FOIADetermination Letter (non-binding)Closed no further actionPublic Records Definition

Office of the Attorney General did not violate FOIA by directing incarcerated requester to website without statutory process

The requester sought physical copies of consumer fraud forms and rules that were already published on the public body's website.

Date issued: November 23, 2020
Request number(s): 65701
Public body: Office of the Attorney General
Statute(s): 5 ILCS 140/8.5
Outcome: Closed, no further action

Plain-language summary

An incarcerated person asked for paper copies of documents that were available on the Attorney General's website. The Attorney General's office told the requester to look online, but the requester did not follow the specific legal steps required to ask for paper copies when they cannot access the internet. Because the requester skipped these steps, the PAC closed the case without finding a violation.

Legal question

Whether a public body violates FOIA by directing a requester to its website when the requester is unable to access the internet, without the requester first invoking the statutory procedure for such an inability.

Holding

The Attorney General's Office did not violate FOIA by directing the requester to its website, as the requester did not follow the statutory process for claiming an inability to access online records.

Summary

An incarcerated individual requested physical copies of consumer fraud forms and rules, but the Attorney General's Office directed the requester to its website. The PAC determined that because the requester failed to follow the statutory procedure for notifying the public body of their inability to access the website, no further action was warranted.

Issues decided in this letter

Each question the Public Access Bureau decided, with the rule it applied. Extracted automatically from the letter; the source PDF is authoritative.

No violationFOIA section 8
Whether directing requester to website records violated FOIA
Rule applied: A public body need not copy records published on its website if it directs the requester to the website where the records can be reasonably accessed.
No violationFOIA section 8
Whether requester resubmitted request stating inability to access online
Rule applied: A requester who cannot reasonably access online records must resubmit the request stating that inability before the public body must provide physical copies.

online recordsincarcerated requesterwebsite accessFOIA procedure

Reading view (562 words)

This reading view follows the source PDF's positioned text blocks. Page headers, repeated office furniture, and lower-margin notes are kept out of the narrative; source notes are available below. Reconstruction is automatic and imperfect — the PDF is the authoritative version, and it's linked on this page.

Dear

This determination is issued pursuant to section 9. 5( c) of the Freedom of Information Act ( FOIA) ( 5 ILCS 140/ 9. 5( c) ( West 2018)). For the reasons stated below, the Public Access Bureau concludes that no further action is warranted as to this matter.

On October 26, 2020, the Office of the Attorney General ( Attorney General' s Office) received your FOIA request seeking various records including copies of consumer fraud forms and rules and regulations on how to file a consumer fraud complaint. On November 2, 2020, the Senior FOIA Officer responded by providing web addresses on the Attorney General' s Office' s website for accessing the records responsive to those portions of your request. You dispute that response because you are incarcerated and do not have access to the internet.

Section 8. 5( a) of FOIA ( 5 ILCS 140/ 8. 5( a)) ( West 2018)) provides that " a public body is not required to copy a public record that is published on the public body' s website. The public body shall notify the requester that the public record is available online and direct the requester to the website where the record can be reasonably accessed." Section 8. 5( b) of FOIA 5 ILCS 140/ 8. 5( b) ( West 2018)) further provides:

If the person requesting the public record is unable to reasonably access the record online after being directed to the website pursuant to subsection ( a) of this Section, the requester may resubmit his or her request for the record stating his or her inability to reasonably access the record online, and the public body shall make the requested record available for inspection and copying as provided in Section 3 of this Act.

Because the records you are seeking are available on the Attorney General' s Office's website, section 8. 5( a) relieved the Attorney General's Office of the obligation to send you physical copies of those records. Further, there is no indication that you re -submitted your request to the Attorney General' s Office stating that you were unable to reasonably access the records online. Accordingly, there is no basis for the Public Access to conclude that the response to your request violated FOIA.

This file is closed. If you have any questions, please contact me at the Chicago address on the bottom of the first page of this letter.

Very truly yours,

STEVE SILVERMAN

Bureau Chief

Notes from the original PDF (2)

100 West Randolph Street, Chicago, Illinois 60601 • ( 312) 814- 3000 • TTY: ( 800) 964- 3013 • Fax: ( 312) 814- 3806 601 South University Ave.. Carbondale, Illinois 62901 • ( 618) 529- 6400 • TTY: ( 877) 675- 9339 • Fax: ( 618) 529- 6416
Public Access Bureau 65701 f no fi war sa Enclosure cc: Via electronic mail foiaofficer@atg. state. il. us