FOIA section 3.6

FOIA

5 ILCS 140/3.6. Section 3.6 overview: A public body can slow down and negotiate scope on a genuinely “voluminous” request (defined by size/complexity thresholds elsewhere in the Act) instead of just denying it outright -- it must notify the requester within 5 business days and give them a chance to narrow the request.

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 Determination letters are not binding precedent.

Authorities the Bureau cites most on this issue

Sargent Shriver National Center on Poverty Law, Inc. v. Board of Education of City of Chicago, 2018 IL App (1st) 171846 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-3-6.json.

TOPIC: 5 ILCS 140/3.6
SOURCE: Illinois Attorney General Public Access Bureau decisions compiled at https://illinoisfoia.org/issues/foia-3-6/
NOTE: Determination letters are not binding precedent; they show how the Bureau applies the law.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):
- Unduly burdensome denial
  Rule: Cumulative burden of 32 requests outweighs public interest when requests are not targeted to the specific topic.
  Decision: Emails between a school board president and superintendent (non-binding determination letter, September 19, 2025) https://illinoisfoia.org/opinions/letter-81283/

MOST-CITED AUTHORITIES: Sargent Shriver National Center on Poverty Law, Inc. v. Board of Education of City of Chicago, 2018 IL App (1st) 171846

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)

Unduly burdensome denial
Rule: Cumulative burden of 32 requests outweighs public interest when requests are not targeted to the specific topic.
No violation Emails between a school board president and superintendent · September 19, 2025