• Home
  • FAQ
  • About Us
    • Leadership >
      • Ben Silver
    • Summer Interns 2020
    • Founder
    • Board of Directors
    • Advisory Council
    • Young Professionals
    • Citizen Initiative Awards
  • Projects
    • CAC News
    • NEW Survey of Government Regulations on Public Assembly in DuPage Municipalities
    • NEW Sexual Harassment Policy Survey
    • Answering Questions of Public Concern
    • Civic Empowerment Zone
    • Journalism & Citizen Open Government Trainings
    • Good Government Research Studies
    • Midwest Open Government Project
    • Monitoring Government Activity >
      • General Assembly Tracker
    • Public Access Counselor Determination Letter Index
    • Right to Speak Report
  • Library
    • Publications >
      • Citizen Guides
      • Newsletters
      • e-Newsletters
      • Law Review Articles
      • Impact Report 2017
      • Annual Reports & Tax Forms
    • Civic Ed Lesson Plans >
      • Election Lesson Plans
    • CAC News >
      • CAC in the News
      • Press Releases
      • Letters to the Editor
  • Events
  • Get Involved
    • Take Action
    • Volunteer Opportunities
    • Internship Opportunities
    • YPLC Application
    • Legal Disclaimer
    • Privacy Policy
  • CAC Blog
  • Donate
  • Summer Interns 2020
    • Summer Interns 2020
Citizen Advocacy Center

Urgent Legislative Alert: Call your representatives in Springfield to oppose passage of HB3796

5/30/2014

 
I am writing today to alert you to a problematic bill, HB 3796, that was only introduced last Friday afternoon, passed the House on Memorial Day, and will pass the Senate TODAY to the Senate sponsors, who expect a unanimous vote.  I am providing detailed information below. It is urgent that you CALL YOUR SENATOR IN SPRINGFIELD TODAY to tell them you oppose HB3796 as this bill severely curbs the ability of the public to monitor government activity. Need to know who your Senator is? Click here.

HB 3796 adds provisions to the Freedom of Information Act to create a category of requests called "Voluminous Requests."  This is in addition to the other provisions in the FOIA that enable public bodies to negotiate FOIA requests, which are the recurrent requester provision and the unduly burdensome provision.
The voluminous request provisions:
  • May be utilized by the public body if more than 5 individual requests for more than 5 different categories of records, or a combination of requests asking for public records from 5 different categories in a 20-day period;
  • Extend the timeline by which the public body must correspond with the requester;
  • May result in the public body calling the (amended) voluminous request as "unduly burdensome" anyhow (NB: why not just use the unduly burdensome provision from the get-go?)
  • Contradict the FOIA provision that allows requesters to INSPECT original documents (an issue decided by an Illinois appellate court in DesPain vs. City of Collinsville), because the bill allows the public body to point to postings of records or information on its website as a sufficient response to the FOIA request--WITHOUT certifying that the online copy is a "true and accurate" copy of the original. 
Requesters routinely ask for documents from more than 5 categories in monitoring government activity.  For example, for a zoning hearing on a proposed permit, a requester might want documents from the:
  • Zoning Commission
  • Development, Planning & Zoning Committee 
  • Finance Department
  • Economic Development Commission
  • Public Affairs & Safety Committee
  • Tax Increment Finance Joint Review Board
  • correspondence between elected officials and staff on the matter at hand and
  • minutes of regular board meetings (that, contrary to the law, may not be posted online).

It is important to note that the FOIA is "Intent-Neutral"--the reason that the requester wants public records is not a consideration that the public body should make in complying with the request.  A document evidencing government business is presumed to be public-- or it may through clear and convincing evidence be withheld through an exception, or an exemption outside the FOIA statute may exist.  These are the only considerations that a public body may take in responding to a FOIA request. 

It should be noted that the unduly burdensome provision is a workable provision--it requires the public body to ask the requester to narrow the request to manageable proportions. 

This bill is partly in reaction to those FOIA requesters who avoided the label of "recurrent requester" by putting their FOIA requests in one letter or email to the public body--an unintended consequence of the recurrent requester provision.  If you remember, a recurrent requester submits 7 FOIA requests in 7 days, 15 FOIA requests in 30 days, or 50 FOIA requests in 365 days.  At the very least, the recurrent requester provision should be removed from the FOIA, if the voluminous request provisions pass and get signed into law. 

While non-profits, scientific, or academic organizations, and the media are exempt from the voluminous request provisions, this bill severely curbs the ability of the public to monitor government activity. 

Thank you,

Maryam Judar
Executive Director/Community Lawyer
Citizen Advocacy Center
Donald R. Weiss
5/30/2014 04:38:53 am

This is just another way for Government to rip-off the citizens of Illinois. I have been told by the Head of the iL. Dept on Aging, that the FOIA is to INVASIVE, and that it needs to be done away with. Based on my own dealings with the State and FOIA, ,State officials have no respect for the laws or the citizens of the state of Illinois

Mark
6/20/2014 08:18:06 am

The FOIA officer in our school district said she hates these things (FOIA requests).
In fact, the FOIA officer will try to engage you in a conversation, to think of a way to deny the request.
Or has said, you can come in and take a look at the information, but you can't take it with you.
And, the FOIA officer will not explain what documents they have that might help fulfill the request.
Instead, you basically have to know the answer to the question, or know that the document exists and the name of the document and what it looks like, before you ask the question.
And this is a school district in a Chicago upper middle class suburb.


Comments are closed.

    RSS Feed

    Archives

    January 2021
    December 2020
    April 2020
    May 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    March 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    May 2012
    March 2012
    December 2011

    Categories

    All
    Andrea Alvarez
    CAC In The News
    Campaign Finance
    Chicago
    Citizen Advocacy Center
    Civic Education
    Civic Education
    Economic Development
    Elections
    Elmhurst
    Ethics/Corruption
    Events
    First Amendment
    First Amendment
    Freedom Of Information FOIA
    Freedom Of Information - FOIA
    Home Rule
    Illinois Legislation
    Intern Program
    Letter To The Editor
    Letter To The Editor
    Maryam Judar
    Open Meetings Act
    Redistricting
    Terry Pastika
    TIF
    Transparency & Accountability
    Voting / Election
    Whistleblower
    Zoning & Land Use

Citizen Advocacy Center      188 Industrial Dr Ste 106      Elmhurst, IL 60126-1600            Phone: (630) 833-4080         Fax: (630) 833-4083
​ ​© 2019 All Rights Reserved.        PRIVACY POLICY        LEGAL DISCLAIMER        CONTACT A COMMUNITY LAWYER
DONATE