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Freedom of Information Act › Public Entities

The Freedom of Information Act is a United States federal statute enacted in 1966 to promote government transparency and the free exchange of public information. Under FOIA, any individual can request federal... more +
The Freedom of Information Act is a United States federal statute enacted in 1966 to promote government transparency and the free exchange of public information. Under FOIA, any individual can request federal agency records and enforce that right in a court of law. However, not all agency records can be requested; there are nine exempt categories of information. In addition to the federal law, many states have passed their own freedom of information acts. These acts are often similar but not always identical to the federal version.  less -
CloudNine

Resourcing Your Public Records/FOIA Requests Response with a Lean Team

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When it comes to managing FOIA (Freedom of Information Act) and similar public records requests, resourcing your team effectively is crucial. Even with a small team, you can achieve a lot by appointing an expert internally...more

Franczek P.C.

FOIA Does Not Require Public Bodies to Compel Production of Third-Party Records

Franczek P.C. on

The Illinois Appellate Court recently ruled that the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) does not obligate a public body to produce records that it does not already maintain in response to a FOIA request. Further, the Court...more

Venable LLP

FOIL Law Simplified

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Nearly anyone who can read a newspaper understands the meaning of a FOIL or FOIA request. FOIA refers to the Freedom of Information Act, which allows a requester to obtain documents from federal agencies, while its...more

Franczek P.C.

Illinois Appellate Court Issues New FOIA-Related Ruling Regarding Unduly Burdensome Exemption

Franczek P.C. on

The Illinois Appellate Court recently issued a new decision regarding the FOIA. In Kraft v. Chicago Police Department, the Court ruled in favor of the police department, finding it properly exempted records as unduly...more

Franczek P.C.

PAC Issues New Binding Opinion Regarding Personal and Pre-Decisional Exemptions Under FOIA

Franczek P.C. on

The PAC recently released its second binding opinion of 2022, which provides helpful analysis and guidance regarding the personal and pre-decisional exemptions under the FOIA. The PAC determined that the City of Chicago...more

Franczek P.C.

Illinois Supreme Court Issues Decision Upholding Private and Personal Redactions Under FOIA

Franczek P.C. on

Recently, the Illinois Supreme Court issued a decision regarding the FOIA, upholding a public body’s redaction of traffic accident reports pursuant to Sections 7(1)(b) and 7(1)(c) of the FOIA....more

Franczek P.C.

Illinois PAC Rejects FOIA Exemption for Communications with an Interested Third Party

Franczek P.C. on

The Illinois Attorney General’s Public Access Counselor recently issued a binding opinion holding that the Illinois Freedom of Information Act exemption for predecisional records does not apply to communications from a public...more

Franczek P.C.

First Quarter 2021 Illinois FOIA & OMA Update

Franczek P.C. on

PRE-DECISIONAL & DELIBERATIVE PROCESS UPDATES U.S. - SUPREME COURT DECISION - On March 4, 2021, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a decision in United States Fish and Wildlife Service v. Sierra Club addressing the “deliberative...more

Franczek P.C.

COVID-19 Update for Public Bodies Regarding FOIA and OMA Compliance

Franczek P.C. on

As with most issues relating to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), expectations regarding the holding of public meetings have been evolving rapidly over the past few days. ...more

Franczek P.C.

The Top Five Takeaways from the Public Access Counselor’s 2019 Binding Opinions

Franczek P.C. on

The Illinois Attorney General’s Public Access Counselor was once again busy during 2019, issuing binding decisions of interest to public entities governed by the Illinois Open Meetings Act and Freedom of Information Act....more

Franczek P.C.

OK to Deny FOIA Request for Nonexistent Records

Franczek P.C. on

In a recent decision, the Illinois Appellate Court held that the nonexistence of requested documents is an affirmative defense to a complaint grounded in the Freedom of Information Act. The court also clarified that public...more

Franczek P.C.

February FOIA Roundup

Franczek P.C. on

February was a busy month for decisions about the Illinois Freedom of Information Act (“FOIA” or the “Act”). ...more

Franczek P.C.

According to the PAC, Communications About Public Business on Personal Devices Subject to FOIA

Franczek P.C. on

Since a 2013 Illinois Appellate Court decision, City of Champaign v. Madigan, Illinois public bodies have known that three categories of emails and text messages sent to or from personal technology devices are “public...more

Franczek P.C.

Denial of Request for 44,536 Emails as Unduly Burdensome Violated FOIA

Franczek P.C. on

During my recent time working at the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights, I worked with the Federal Freedom of Information Act, which does not contain an unduly burdensome exemption....more

Holland & Knight LLP

FOIA and Public Records: IHSA 3, BGA 0

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In Better Government Association v. Illinois High School Association and High School District 230 IL Supreme Court No. 121124, the Illinois Supreme Court, on May 18, 2017, affirmed an appellate court's ruling that the...more

Franczek P.C.

PAC FOIA Opinions Address “Unduly Burdensome” factor, Personal Privacy Exemption and Public Records

Franczek P.C. on

In three separate opinions rendered in November, the Public Access Counselor (PAC) of the Illinois Attorney General provided guidance regarding the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) on the definition of “unduly burdensome,”...more

Holland & Knight LLP

Illinois AG Rules That Public Employees' Personal Emails Are Public Records - Messages Pertaining to Public Business in Personal...

Holland & Knight LLP on

Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan has issued a binding opinion under the state's Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) that email messages sent or received through public employees' personal email accounts may be public...more

Miller Canfield

Court Clarifies Public Bodies Requirement to Provide Documents Under FOIA

Miller Canfield on

A public body must respond to a FOIA request within five days, but the Michigan Court of Appeals has opined that there is no obligation to produce the requested information within that timeframe. In a June 23, 2016,...more

Mayer Brown

Illinois Appellate Court Upholds $2 Million Punitive Award Against Chicago State University

Mayer Brown on

The due process review of a punitive damages award for excessiveness has a number of interconnected parts. A series of relatively small errors can quickly add up and dramatically skew the outcome of a review process that is...more

Nexsen Pruet, PLLC

Public Policy Alert: Freedom of Information Act Ruling

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A recent ruling regarding South Carolina’s Freedom of Information Act is one to note. It came on February 22 in DomainsNewMedia.com vs. Hilton Head Island-Bluffton Chamber of Commerce....more

Haight Brown & Bonesteel LLP

The Latest "Trojan Horse" in The Judicial War on The Deliberative Process Privilege

Haight Brown & Bonesteel LLP on

In a decision issued December 21, 2015 (Caldecott v. Superior Court of Orange County (Newport- Mesa Unified School District)), the California Court of Appeal ruled that a former school district employee is entitled to records...more

Pullman & Comley - School Law

Presidential Politics, E-Mail, And The FOIA: Why It Should Matter To You

Pullman & Comley - School Law on

The federal Freedom of Information Act [“FOIA”] has recently made its way into national new stories for all the wrong reasons. Hillary Clinton has become enmeshed in a controversy involving her use of a “private” e-mail...more

Franczek P.C.

New FOIA Amendments Affect Public Bodies’ Responses to Requests

Franczek P.C. on

Effective immediately, the General Assembly overrode the Governor’s veto to approve new amendments to the FOIA, which are designed to reduce the burden on public bodies. Public Act 98-1129 provides the following: 1) a...more

Pullman & Comley - School Law

When a Meeting is Not a Meeting, at Least According to the FOIC

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Most public entities are now intimately familiar with the long reach of the Freedom of Information Act (“FOIA”) into the conduct of agency meetings. A recent case from the Freedom of Information Commission (“FOIC”) reminds...more

Pullman & Comley - Labor, Employment and...

Don’t Make Promises That You Cannot Keep: Greenwich Silver Shield Association v. Town of Greenwich, the FOIA and Discrimination...

Pullman & Comley - Labor, Employment and... on

Investigations in the public sector confront the competing demands of employee privacy rights and the public’s “right to know” under the Freedom of Information Act [“FOIA”]. Another decision by the Freedom of Information...more

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