{
 "topic": "FOIA section 2(g)",
 "statute": "5 ILCS 140/2(g)",
 "family": "Definitions (public body, public record, requesters)",
 "page": "https://illinoisfoia.org/issues/foia-2-g/",
 "note": "Determination letters are non-binding. Verify against the source PDF before citing.",
 "counts": {
  "violation_found": 5,
  "no_violation": 7,
  "no_determination": 0,
  "other": 0
 },
 "challenge_notes": {
  "generated_by": "AI summary of the decisions listed on this page; not legal advice; verify each decision against its PDF",
  "when_a_challenge_is_strong": [
   {
    "text": "The requester did not submit 50 or more requests in the 52 weeks before the request at issue.",
    "why": "The Bureau found violations when the public body miscounted or used an incorrect time period, and the requester fell below the statutory threshold.",
    "decisions": [
     {
      "title": "A village's calculation of FOIA requests for recurrent requester status",
      "url": "https://illinoisfoia.org/opinions/letter-86566/#issue-1"
     },
     {
      "title": "A township's recurrent requester designation",
      "url": "https://illinoisfoia.org/opinions/letter-77350/#issue-1"
     },
     {
      "title": "A township's recurrent requester designation",
      "url": "https://illinoisfoia.org/opinions/letter-77350/#issue-2"
     }
    ]
   },
   {
    "text": "The public body counted requests made by other individuals who were not acting as a group with the requester.",
    "why": "In D840.1, attributing employee requests to an employer without establishing group action was a violation, while D1060.1 shows that only requests from individuals acting as a group can be combined.",
    "decisions": [
     {
      "title": "Retroactive application of recurrent requester status",
      "url": "https://illinoisfoia.org/opinions/letter-17798/#issue-1"
     },
     {
      "title": "Emails between a school board president and superintendent",
      "url": "https://illinoisfoia.org/opinions/letter-81283/#issue-1"
     }
    ]
   },
   {
    "text": "The public body applied the recurrent requester designation retroactively to requests made before the law's effective date.",
    "why": "D840.2 held that retroactive application imposes new legal consequences on past lawful conduct and is not permitted.",
    "decisions": [
     {
      "title": "Retroactive application of recurrent requester status",
      "url": "https://illinoisfoia.org/opinions/letter-17798/#issue-2"
     }
    ]
   }
  ],
  "when_the_body_usually_wins": [
   {
    "text": "The requester submitted 50 or more requests in the 52 weeks before the request, or 7 requests in 7 days and then another request.",
    "why": "D1140.2 and D891.1 upheld designations when the numerical threshold was met, and D1016.1 confirmed that meeting the statutory minimum supports the designation.",
    "decisions": [
     {
      "title": "A village's calculation of FOIA requests for recurrent requester status",
      "url": "https://illinoisfoia.org/opinions/letter-86566/#issue-2"
     },
     {
      "title": "A police department's recurrent requester designation",
      "url": "https://illinoisfoia.org/opinions/letter-47422/#issue-1"
     },
     {
      "title": "A police department's designation of a recurrent requester",
      "url": "https://illinoisfoia.org/opinions/letter-77333/#issue-1"
     }
    ]
   },
   {
    "text": "The requester claims a news media exception but cannot show the request was made by news media, or claims non-profit status but failed to notify the public body at submission.",
    "why": "D1496.1 and D1040.1 found no violation when the requester did not satisfy these requirements.",
    "decisions": [
     {
      "title": "Transit authority dispatch records and service policies",
      "url": "https://illinoisfoia.org/opinions/letter-82787/#issue-1"
     },
     {
      "title": "Amendment of requester identity to avoid recurrent status",
      "url": "https://illinoisfoia.org/opinions/letter-79991/#issue-1"
     }
    ]
   },
   {
    "text": "The requester is part of a group that collectively submitted enough requests to meet the threshold.",
    "why": "D1060.1 held that individuals acting as a group can be considered a single person for the recurrent requester count.",
    "decisions": [
     {
      "title": "Emails between a school board president and superintendent",
      "url": "https://illinoisfoia.org/opinions/letter-81283/#issue-1"
     }
    ]
   }
  ],
  "points_to_put_in_the_letter": [
   {
    "text": "Count the number of FOIA requests you personally submitted in the 52 weeks before the request at issue. If it is below 50, state that you do not meet the statutory threshold.",
    "why": "",
    "decisions": [
     {
      "title": "A village's calculation of FOIA requests for recurrent requester status",
      "url": "https://illinoisfoia.org/opinions/letter-86566/#issue-1"
     },
     {
      "title": "A township's recurrent requester designation",
      "url": "https://illinoisfoia.org/opinions/letter-77350/#issue-1"
     },
     {
      "title": "A township's recurrent requester designation",
      "url": "https://illinoisfoia.org/opinions/letter-77350/#issue-2"
     }
    ]
   },
   {
    "text": "If the public body counted requests made by other people, argue that only your own requests count unless you were all acting as a coordinated group.",
    "why": "",
    "decisions": [
     {
      "title": "Retroactive application of recurrent requester status",
      "url": "https://illinoisfoia.org/opinions/letter-17798/#issue-1"
     },
     {
      "title": "Emails between a school board president and superintendent",
      "url": "https://illinoisfoia.org/opinions/letter-81283/#issue-1"
     }
    ]
   },
   {
    "text": "If you are a news media requester, clearly state that the request is made by news media, not just that you contribute to news media.",
    "why": "",
    "decisions": [
     {
      "title": "Transit authority dispatch records and service policies",
      "url": "https://illinoisfoia.org/opinions/letter-82787/#issue-1"
     }
    ]
   },
   {
    "text": "If you are a non-profit organization, point out that you notified the public body of your status and principal purpose at the time you submitted the request.",
    "why": "",
    "decisions": [
     {
      "title": "Amendment of requester identity to avoid recurrent status",
      "url": "https://illinoisfoia.org/opinions/letter-79991/#issue-1"
     }
    ]
   },
   {
    "text": "If the public body counted requests you made before the recurrent requester law took effect, argue that retroactive application is not permitted.",
    "why": "",
    "decisions": [
     {
      "title": "Retroactive application of recurrent requester status",
      "url": "https://illinoisfoia.org/opinions/letter-17798/#issue-2"
     }
    ]
   }
  ],
  "facts_to_gather": [
   "The date and number of each FOIA request you submitted in the 52 weeks before the request at issue.",
   "Whether you were acting as part of a group with other requesters.",
   "Documentation of your news media or non-profit status, and any notification you gave to the public body at the time of the request.",
   "The effective date of the recurrent requester provision and the dates of any requests made before that date."
  ],
  "common_mistakes": [
   {
    "text": "Assuming that the 12-month lookback period is a calendar year rather than the 52 weeks immediately before each request.",
    "why": "",
    "decisions": [
     {
      "title": "A township's recurrent requester designation",
      "url": "https://illinoisfoia.org/opinions/letter-77350/#issue-1"
     },
     {
      "title": "A township's recurrent requester designation",
      "url": "https://illinoisfoia.org/opinions/letter-77350/#issue-2"
     },
     {
      "title": "A village's calculation of FOIA requests for recurrent requester status",
      "url": "https://illinoisfoia.org/opinions/letter-86566/#issue-1"
     }
    ]
   },
   {
    "text": "Believing that any connection to news media exempts you from recurrent requester status, without showing the request was made by a news media entity.",
    "why": "",
    "decisions": [
     {
      "title": "Transit authority dispatch records and service policies",
      "url": "https://illinoisfoia.org/opinions/letter-82787/#issue-1"
     }
    ]
   },
   {
    "text": "Forgetting to notify the public body at the time of the request that you are a non-profit organization seeking the exception.",
    "why": "",
    "decisions": [
     {
      "title": "Amendment of requester identity to avoid recurrent status",
      "url": "https://illinoisfoia.org/opinions/letter-79991/#issue-1"
     }
    ]
   },
   {
    "text": "Thinking that requests from different individuals can never be combined to reach the 50-request threshold, even if they are acting as a group.",
    "why": "",
    "decisions": [
     {
      "title": "Emails between a school board president and superintendent",
      "url": "https://illinoisfoia.org/opinions/letter-81283/#issue-1"
     }
    ]
   },
   {
    "text": "Not objecting when a public body counts requests you made before the recurrent requester law became effective.",
    "why": "",
    "decisions": [
     {
      "title": "Retroactive application of recurrent requester status",
      "url": "https://illinoisfoia.org/opinions/letter-17798/#issue-2"
     }
    ]
   }
  ],
  "caution": "These determination letters are non-binding, the outcome depends on specific facts, and you should review the full PDF for context."
 },
 "issues": [
  {
   "issue": "Recurrent requester treatment of FOIA request",
   "outcome": "no_violation",
   "rule": "A requester is not exempt from recurrent requester status merely by claiming to contribute to news media; the request must be made by news media.",
   "decision": {
    "title": "Transit authority dispatch records and service policies",
    "date": "2024-09-18",
    "binding": false,
    "url": "https://illinoisfoia.org/opinions/letter-82787/"
   },
   "authorities": []
  },
  {
   "issue": "Recurrent requester designation for April 22, 2025 request",
   "outcome": "violation_found",
   "rule": "A public body may look back 52 weeks from each request to determine if the requester submitted at least 50 requests in that period.",
   "decision": {
    "title": "A village's calculation of FOIA requests for recurrent requester status",
    "date": "2025-06-11",
    "binding": false,
    "url": "https://illinoisfoia.org/opinions/letter-86566/"
   },
   "authorities": [
    {
     "text": "Ill. Att'y Gen. PAC Req. Rev. Ltr. 29472, issued October 23, 2014",
     "url": null
    },
    {
     "text": "Ill. Att'y Gen. PAC Req. Rev. Ltr. 77350 77529, issued September 18, 2023",
     "url": "https://illinoisfoia.org/opinions/letter-77350/"
    }
   ]
  },
  {
   "issue": "Recurrent requester designation for April 23, 2025 request",
   "outcome": "no_violation",
   "rule": "A requester qualifies as a recurrent requester if they submitted at least 50 requests in the 52 weeks immediately preceding the request.",
   "decision": {
    "title": "A village's calculation of FOIA requests for recurrent requester status",
    "date": "2025-06-11",
    "binding": false,
    "url": "https://illinoisfoia.org/opinions/letter-86566/"
   },
   "authorities": [
    {
     "text": "Ill. Att'y Gen. PAC Req. Rev. Ltr. 29472, issued October 23, 2014",
     "url": null
    },
    {
     "text": "Ill. Att'y Gen. PAC Req. Rev. Ltr. 77350 77529, issued September 18, 2023",
     "url": "https://illinoisfoia.org/opinions/letter-77350/"
    }
   ]
  },
  {
   "issue": "Recurrent requester designation",
   "outcome": "no_violation",
   "rule": "Individuals acting as a group can be considered a single person and meet the recurrent requester threshold based on combined requests.",
   "decision": {
    "title": "Emails between a school board president and superintendent",
    "date": "2025-09-19",
    "binding": false,
    "url": "https://illinoisfoia.org/opinions/letter-81283/"
   },
   "authorities": []
  },
  {
   "issue": "Recurrent requester designation based on seven requests",
   "outcome": "no_violation",
   "rule": "A requester must notify the public body at submission that a request is made by a non-profit and identify the principal purpose to qualify for the section 2(g) exception.",
   "decision": {
    "title": "Amendment of requester identity to avoid recurrent status",
    "date": "2024-06-20",
    "binding": false,
    "url": "https://illinoisfoia.org/opinions/letter-79991/"
   },
   "authorities": [
    {
     "text": "Ill. Att'y Gen. PAC Req. Rev. Ltr. 47422 47571 47800 48007 48008, issued July 21, 2017",
     "url": "https://illinoisfoia.org/opinions/letter-47422/"
    },
    {
     "text": "Ill. Att'y Gen. 77333, issued July 31, 2023",
     "url": null
    },
    {
     "text": "Ill. Att'y Gen. PAC Req. Rev. Ltr. 73919, issued March 27, 2024",
     "url": null
    }
   ]
  },
  {
   "issue": "Improper recurrent requester designation for July 13, 2023 request",
   "outcome": "violation_found",
   "rule": "The 12 months immediately preceding a request means the 52 weeks before submission, and the requester did not meet the 50-request threshold.",
   "decision": {
    "title": "A township's recurrent requester designation",
    "date": "2023-09-18",
    "binding": false,
    "url": "https://illinoisfoia.org/opinions/letter-77350/"
   },
   "authorities": [
    {
     "text": "Ill. Att'y Gen. PAC Req. Rev. Ltr. 29472, issued October 23, 2014",
     "url": null
    },
    {
     "text": "In re Appointment of Special Prosecutor, 2019 IL 122949",
     "url": "https://illinoisfoia.org/cases/2017%20IL%20App%20(1st)%20161376/"
    },
    {
     "text": "Rushton v. Department of Corrections, 2019 IL 124552",
     "url": "https://illinoisfoia.org/cases/2019%20IL%20App%20(4th)%20180206/"
    }
   ]
  },
  {
   "issue": "Improper recurrent requester designation for July 23, 2023 request",
   "outcome": "violation_found",
   "rule": "The 12 months immediately preceding a request means the 52 weeks before submission, and the requester did not meet the 50-request threshold.",
   "decision": {
    "title": "A township's recurrent requester designation",
    "date": "2023-09-18",
    "binding": false,
    "url": "https://illinoisfoia.org/opinions/letter-77350/"
   },
   "authorities": [
    {
     "text": "Ill. Att'y Gen. PAC Req. Rev. Ltr. 29472, issued October 23, 2014",
     "url": null
    },
    {
     "text": "In re Appointment of Special Prosecutor, 2019 IL 122949",
     "url": "https://illinoisfoia.org/cases/2017%20IL%20App%20(1st)%20161376/"
    },
    {
     "text": "Rushton v. Department of Corrections, 2019 IL 124552",
     "url": "https://illinoisfoia.org/cases/2019%20IL%20App%20(4th)%20180206/"
    }
   ]
  },
  {
   "issue": "Recurrent requester designation based on request count",
   "outcome": "no_violation",
   "rule": "A public body may designate a requester as recurrent if they submitted the statutory minimum number of requests in the specified time periods.",
   "decision": {
    "title": "A police department's designation of a recurrent requester",
    "date": "2023-07-31",
    "binding": false,
    "url": "https://illinoisfoia.org/opinions/letter-77333/"
   },
   "authorities": []
  },
  {
   "issue": "Recurrent requester designation upheld",
   "outcome": "no_violation",
   "rule": "A requester who submits seven requests within a 7-day period becomes a recurrent requester upon the next request, unless a section 2(g) exception applies.",
   "decision": {
    "title": "A police department's recurrent requester designation",
    "date": "2017-08-28",
    "binding": false,
    "url": "https://illinoisfoia.org/opinions/letter-47422/"
   },
   "authorities": []
  },
  {
   "issue": "Recurrent requester designation of SpotCrime",
   "outcome": "no_violation",
   "rule": "Requests from news media are exempt from recurrent requester counting, but SpotCrime is not news media, so its requests count toward the threshold.",
   "decision": {
    "title": "A data-aggregation website's classification for daily crime data requests",
    "date": "2017-04-04",
    "binding": false,
    "url": "https://illinoisfoia.org/opinions/letter-34653/"
   },
   "authorities": [
    {
     "text": "Ill. Att'y Gen. PAC Req. Rev. Ltr. 44649",
     "url": "https://illinoisfoia.org/opinions/letter-44649/"
    },
    {
     "text": "Ill. Att'y Gen. PAC Req. Rev. Ltr. 33323",
     "url": null
    }
   ]
  },
  {
   "issue": "Attribution of employee FOIA requests to employer",
   "outcome": "violation_found",
   "rule": "FOIA requests submitted by employees in their employment capacity are attributable to the business employer for classifying it as a recurrent requester.",
   "decision": {
    "title": "Retroactive application of recurrent requester status",
    "date": "2018-09-21",
    "binding": false,
    "url": "https://illinoisfoia.org/opinions/letter-17798/"
   },
   "authorities": []
  },
  {
   "issue": "Retroactive application of recurrent requester provision",
   "outcome": "violation_found",
   "rule": "The recurrent requester amendment cannot be applied retroactively to requests submitted before its effective date because it imposes new legal consequences on past lawful conduct.",
   "decision": {
    "title": "Retroactive application of recurrent requester status",
    "date": "2018-09-21",
    "binding": false,
    "url": "https://illinoisfoia.org/opinions/letter-17798/"
   },
   "authorities": [
    {
     "text": "Commonwealth Edison Company v. Will County Collector, 196 Ill. 2d 27 (2001)",
     "url": null
    },
    {
     "text": "Landgraf v. USI Film Products, 511 U.S. 244, 114 S. Ct. 1483 (1994)",
     "url": null
    },
    {
     "text": "Caveney v. Bower, 207 Ill. 2d 82 (2003)",
     "url": null
    },
    {
     "text": "Ores v. Kennedy, 218 Ill. App. 3d 866 (1991)",
     "url": null
    },
    {
     "text": "Schwieckert v. AG Services of America, Inc., 355 Ill. App. 3d 439 (2005)",
     "url": null
    },
    {
     "text": "Ogdon v. Gianakos, 415 Ill. 591 (1953)",
     "url": null
    },
    {
     "text": "Perry v. Dep't of Financial and Professional Regulation, 2018 IL 122349",
     "url": "https://illinoisfoia.org/cases/2017%20IL%20App%20(1st)%20161780/"
    }
   ]
  }
 ]
}