FOIA section 1

FOIA

5 ILCS 140/1. Section 1 overview: States the law's purpose: government records belong to the public by default, so people can see what officials are doing and hold them accountable. This is the policy lens courts and the PAC use to interpret every other section -- when in doubt, the Act favors disclosure.

2 issues across 2 determination letters:2 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 Determination letters are not binding precedent.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

Hites v. Waubonsee Community College, 2016 IL App (2d) 150836 cited 2 times
Chicago Tribune Co. v. Department of Financial and Professional Regulation, 2014 IL App (4th) 130427 cited 2 times
Kenyon v. Garrels, 184 Ill. App. 3d 28 (4th Dist. 1989) cited 2 times
Martinez v. Cook County State's Attorney's Office, 2018 IL App (1st) 163153 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-1.json.

TOPIC: 5 ILCS 140/1
SOURCE: Illinois Attorney General Public Access Bureau decisions compiled at https://illinoisfoia.org/issues/foia-1/
NOTE: Determination letters are not binding precedent; they show how the Bureau applies the law. Verify every decision against the source PDF before citing it.

NO VIOLATION (2):
- Request for compiled mean and median survey data
  Rule: FOIA does not require a public body to create new records or compile data it does not ordinarily keep.
  Decision: Aggregated student survey data by instructor and course (non-binding determination letter, May 7, 2024) https://illinoisfoia.org/opinions/letter-78934/
- Compilation of data from multiple databases
  Rule: FOIA does not require a public body to compile data or create new records not maintained in the normal course of business.
  Decision: Selective enrollment test data and phone call logs (non-binding determination letter, November 18, 2020) https://illinoisfoia.org/opinions/letter-61967/

MOST-CITED AUTHORITIES: Hites v. Waubonsee Community College, 2016 IL App (2d) 150836; Chicago Tribune Co. v. Department of Financial and Professional Regulation, 2014 IL App (4th) 130427; Kenyon v. Garrels, 184 Ill. App. 3d 28 (4th Dist. 1989); Martinez v. Cook County State's Attorney's Office, 2018 IL App (1st) 163153

TASK FOR THE ASSISTANT: Using only the decisions above, help draft a letter. Argue from the rule and cite the decision by name and date. Do not invent decisions.

No violation (2)

Request for compiled mean and median survey data
Rule: FOIA does not require a public body to create new records or compile data it does not ordinarily keep.
No violation Aggregated student survey data by instructor and course · May 7, 2024
Compilation of data from multiple databases
Rule: FOIA does not require a public body to compile data or create new records not maintained in the normal course of business.
No violation Selective enrollment test data and phone call logs · November 18, 2020