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Illinois FOIA & OMA Reference

FOIA section 2(a)

FOIA

5 ILCS 140/2(a). Section 2 overview: Defines the Act's key terms: what counts as a “public body” (state agencies, counties, cities, school districts, and their subcommittees), who counts as a “requester,” what a “public record” is, what makes a request a “commercial purpose” or “recurrent” request (which get different response rules), and other terms used throughout the Act.

6 issues across 5 determination letters:1 violation found · 3 no violation · 2 no determination / resolved.

Counts are per issue, not per letter, and come from automated extraction checked against sampled letters. Determination letters are not binding precedent.

How to challenge a denial on this issue

AI-generated summary of the decisions listed on this page, with each point linked to the letters it comes from. Determination letters are not binding precedent and this is not legal advice. Open the letter and check the PDF before relying on any point.

When a challenge is strong

  • The entity was created by a specific Illinois statute and is placed under the authority of a city council. In D931.1, the Public Access Bureau found the Legislative Reference Bureau to be a public body because it was statutorily created, making it a subsidiary of the City Council.Based on: n.d. · A legislative reference bureau's …
  • The entity is controlled by an officer of the city council, such as the President Pro Tempore, and performs legislative functions for the council. The Bureau ruled that the Legislative Reference Bureau's placement under the control of a council officer and its legislative role meant it was a public body subject to FOIA.Based on: n.d. · A legislative reference bureau's …

When the public body usually wins

  • The records are held by a Circuit Clerk's Office, which is an agent of the judiciary. Illinois FOIA does not apply to the judiciary or its agents, so juror records and other documents held by circuit clerks are not subject to FOIA (D1129.1, D1493.1).Based on: n.d. · Juror names and addresses from a … · 2023 · A county technology department's …
  • The records belong to the judiciary but are physically stored on a county IT department's servers. The Bureau determined that such records still pertain to the business of the judiciary and remain outside FOIA's reach, regardless of custodial arrangement (D1493.2).Based on: 2023 · A county technology department's …
  • The request is directed to a private not-for-profit corporation. A private not-for-profit is not a public body under FOIA, and a statement in its tax form about public availability of records does not change that status (D1126.1).Based on: n.d. · Records from a private non-profit…
  • The entity is a federal department or agency. Illinois FOIA's definition of 'public body' is limited to State and local Illinois governmental entities; federal agencies are not subject to the Act (D1064.1).Based on: n.d. · A federal agency's response to an…

Points to put in your letter

  • Argue that the entity is a subsidiary of a city council — point to D931.1, where the Bureau found a statutorily created body, controlled by the council president, to be a public body.Based on: n.d. · A legislative reference bureau's …
  • If the entity performs legislative tasks for a city council, emphasize that the Legislative Reference Bureau’s legislative function was key to the Bureau’s conclusion that it is a public body (D931.1).Based on: n.d. · A legislative reference bureau's …
  • Distinguish your entity from a private not-for-profit by showing it is not a private corporation but a governmental unit — merely receiving public funds or noting records in a tax form is not enough, per D1126.1.Based on: n.d. · Records from a private non-profit…

Common mistakes

  • Believing a private not-for-profit corporation is a public body because its IRS Form 990 states records are publicly available. D1126.1 held such a statement irrelevant.Based on: n.d. · Records from a private non-profit…
  • Assuming that a federal agency must respond to an Illinois FOIA request — D1064.1 made clear only Illinois state and local entities fall under FOIA.Based on: n.d. · A federal agency's response to an…
  • Thinking records stored on a county’s IT system lose their judicial character and become FOIA-accessible. The Bureau in D1493.2 rejected this, focusing on the nature of the records’ business.Based on: 2023 · A county technology department's …

Facts to gather first

  • The specific statute that created the entity and placed it under a city council’s authority.
  • Evidence of control by a city council officer (e.g., appointment of director by the President Pro Tempore).
  • Documentation of the entity’s legislative functions (drafting bills, providing legal counsel to council members).

Determination letters are non-binding; the data here contains only one instance where the entity was found to be a public body (D931.1), so challenge strength in other scenarios remains uncertain—always verify the full PDF and consider that facts matter heavily.

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-2-a.json.

Violation found (1)

No violation (3)

No determination / resolved (2)