Procedures for Requesting Records from the Agency

Section 2100.110  Procedures for Requesting Records from the Agency a)         Submittal of Requests for Records 1)         Any request for public records should be submitted in writing to the FOI Officer at the Agency. 2)         The Agency has one FOI Officers, located in the Springfield Office. 3)         Contact information for State FOI Officers can be found online at www2.illinois.gov/Pages/FOIA-Contacts.aspx. 4)         FOIA requests may be submitted via mail, e-mail, fax, or hand delivery.  Requests should be mailed or hand delivered to: Law Enforcement Training and Standards Board 4500 South Sixth Street Road, Room 173 Springfield, Illinois 62703 Attn:  FOI Officer 5)         E-mailed requests should be sent to ptb.foia.illinois.gov, contain the request in the body of the e-mail, and indicate in the subject line of the e-mail that it contains a FOIA request. Faxed FOIA requests should be faxed to 217/524-5350, Attn:  FOI Officer. b)         Information to be Provided in Requests for Records.  A request for records should include: 1)         The complete name, mailing address and telephone number of the requester; 2)         As specific a description as possible of the records sought. Requests that the Agency considers unduly burdensome or categorical may be denied. (See Section 3(g) of FOIA and Section 2100.115(b).); 3)         A statement as to the requested medium and format for the Agency to use in providing the records sought: for example, paper, specific types of digital or magnetic media, or videotape; 4)         A statement as to the requested manner for the Agency to use in providing the records sought:  for example, inspection at Agency headquarters or providing paper or electronic copies; 5)         A statement as to whether the requester needs certified copies of all or any portion of the records, including reference to the specific documents that require certification; and 6)         A statement as to whether the request is for a commercial purpose. c)         Requests for Records for Commercial Purposes 1) It is a violation of FOIA for a person to knowingly obtain a record for a commercial purpose without disclosing that it is for a commercial purpose if requested to do so by the Agency. (Section 3.1(c) of FOIA) 2) The Agency shall respond to a request for records to be used for a commercial purpose within 21 working days after receipt. The response shall: A) Provide to the requester an estimate of the time required by the Agency to provide the records requested and an estimate of the fees to be charged, which the Agency may require the person to pay in full before copying the requested documents; B) Deny the request pursuant to one or more of the exemptions set out in Section 2100.105(b); C) Notify the requester that the request is unduly burdensome and extend an opportunity to the requester to attempt to reduce the request to manageable proportions; or D) Provide the records requested. (Section 3.1(a) of FOIA) c) Unless the records are exempt from disclosure, the Agency shall comply with a request within a reasonable period considering the size and complexity of the request, and giving priority to records requested for non-commercial purposes. (Section 3.1(b) of FOIA) d)         Records Maintained Online 1) Notwithstanding any provision of FOIA to the contrary, a public body is not required to copy a public record that is published on the public body's website. The public body shall notify the requester that the public record is available online and direct the requester to the website where the record can be reasonably accessed. 2) If the person requesting the public record is unable to reasonably access the record online after being directed to the website pursuant to subsection (a), the requester may resubmit his or her request for the record stating his or her inability to reasonably access the record online, and the public body shall make the requested record available for inspection or copying as provided in Section 3 of FOIA. (Section 8.5 of FOIA)