v. Illinois High School Ass'n (IHSA), 2017 IL 121124 (Ill. May 18, 2017)
• A named statutory exemption can be absolute, even against the requester's own interest Hart v. Illinois State Police held the § 7.5(v) exemption for FOID card and concealed-carry-license records draws no distinction between another person's records and the requester's own; the exemption's plain text controlled even though FOIA is elsewhere liberally construed, and the applicant's remedy runs outside FOIA entirely. Relevant caution for permit-adjacent law-enforcement asks: a NAMED statutory exemption is not subject to the narrow-construction/burden-of-proof analysis that governs the general, discretionary exemption categories (Southern Illinoisan). 5 ILCS 140 (Illinois FOIA scope; Illinois law only) · Hart v. Illinois State Police, 2023 IL 128275 (Ill. Nov. 30, 2023) · Southern Illinoisan v. Illinois Department of Public Health, 218 Ill. 2d 390 (Ill. Feb. 2, 2006) (Docket No. 98712)
• Public Access Counselor review: a free administrative remedy, discretionary between opinion and mediation A requester denied access may file a request for review with the Public Access Counselor, within the Office of the Attorney General, within 60 days of the final denial (§ 9.5). The Attorney General may resolve the matter by a binding opinion or by mediation, at their discretion. This changes follow-up play economics the same way Pennsylvania's Office of Open Records does -- a free administrative remedy before any court filing -- though PAC review is discretionary between opinion and mediation rather than PA's obligatory 30-day Final Determination. 5 ILCS 140/9.5 (Public Access Counselor review within the Office of the Attorney General; 60-day filing window; binding opinion or mediation at the Attorney General's discretion)