https://illinoisfoia.org/public-bodies/metropolitan-water-reclamation-district-of-greater-chicago/ 2023-09-27T00:00:00Z https://illinoisfoia.org/opinions/letter-77360/ 2023-09-27T00:00:00Z

This determination addresses whether a public body properly withheld precise location data for Combined Sewer Outfall (CSO) points under section 7(1)(x) of FOIA, which exempts maps and records regarding the location of utility-owned transmission, storage, or treatment facilities. The Public Access Bureau concluded that the public body did not violate FOIA by denying requests for a GIS shapefile and CSV file containing exact CSO point locations, even though a less precise map of the same points w

https://illinoisfoia.org/opinions/letter-58120/ 2022-02-01T00:00:00Z

A requester asked for documents related to a specific freight site that had received violations. The District denied the request, claiming the records were part of an ongoing investigation. The Attorney General's office found that while the District was mostly correct to withhold the records, they should have released some non-sensitive information.

https://illinoisfoia.org/opinions/2018-pac-55153/ 2018-12-31T00:00:00Z

The requester, a reporter, sought records of two misconduct complaints against a named former police officer from a water reclamation district, which first withheld the complaints as related to unresolved employee discipline and then, after acknowledging both complaints had been investigated and found unfounded, argued the records were exempt as an invasion of personal privacy. The Public Access Counselor held that records of misconduct complaints against a police officer bear on the officer's p

https://illinoisfoia.org/opinions/letter-17798/ 2018-09-21T00:00:00Z

The requester's employer submitted a FOIA request that the public body treated as coming from a "recurrent requester," counting requests submitted before the recurrent-requester provision took effect. The PAC determined that applying the recurrent-requester classification retroactively was improper because it imposed new legal consequences on requests made before the amendment's effective date. Because the public body had already disclosed the requested records, no further action was required.

https://illinoisfoia.org/opinions/letter-43086/ 2017-07-06T00:00:00Z

Mr. Archey requested a copy of a proposed 'offtake' agreement between the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago and BP. The District refused to provide it, claiming it was exempt from disclosure under section 7(1)(h) of FOIA because it was a proposal and no award or final selection had been made. The Public Access Bureau of the Illinois Attorney General's office concluded that the District did not violate FOIA by withholding the document, as the plain language of the exempti

https://illinoisfoia.org/opinions/letter-34937/ 2016-03-04T00:00:00Z

A requester asked for detailed facility plans from the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District, but the District refused to provide them, citing security concerns. The Attorney General's office reviewed the documents and agreed that releasing the technical details of the facility's systems could pose a security risk. Consequently, the PAC closed the case, finding that the District acted within the law.