FOIA section 3(a)

FOIA

5 ILCS 140/3(a). Section 3 overview: The Act's workhorse section: public bodies must make records available on request; requests can be submitted in writing by mail, personal delivery, fax, or other means the body accepts; and -- critically -- a body generally has 5 business days to comply or deny (extendable by 5 more business days in specific circumstances). This is the section most PAC disputes about late or incomplete responses turn on.

3 issues across 3 determination letters:3 no violation.

Counts are per issue, not per letter, and come from automated extraction checked against sampled letters. Determination letters are not binding precedent.

Authorities the Bureau cites most on this issue

Chicago Tribune Co. v. Department of Financial and Professional Regulation, 2014 IL App (4th) 130427 cited 1 times
Kenyon v. Garrels, 184 Ill. App. 3d 28 (4th Dist. 1989) cited 1 times

Drafting brief for an AI assistant

Copy this into your assistant to help draft a request, appeal, or challenge to a denial that turns on this issue. It carries the rules and decisions, not your facts: add those yourself. Machine-readable version: foia-3-a.json.

TOPIC: 5 ILCS 140/3(a)
SOURCE: Illinois Attorney General Public Access Bureau decisions compiled at https://illinoisfoia.org/issues/foia-3-a/
NOTE: Determination letters are not binding precedent; they show how the Bureau applies the law. Verify every decision against the source PDF before citing it.

NO VIOLATION (3):
- Whether the University violated FOIA by not providing records quantifying and corroborating limited FOIA personnel and resources, and hours devoted to FOIA duties
  Rule: A FOIA request must reasonably identify existing public records, not seek explanations, calculations, or new records; a public body is not required to answer questions or generate records.
  Decision: A university's FOIA personnel and resource records (non-binding determination letter, July 1, 2024) https://illinoisfoia.org/opinions/letter-81942/
- FOIA request directed to individual trustee
  Rule: FOIA requests must be directed to the public body, not individual officials, who are not public bodies and need not respond.
  Decision: A village trustee's records of a community Facebook page (non-binding determination letter, May 31, 2024) https://illinoisfoia.org/opinions/letter-81544/
- No exclusive right to access and disseminate under section 3(a)
  Rule: Section 3(a)'s second sentence prohibits delegating FOIA duties by granting an exclusive right to access and disseminate; limited access without dissemination rights does not violate it.
  Decision: University records claimed exempt under personal privacy (non-binding determination letter, March 31, 2016) https://illinoisfoia.org/opinions/letter-38669/

MOST-CITED AUTHORITIES: Chicago Tribune Co. v. Department of Financial and Professional Regulation, 2014 IL App (4th) 130427; Kenyon v. Garrels, 184 Ill. App. 3d 28 (4th Dist. 1989)

TASK FOR THE ASSISTANT: Using only the decisions above, help draft a letter. Argue from the rule and cite the decision by name and date. Do not invent decisions.

No violation (3)

Whether the University violated FOIA by not providing records quantifying and corroborating limited FOIA personnel and resources, and hours devoted to FOIA duties
Rule: A FOIA request must reasonably identify existing public records, not seek explanations, calculations, or new records; a public body is not required to answer questions or generate records.
No violation A university's FOIA personnel and resource records · July 1, 2024
FOIA request directed to individual trustee
Rule: FOIA requests must be directed to the public body, not individual officials, who are not public bodies and need not respond.
No violation A village trustee's records of a community Facebook page · May 31, 2024
No exclusive right to access and disseminate under section 3(a)
Rule: Section 3(a)'s second sentence prohibits delegating FOIA duties by granting an exclusive right to access and disseminate; limited access without dissemination rights does not violate it.
No violation University records claimed exempt under personal privacy · March 31, 2016