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STATEMENT OF POLICY
OF THE ILLINOIS ATTORNEY GENERAL RELATING
TO FURNISHING WRITTEN OPINIONS
Adopted March 29, 1962
The Attorney General of the State of Illinois makes the following statement of policy relating to the constitutional and statutory duty to give written opinions.
A. Persons to Whom Opinions Will Be Issued
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The Attorney General will furnish written opinions as required by law to the Governor and other elected and appointed State officers upon legal or constitutional questions relating to the duties of those officers, respectively.
The Attorney General will furnish written opinions to the officers of either branch of the General Assembly and chairpersons and minority spokespersons of committees thereof on matters that relate to their duties as such.
The Attorney General will consult with and advise the several State's Attorneys in matters relating to the duties of their offices and will furnish written opinions to State's Attorneys in matters relating to their official duties, when appropriate.
The Attorney General is not authorized to furnish written opinions to the officers of, or attorneys for, public corporations, municipal corporations, townships or other political subdivisions of the State, in the absence of specific statutory authority providing therefor.
The Attorney General is not authorized to furnish opinions to private persons or entities.
B. Form in Which Opinion Requests Should Be Made
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Requests must be in the form of a letter and addressed to the Attorney General, attention Opinions Bureau, 500 South Second Street, Springfield, Illinois 62706.
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2. All requests must contain a clear, concise question of law and a complete statement of the facts describing the situation out of which the legal issue arises. The Attorney General will not seek out the facts or infer the question from enclosed correspondence. All requests should name a person whom the staff of the Attorney General may contact to discuss the request.
Requests made by executive officers, by chairpersons, directors, heads or executive secretaries of boards, commissions, departments and agencies of the State, by officers of the General Assembly and its committees and commissions and by State's Attorneys must be signed or endorsed by such officers.
Requests from officers under the jurisdiction of the Governor must also be forwarded through his office, in accordance with his policy.
C. Situations in Which No Opinion Will Be Issued
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The Attorney General will not furnish opinions regarding the exercise of executive judgment or discretion, nor on questions of fact.
The Attorney General will not furnish opinions on questions scheduled for determination by the courts.
No opinion should be requested unless a bona fide need exists by the party requesting it with respect to the performance of his or her official duties.
For a particularly difficult and important question of law, officials should resort to a declaratory judgment action whenever practicable, and the Attorney General may recommend this or other courses of action that may be more appropriate than the issuance of an opinion.
D. Miscellaneous Provisions
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Officers requesting opinions and interested private parties or other governmental agencies may submit memoranda of law and policy and other statements and material for the consideration by the Attorney General. Such material should be submitted to the attention of the Opinions Bureau in the Springfield office of the Attorney General.
All official opinions of the Attorney General are signed by the Attorney General. Informal opinions and other letters signed by Assistant Attorneys General are not official opinions.
All opinions are on file in the Attorney General's office in Springfield.
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4. These guidelines do not apply to the furnishing of interpretive opinions by the Attorney General as administrator of the Franchise Disclosure Act of 1987 (815 ILCS 705/1 et seq.).
5. These guidelines do not apply to the furnishing of advisory or binding opinions by the Attorney General or the Public Access Counselor pursuant to the Open Meetings Act (5 ILCS 120/1 et seq.) or the Freedom of Information Act (5 ILCS 140/1 et seq.).
6. In order for the Attorney General to act in the best interests of the public and the State, all guidelines are subject to exception where special circumstances can be shown to warrant an exception.
Please note that it is very helpful for the Attorney General to be apprised of all background information relating to an opinion request. Further, any information relating to the practical effect of any particular resolution of a question posed should be included with a request for an opinion.