FOIA section 3.5(a)

FOIA

5 ILCS 140/3.5(a). Section 3.5 overview: Every public body must designate a FOIA officer whose job is to log incoming requests, track response deadlines, and issue the actual responses. This is the person/role a PAC complaint often turns on (“did the FOIA officer follow the required steps”).

1 issue across 1 determination letter: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 Determination letters are not binding precedent.

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-3-5-a.json.

TOPIC: 5 ILCS 140/3.5(a)
SOURCE: Illinois Attorney General Public Access Bureau decisions compiled at https://illinoisfoia.org/issues/foia-3-5-a/
NOTE: Determination letters are not binding precedent; they show how the Bureau applies the law.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 (1):
- Village responding instead of Police Department
  Rule: FOIA permits a public body's FOIA officer or designee to respond, and a municipality may respond on behalf of its police department.
  Decision: Body-camera footage of a police officer on a specific date (non-binding determination letter, January 6, 2025) https://illinoisfoia.org/opinions/letter-84528/



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 (1)

Village responding instead of Police Department
Rule: FOIA permits a public body's FOIA officer or designee to respond, and a municipality may respond on behalf of its police department.
No violation Body-camera footage of a police officer on a specific date · January 6, 2025