Section 901.10  Purpose

 

Pursuant to the authority set forth by The Freedom of Information Act, these rules are established to accomplish the following purposes:

 

a)         Create a procedure by which the public may request and obtain public records.

 

b)         Support the policy of providing public access to the public records in the possession of the Department of Financial Institutions.

 

c)         Protect legitimate privacy interests and maintain administrative efficiency.

 

Section 901.20  Definitions

 

For the purpose of these rules, all terms used shall have the same meaning and interpretation as in The Freedom of Information Act, with specifics defined as:

 

a)         "FOIA" means The Freedom of Information Act.

 

b)         "Department" means the Department of Financial Institutions.

 

c)         "Freedom of Information Officer" designates the individual responsible for receiving and responding to written requests for public records.

 

d)         "Public Records"  are all records, documents and materials having been prepared, or having been or being used, received, possessed or under the control of the Department unless specifically exempt for inspection and copying under the FOIA.

 

e)         "Requestor" means a person who submits a written request for public records in accordance with these rules.

 

Section 901.30  Person to Whom Requests Are Submitted

 

a)         Requests for Public Records shall be submitted to the Freedom of Information Officer of the Department.

 

b)         Requests shall be submitted (in writing) to the following address:

 

            Freedom of Information Officer

            State of Illinois

            Department of Financial Institutions

            160 North LaSalle Street, Room 500

            Chicago, Illinois  60601.

 

Section 901.40  Procedural Requirements

 

a)         Requests shall be made in writing and may be submitted on FOIA request forms as provided by the Department.

 

b)         Requests should provide the following information:

 

1)         The requestor's full name, address and phone number.

 

2)         A brief description of the public records sought, being as specific as possible.

 

3)         The purpose of the request − whether the request is for inspection of public records, copies of public records, etc.

 

Section 901.50  Timetable for Department Compliance

 

a)         The Department shall respond to a written request for public records within seven (7) working days after receipt of such by the Freedom of Information Officer.

 

b)         The Department may give notice of an extension of time to comply; however, this time cannot exceed an additional seven (7) working days.

 

1)         This extension is allowable only for reasons as listed in Section 3(d) of the FOIA.

 

2)         A notice of extension must state the reasons why, in accordance with terms and conditions of the FOIA, the extension is deemed necessary.

 

Section 901.60  Types of Department Responses

 

a)         The Department shall respond to a request for public records as follows:

 

1)         Approve the request.

 

A)        The Department may provide the materials immediately;

 

B)        The Department may give notice that the materials shall be made available upon payment of reproduction costs; or

 

C)        The Department may give notice of the time and place for inspection of records.

 

2)         Approve In Part and Deny In Part the Request.

 

3)         Deny the Request.

 

A)        The Department shall deny the request in writing; however, failure to respond to a written request within seven (7) working days may be considered by the requestor a denial of the request.

 

B)        The Department shall state the reasons for the denial as allowable under terms of the FOIA.

 

C)        The Department shall give notice to the requestor that he/she has a right to appeal to the Director of the Department.

 

b)         The Department shall deny categorical requests creating undue burden on the Department; but only after extending to the requestor an opportunity to confer in an attempt to reduce the request to manageable proportions.

 

Section 901.70  Appeal Procedures of a Denied Request

 

a)         A requestor whose request has been denied by the Freedom of Information Officer may appeal the denial to the Director of the Department.

 

1)         The notice of appeal shall be in writing and sent to:

 

            Director

            State of Illinois

            Department of Financial Institutions

            160 North LaSalle, Room 500

            Chicago, Illinois  60601.

 

2)         The notice of appeal shall include:

 

A)        A copy of the original request.

 

B)        A copy of the denial received by the requestor.

 

C)        A statement of the reasons why the appeal should be granted.

 

b)         The Director shall respond as follows to this appeal within seven (7) working days after receiving notice of appeal (however, failure to respond within allotted time may be considered by the requestor an affirmation of the denial):

 

1)         The Director shall either affirm the denial; or

 

2)         The Director shall provide access to the requested public records.

 

c)         A requestor may file suit in Circuit Court for injunctive or declaratory relief where a denial is affirmed by the Director.

 

Section 901.80  Fee Schedule for Duplication of Public Records

 

a)         Copies of public records shall be provided to the requester only upon payment of any charges which are due.

 

b)         These charges for copies of public records shall be assessed as follows:

 

Type of Duplication	Per Copy Charge
Paper Copy from Paper Original	$  .50
Paper Copy from Microfilm Original	$  .75

 

c)         Some records possessed by the Department are in other form than those above – book, computer printout or pamphlet form.  A charge may be assessed for these materials based upon the cost of such incurred by the Department.

 

d)         Charges may be waived as follows:

 

1)         When the requestor is a State Agency;

 

2)         When the requestor is a Constitutional Officer;

 

3)         When the requestor is a member of the General Assembly; or

 

4)         When the Freedom of Information Officer determines that a waiver serves public interest.

 

Section 901.90  Inspection of Records at Department Offices

 

a)         Public records will generally be made available for inspection during normal working hours of the Department at the Office of the Freedom of Information Officer.  For purposes of convenience, either the Department or the requestor may request that inspection take place in another Department location.

 

b)         Public Records which the requestor wishes to have copies shall be segregated during the course of inspection.

 

1)         An employee of the Department shall be present throughout the inspection.

 

2)         During course of inspection, a requestor may be prohibited from bringing bags, brief cases or other containers into the inspection area.

 

c)         All copying of public records will generally be done by Department employees.

 

Section 901.100  General Materials Available From the Freedom of Information Officer

 

The Freedom of Information Officer shall prominently display and make available, at both the Department's Springfield and Chicago locations, to the public at no charge the following:

 

a)         A brief description of the Department's Structure, Purpose, and Budget.

 

b)         A brief description of the means for requesting information and public records.

 

c)         A list of types and categories of public records maintained by the Department.

 

d)         A list of identification and members of any Board, Commission or Council which operates in an advisory capacity to the Department.

Section 901.APPENDIX A   Freedom of Information Request Form

 

 

Name of Agency

City

INSTRUCTIONS:   Requestor should fill out the request portion (the top half) and sign the Requestor's Signature block. Send copies 1 and 2 to the Agency.  Keep the 3rd copy for references. Send no money at this time. Unless notified otherwise the Agency's response for APPROVED, DENIED or DEFERRED will be sent back within 7 working days after receipt of the form.

Address

Requestor's Name (or business name if applicable)

Date of Request

Phone Number

Street Address

CERTIFICATION REQUESTED      YES      NO

Requestor's Signature

City

State

Zip

DESCRIPTION OF RECORDS REQUESTED:

REQUESTING COPIES

TO INSPECT RECORDS

AGENCY RESPONSE (REQUESTOR DOES NOT FILL IN BELOW THIS LINE)

APPROVED

The documents requested are enclosed.

The documents will be made available upon payment of copying costs ............................................... $_____________

You may inspect the record at ___________________________________________________________________________

on the date of ______________________.

DENIED

The request creates an undue burden on the public body in accordance with Section 3(f) of the Freedom of Information Act, and we are unable to negotiate a more reasonable request.

The materials requested are exempt under Section 7____ of the Freedom of Information Act for the following reasons:

INDIVIDUAL(S) THAT DETERMINED REQUEST TO BE DENIED

RIGHT TO APPEAL

If desired, submit the attached APPEAL form (No. 2) along with copies of the original REQUEST and reasons for appeal to:

DEFERRED

Request delayed, for the following reasons (in accordance with 3(d) of the DOIA):       You will be notified by the date of ___________________________ as to action taken on your request.

The information required by this form is MANDATORY in order to comply with P.A. 83-1013.  Failure to so provide may result in this form not being processed. This form is approved by the Form Management Center.

FOIA Officer

Date of Reply

 

IL-001 – 0005  (6/84)

LEGEND FOR REQUESTOR: 1st copy (white) – send to Agency; 2nd copy (yellow) – send to Agency; 3rd copy (pink) – Requestor's copy

Section 901.APPENDIX B   Freedom of Information Appeal Form

 

						Date Appeal Received in State Agency
INSTRUCTIONS:
Requestor should fill out Sections – DESCRIPTION OF RECORDS, and REASONS FOR APPEALING. Send copies 1 and 2 to the Director of the Agency which original request was sent to. (The block for the Agency's name and address is aligned for window envelopes. Please use if appropriate.) Unless notified otherwise the Agency's response will be within 7 working days after receipt of appeal.
Requestor's Name (Or business name if applicable)				Send Appeal To:  (Director and Agency)
Street Address				Street Address
City		State	Zip	City	State		Zip
DESCRIPTION OF RECORDS THAT APPEAL IS BEING MADE FOR:
REASONS FOR APPEALING
DIRECTOR'S RESPONSE TO APPEAL
Noted below is the action I have taken on your appeal from the denial of your request for the above captioned records.
	I hereby approve your appeal to the following extent and for the following reasons:
	I affirm the denial of your request made by the Freedom of Information Officer.
Note: You are entitled to judicial review of any denial pursuant to Section 11 of the Freedom of Information Act.
The information required by this form is MANDATORY in order to comply with P.A. 83-1013. Failure to so provide may result in this form not being processed. This form is approved by the Forms Management Center.				Director's Signature				Date of Reply

 

IL001-0006 (6/84)

LEGEND FOR REQUESTOR: 1st copy (white) – send to Agency; 2nd copy (Yellow) – send to Agency; 3rd copy (pink) – Requestor's copy