7(1)(kk)
FOIAPublic body's own financial account/security credentials
Public body's own financial account/security credentials
Read the full statute text on /statutes →
Jump to the 3 issues decided under this provision, with a drafting brief ↓
2 upheld (no violation found) · 0 rejected (violation found) · 1 partial violation, out of 3 documents.
Not legal advice, and not a per-exemption ruling — this reflects each document's overall disposition. See the FAQ disclaimer.
How the Public Access Counselor has treated 7(1)(kk)
Section 7(1)(kk) of FOIA exempts certain personal account information from disclosure. In the decisions reviewed, public bodies cited this section when responding to requests for financial records and for information about which employees were allowed to work from home during the COVID-19 pandemic. One request sought credit card statements and a list of bills from a school district, with credit card account numbers redacted.
The PAC concluded that redaction of credit card account numbers was proper under section 7(1)(kk). It found that a village followed the law for most of the work-from-home request but improperly withheld records responsive to one part. A separate matter concerning internal emails and notes about a property development project was analyzed under the deliberative process exemption in section 7(1)(f), rather than this section.
At a glance: 3 documents(0 binding opinions, 3 determination letters). Most often cited alongside: 7(1)(b) (Private information) (1); 7(1)(c) (Personal privacy) (1); 7(1)(f) (Preliminary drafts, notes, and deliberative materials) (1).
Recurring issues
- Whether records about which employees were allowed to work from home could be withheld under section 7(1)(kk). (Employee work-from-home policies and remote-work approval lists)
- Whether credit card account numbers in statements and bill lists could be redacted under section 7(1)(kk). (A school district's credit card statements and bill list)
- Whether the method of redaction, including ink color, affects whether a section 7(1)(kk) redaction was proper. (A school district's credit card statements and bill list)
- Whether internal emails and notes about a property development project were evaluated under the deliberative process exemption rather than section 7(1)(kk). (Internal communications on a property development project)
Practical points
- Limit section 7(1)(kk) redactions to covered account numbers and release remaining information when a supplemental response can correct over-redactions.
- Apply section 7(1)(kk) part by part in a multi-part request, because withholding was found improper for one part even when the rest of the response complied.
- When disputing redactions, identify the specific entries at issue, such as employee names or ticket details, apart from properly redacted account numbers.
Summary drafted from the linked decisions and checked against them; read the decisions themselves before relying on it. Not legal advice.
All 3 documents citing 7(1)(kk)
- Employee work-from-home policies and remote-work approval listsDetermination letter · Partial violation
Partial violation found
- A school district's credit card statements and bill listDetermination letter · No violation
No violation found
- Internal communications on a property development projectDetermination letter · No violation
No violation found
Issues decided under 7(1)(kk)
Individual questions the Public Access Bureau decided under this provision, with the rule it applied, grouped by outcome. Extracted automatically from the letters; check each source letter.
3 issues across 3 determination letters:2 violation found · 1 no violation.
Counts are per issue, not per letter, and come from automated extraction checked against sampled letters. Determination letters are not binding precedent.
Authorities the Bureau cites most on this issue
- Southern Illinoisan v. Illinois Department of Public Health, 218 Ill. 2d 390, 844 N.E.2d 1 (2006) cited 2 times
- Personnel records of police, fire, and water department employees (PAC Req. Rev. Ltr. 64908) cited 1 times
Drafting brief for an AI assistant
Copy this into your assistant to help draft a request, appeal, or challenge to a denial that turns on this issue. It carries the rules and decisions, not your facts: add those yourself. Machine-readable version: foia-7-1-kk.json.
Violation found (2)
Withholding names, badge numbers, ranks, hiring dates, salaries under 7(1)(kk)
Rule: Section 7(1)(kk) exempts account-related information, not basic identifying information or salary data subject to disclosure under section 2.5.
Violation found Personnel records of police, fire, and water department employees · January 28, 2021
Part five withheld under section 7(1)(kk)
Rule: Section 7(1)(kk) covers account information that could be exploited to gain unauthorized access, not basic identifying information such as an employee list.
Violation found Employee work-from-home policies and remote-work approval lists · September 14, 2021
No violation (1)
Redaction of District credit card account number
Rule: A public body's credit card account number is exempt from disclosure under section 7(1)(kk) because disclosure could result in identity theft or fraud.
No violation A school district's credit card statements and bill list · September 19, 2023