FOIA section 7(2)
FOIA5 ILCS 140/7(2). Section 7 overview: The exemptions list -- the section most PAC opinions and court cases actually turn on. Lists everything a public body may withhold, from private information and ongoing law-enforcement investigations to trade secrets, attorney-client communications, and dozens of narrower carve-outs. See the exemption-by-exemption breakdown below the full text.
5 issues across 5 determination letters:3 violation found · 2 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 Determination letters are not binding precedent.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
- Rushton v. Department of Corrections, 2019 IL 124552 cited 3 times
- Chicago Tribune v. College of DuPage, 2017 IL App (2d) 160274 cited 3 times
- Better Government Ass'n v. Illinois High School Ass'n, 2017 IL 121124 cited 2 times
- Aggregate inmate head injury data and evaluation policies (Pub. Acc. Op. No. 20-006) cited 2 times
- A contractor's records of a governmental function (Ill. Att'y Gen. Pub. Acc. Op. No 13-018) cited 1 times
- City of Champaign v. Madigan, 2013 IL App (4th) 120662 cited 1 times
How to challenge a denial on this issue
AI-generated summary of the decisions listed on this page, with each point linked to the letters it comes from. Determination letters are not binding precedent and this is not legal advice. Open the letter and check the PDF before relying on any point.
When a challenge is strong
- When the record directly relates to the governmental function the contractor performs (e.g., settlement agreements, media rights contracts, operational records like prescription drug orders). Records held by a private contractor are public records if the contractor performs a governmental function and the record directly relates to that function.Based on: n.d. · A university's media rights contr… · n.d. · Settlement agreements with a para… · n.d. · Prescription drug order records h…
When the public body usually wins
- When the record is merely tangential to the governmental function, like internal compensation and timekeeping records of the contractor. Internal compensation and timekeeping records are merely tangential and do not directly relate to the governmental function, even if the contractor performs that function.Based on: n.d. · A private law firm's internal pay…
- When the public body made a good faith effort to obtain the records from the contractor, but further efforts would be futile. A public body is not in violation if further efforts to obtain contractor‑held records would be futile.Based on: n.d. · Lottery prize payment records and…
Points to put in your letter
- Identify the governmental function the contractor performs for the public body, and explain how the requested record directly relates to that function, not just to the contractor’s internal business operations.Based on: n.d. · A university's media rights contr… · n.d. · Settlement agreements with a para… · n.d. · Prescription drug order records h…
- If the public body argues the record is too tangential, show that it is more like the operational records in D854.1 (prescription drug orders) or D926.1 (settlement agreement) and less like the internal payroll records in D1145.1.Based on: n.d. · A private law firm's internal pay… · n.d. · Prescription drug order records h… · n.d. · Settlement agreements with a para…
- Ask the public body to detail what efforts it made to obtain the records from its contractor. A simple refusal to try may itself violate FOIA.Based on: n.d. · Lottery prize payment records and…
Common mistakes
- Assuming that any record held by a government contractor is automatically a public record without checking if it 'directly relates' to the governmental function.Based on: n.d. · A private law firm's internal pay…
- Believing that internal records like timekeeping or compensation are public merely because the contractor works for a public body.Based on: n.d. · A private law firm's internal pay…
- Not challenging the public body's claim that it doesn't possess the records by asking what efforts it made to retrieve them from the contractor.Based on: n.d. · Lottery prize payment records and…
Facts to gather first
- The contract or agreement describing the governmental function the contractor performs.
- The specific content of the requested record and how it is used in performing that function.
- Any evidence that the record is not just the contractor’s internal administrative document.
- Correspondence showing whether the public body attempted to obtain the record from the contractor.
These non-binding determination letters show that outcomes depend on how closely the record connects to the governmental function; always verify the actual PDF for details.
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-7-2.json.
Violation found (3)
Whether media rights contract is a public record under section 7(2)
Rule: A record in a contractor's possession is a public record if the contractor performs a governmental function and the record directly relates to that function.
Violation found A university's media rights contract with a conference · March 19, 2025
Settlement agreement in contractor's possession is public record
Rule: Records held by a private contractor performing a governmental function and directly relating to that function are public records subject to FOIA disclosure.
Violation found Settlement agreements with a paramedic services contractor · July 19, 2021
Wexford-held prescription drug order records are IDOC public records
Rule: Records in a contractor's possession that directly relate to a governmental function the contractor performs on the public body's behalf are the public body's records and must be disclosed unless exempt.
Violation found Prescription drug order records held by a contractor · January 13, 2016
No violation (2)
Whether private law firm's internal compensation and timekeeping records are public records
Rule: Records in a contractor's possession are public only if they directly relate to the governmental function; internal compensation and timekeeping records are merely tangential.
No violation A private law firm's internal payroll records · September 24, 2025
Adequacy of Lottery's search for contractor-held records
Rule: A public body must make a good faith effort to obtain responsive records from a contractor, but is not in violation if further efforts would be futile.
No violation Lottery prize payment records and ticket submission procedures · November 13, 2023