Section 532.120  Confidentiality of Documents and Record Retention Requirements

a)         Any documentary materials or data made available or received from an applicant by any agent or employee of the Department are confidential and are not public records to the extent that the materials or data consist of commercial or financial information regarding the operation of or the production of the applicant or recipient of any tax credit award under the Act. [35 ILCS 17/10-55] The Department will not permit public inspection or copying of any material that is or would be confidential under State law, specifically including the exemptions set forth in the Freedom of Information Act [5 ILCS 140]. 

b)         In accordance with the Act, an applicant is required at all times keep proper books and records of accounts relating to the tax credit award, in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles consistently applied, and make, upon reasonable written request by the Department, those books and records available for reasonable Department inspection and audit during the applicant's normal business hours. Any documents or data made available to or received from the applicant by any agent, employee, officer, or service provider to the Department shall be deemed confidential and shall not constitute public records to the extent that the documents or data consist of commercial or financial information regarding the operation by the applicant of any theater or any accredited theater production, or any recipient of any tax credit award under the Act. [35 ILCS 17/10-15(5)]

c)         If an applicant submits information it considers to be of a confidential nature as part of its application or request for a tax credit award, that information shall be marked or labeled "CONFIDENTIAL". The applicant shall also submit a statement briefly setting forth the grounds on which that information should be treated as confidential.  The Department, based on the proprietary nature of the material and privacy of the applicant's confidential information, shall not disclose those materials to the public.