FOIA section 6(f)

FOIA

5 ILCS 140/6(f). Section 6 overview: Governs fees: electronic copies in the format requested if feasible; for a normal (non-commercial, non-voluminous) request, no charge for staff time spent searching for or reviewing records -- only actual reproduction costs, and even those are typically free for the first 50 pages of black-and-white copies.

1 issue across 1 determination letter:1 violation found.

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 Determination letters are not binding precedent.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-6-f.json.

TOPIC: 5 ILCS 140/6(f)
SOURCE: Illinois Attorney General Public Access Bureau decisions compiled at https://illinoisfoia.org/issues/foia-6-f/
NOTE: Determination letters are not binding precedent; they show how the Bureau applies the law.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 (1):
- Fee for personnel time on commercial request
  Rule: No fees shall be charged for the first 8 hours spent by personnel searching for or retrieving a requested record.
  Decision: A fire department's fee for search and retrieval of a fire report (non-binding determination letter, October 26, 2018) https://illinoisfoia.org/opinions/letter-26621/



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 (1)

Fee for personnel time on commercial request
Rule: No fees shall be charged for the first 8 hours spent by personnel searching for or retrieving a requested record.
Violation found A fire department's fee for search and retrieval of a fire report · October 26, 2018