FOIA Response Process

55 Illinois PAC opinions and determination letters about foia response process.

FOIA Response Process: what the decisions show

This topic covers the FOIA response process, focusing on whether public bodies provided a substantive response to properly submitted requests for public records. The requests in these decisions sought a wide range of records, including contracts, payroll and budget records, meeting minutes and recordings, correspondence, legal billing records, and property and tax records.

In these decisions, the Public Access Counselor consistently applied section 3(d) of FOIA to failures to respond. Where a village, city, county office, school district, library, transit agency, pension fund, or State office did not comply with, deny, or otherwise appropriately respond to a request, including after follow-up from the requester or this office, the Counselor found a violation of section 3(d).

At a glance: 55 documents from 2012 to 2025(42 binding opinions, 13 determination letters). Outcome: 43 found a violation (in whole or part), 0 found none. Most often cited alongside: 7(1)(b) (Private information) (4); 7(1)(c) (Personal privacy) (2); 7(1)(f) (Preliminary drafts, notes, and deliberative materials) (2); 7(1)(a) (Federal/State-law confidentiality — or public defender case files, for documents issued under the other amendment version) (1); 7(1)(d) (Law-enforcement/administrative-proceeding records) (1).

Recurring issues

Public bodies provided no substantive response at all despite repeated follow-up from the requester and this office. (Contractual agreements with a security firm and animal handling policies, Internal communications about a mayor's salary increases, Records of an individual and police employees over 14 years)
Public bodies acknowledged receipt, extended a deadline, or forwarded the request internally but still never provided a substantive response. (Teacher staffing records and communications for 2023, Emails about a Supreme Court justice's library event, A city official's meeting schedules and related correspondence)
Public bodies failed to respond to requests concerning meetings, minutes, recordings, and internal communications. (Internal communications about a mayor's salary increases, Personnel meeting minutes, audio recordings, and policies, Village board and committee meeting recordings and newsletters)
Public bodies also failed to respond to this office's inquiries about the pending FOIA request. (Agreements and ordinances with a fuel services company, A county assessor's office's failure to respond to a FOIA request, Village board and committee meeting recordings and newsletters)

Practical points

A public body should provide a substantive response that complies with, denies, or otherwise appropriately addresses each FOIA request.
A requester who receives no response can follow up in writing and may seek review after months without a substantive reply.
An acknowledgment of receipt or an extension does not substitute for a substantive response to the request.

Summary drafted from the linked decisions and checked against them; read the decisions themselves before relying on it. Not legal advice.