FOIA section 3(c)

FOIA

5 ILCS 140/3(c). Section 3 overview: The Act's workhorse section: public bodies must make records available on request; requests can be submitted in writing by mail, personal delivery, fax, or other means the body accepts; and -- critically -- a body generally has 5 business days to comply or deny (extendable by 5 more business days in specific circumstances). This is the section most PAC disputes about late or incomplete responses turn on.

3 issues across 3 determination letters:2 violation found · 1 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 Determination letters are not binding precedent.

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-c.json.

TOPIC: 5 ILCS 140/3(c)
SOURCE: Illinois Attorney General Public Access Bureau decisions compiled at https://illinoisfoia.org/issues/foia-3-c/
NOTE: Determination letters are not binding precedent; they show how the Bureau applies the law.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.

VIOLATION FOUND (2):
- Requiring a form to obtain video recordings
  Rule: A public body may not require that a FOIA request be submitted on a standard form.
  Decision: Police dashcam and body-camera footage of a traffic stop (non-binding determination letter, May 6, 2024) https://illinoisfoia.org/opinions/letter-76612/
- Whether Patton's email was a valid FOIA request
  Rule: A FOIA request may be submitted by any means available to the public body, including email to the FOIA officer, and no standard form may be required.
  Decision: Park district officials' communications about district business (non-binding determination letter, January 16, 2020) https://illinoisfoia.org/opinions/letter-59166/

NO DETERMINATION / RESOLVED (1):
- FOIA request sent to personal email not directed to public body
  Rule: A FOIA request must be directed to the public body; sending it to an official's personal email address does not constitute proper delivery unless that address is used for public business.
  Decision: A FOIA request sent to a township clerk's personal email (non-binding determination letter, November 17, 2017) https://illinoisfoia.org/opinions/letter-50407/



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.

Violation found (2)

Requiring a form to obtain video recordings
Rule: A public body may not require that a FOIA request be submitted on a standard form.
Violation found Police dashcam and body-camera footage of a traffic stop · May 6, 2024
Whether Patton's email was a valid FOIA request
Rule: A FOIA request may be submitted by any means available to the public body, including email to the FOIA officer, and no standard form may be required.
Violation found Park district officials' communications about district business · January 16, 2020

No determination / resolved (1)

FOIA request sent to personal email not directed to public body
Rule: A FOIA request must be directed to the public body; sending it to an official's personal email address does not constitute proper delivery unless that address is used for public business.
No determination / resolved A FOIA request sent to a township clerk's personal email · November 17, 2017