https://illinoisfoia.org/public-bodies/illinois-state-police/ 2025-09-08T00:00:00Z https://illinoisfoia.org/opinions/letter-84839/ 2025-09-08T00:00:00Z

The question was whether the Illinois State Police (ISP) properly withheld records responsive to a 2024 FOIA request for police reports, witness statements, and communications concerning a 1969 death at a state mental health facility, based on the FOIA exemption at 5 ILCS 140/7(1)(a) for information made confidential by the Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities Confidentiality Act (MHDDCA), 740 ILCS 110/3(a). The Public Access Bureau held that ISP improperly withheld the documents in thei

https://illinoisfoia.org/opinions/letter-85584/ 2025-03-27T00:00:00Z

A law firm requested an unredacted police crash report to help them serve legal papers to a driver involved in an accident. The Illinois State Police provided the report but redacted private details like the driver's home address and license number. The Attorney General's office agreed with the police, stating these redactions are allowed by law, and suggested the firm use a subpoena to obtain the full information.

https://illinoisfoia.org/opinions/letter-84561/ 2025-01-27T00:00:00Z

A citizen asked the Illinois State Police for records related to license plate tracking and surveillance data. The police department stated they could not find any records, and the Attorney General's office agreed that the police performed a proper search and that any records they might have are legally protected from public release. This means the request was denied and the case is now closed.

https://illinoisfoia.org/opinions/letter-83830/ 2025-01-24T00:00:00Z

A law firm requested a specific police report from the Illinois State Police, but the agency refused to provide it, claiming the request was too burdensome to fulfill. The Public Access Counselor reviewed the case and found that the police did not provide enough proof to justify that claim. Consequently, the agency must now process the request.

https://illinoisfoia.org/opinions/letter-83280/ 2024-10-09T00:00:00Z

A requester asked the Illinois State Police for data showing when and where their vehicle was tracked by automated license plate readers. The police denied the request, citing a state law that keeps this data confidential. The Attorney General's office agreed with the police, confirming that the law does not allow individuals to obtain this specific tracking data, even for their own vehicles.

https://illinoisfoia.org/opinions/letter-81194/ 2024-09-23T00:00:00Z

A requester asked the Illinois State Police for jail surveillance videos following a death in custody. The police provided some footage but withheld other parts, arguing that releasing them would compromise jail security. The Attorney General's office agreed with the police, concluding that the withheld videos could reveal security vulnerabilities like blind spots.

https://illinoisfoia.org/opinions/letter-78862/ 2024-05-13T00:00:00Z

A journalist requested state-wide data on Firearm Owner's Identification (FOID) card holders broken down by location and year. The Illinois State Police denied the request, arguing that state law specifically prohibits the release of this information. The Attorney General's office agreed with the police, finding that the law exempts this specific data from public disclosure.

https://illinoisfoia.org/opinions/letter-76612/ 2024-05-06T00:00:00Z

A citizen requested squad camera and body worn camera footage of a traffic stop from the Illinois State Police. The police placed the request on a waitlist, required the requester to fill out a form, and assessed fees to provide the footage. The Public Access Bureau of the Illinois Attorney General's office concluded that the police improperly required the form and fees, and that FOIA does not permit charging fees for the video recordings.

https://illinoisfoia.org/opinions/letter-80912/ 2024-05-02T00:00:00Z

A citizen requested their own FOID card records from the Illinois State Police, but the agency denied the request citing a privacy exemption. The Attorney General's office closed the case, finding no further action warranted because the exemption does not allow individuals to obtain their own FOID information through FOIA. The office noted that FOID cardholders may obtain their FOID card applications and revocation letters through the Firearms Services Bureau, and that ISP's response included in

https://illinoisfoia.org/opinions/letter-77159/ 2023-10-05T00:00:00Z

A requester sought a written forensic-interview report and video from the State Police. The PAC found that the written investigative records had been provided and that the video was exempt under section 7.5(tt), but held that the agency violated FOIA by leaving the video request on an indefinite waitlist instead of promptly granting, denying, or properly extending the response. The agency was reminded that sections 3(d) and 3(e) require timely action.

https://illinoisfoia.org/opinions/letter-73240/ 2023-04-20T00:00:00Z

A reporter asked the Illinois State Police for specific details about firearms restraining orders. The police denied the request, explaining that this information is stored in a restricted law enforcement database that they are legally prohibited from sharing with the public. The Attorney General's office agreed with the police, finding that the law does not allow the release of this specific data.

https://illinoisfoia.org/opinions/letter-57749/ 2019-04-29T00:00:00Z

A requester asked the Illinois State Police for detailed records of traffic stops in Boone County, including information that could identify drivers and officers. The Attorney General's office found that state law specifically prohibits the release of this identifying information. Therefore, the police were correct to deny the request, and the case is closed.

https://illinoisfoia.org/opinions/letter-52348/ 2018-06-27T00:00:00Z

A citizen requested records from the Illinois State Police about an investigation into local police officers. The State Police refused to release any of the documents, claiming it would prevent a fair trial. The Attorney General's office disagreed, ruling that the agency must release the records while redacting sensitive private information.

https://illinoisfoia.org/opinions/letter-31244/ 2018-02-21T00:00:00Z

A citizen requested video records from the Illinois State Police and was charged $20 for a DVD copy. The Attorney General's office ruled that the police department improperly assessed the fee because it failed to respond to the request within the required time limits under FOIA. Alternatively, even if the response had been timely, the fee was set by an administrative rule, not by a statute, and therefore could not be charged under FOIA. The PAC requested that the police department reimburse the

https://illinoisfoia.org/opinions/2017-pac-45894/ 2017-03-14T00:00:00Z

The requester sought a copy of a specific field report, and the state police agency withheld it in full, asserting that disclosure would interfere with a pending or contemplated law-enforcement proceeding. The Public Access Counselor held that a bare assertion that an investigation remains open, without any factual explanation of how disclosure would interfere with a proceeding, does not meet the agency's burden under that exemption. The state police agency was directed to disclose the field rep

https://illinoisfoia.org/opinions/2015-pac-38303/ 2016-02-10T00:00:00Z

The requester, the father and estate executor of a woman who had died, sought crime-scene and autopsy photographs related to her death, and a state police agency withheld the photographs entirely, citing prior guidance that such graphic images may be withheld to protect surviving family members' privacy. The Public Access Counselor held that this privacy exemption exists specifically to protect the interests of surviving family members against disclosure to outsiders, and does not apply when the

https://illinoisfoia.org/opinions/2013-pac-24905/ 2013-09-24T00:00:00Z

The requester sought monthly Uniform Crime Report statistics that a city's police department had submitted to a state police agency for 2012 and 2013. The state police agency withheld the records entirely, arguing they were "preliminary" because the underlying numbers had not yet been verified and could later be revised, and that this made them exempt as deliberative material under the FOIA exemption for preliminary drafts, notes, and records in which opinions are expressed or policies are formu

https://illinoisfoia.org/opinions/2012-pac-19602/ 2012-08-14T00:00:00Z

The requester, a journalist, sought investigative records concerning the police shooting of a minor, which a state agency withheld in full, primarily citing juvenile-confidentiality provisions of the Juvenile Court Act. The Public Access Counselor held that those provisions apply only to arrested or court-involved juveniles, not to a minor who died during the encounter and was never taken into custody, and found the agency's broader privacy objections unsupported, though it allowed redaction of