Example Requests

Four templates covering the most common situations a requester runs into, from a first request through an appeal to the Public Access Counselor. Each is annotated with the specific FOIA section it's built on. For an interactive version that fills these in for you, use therequest builder.

Not legal advice. These are structural templates, not a substitute for reading 5 ILCS 140 yourself or consulting a lawyer for a specific dispute. Bracketed text ([like this]) is a placeholder — fill in your own details.

1. New FOIA request

The standard opening request. Always sent as a fresh email, never a reply to an existing thread.

[Entity Name / Department]
Re: Freedom of Information Act Request — [Topic]

Dear [FOIA Officer Name / FOIA Officer]:

Pursuant to the Illinois Freedom of Information Act, 5 ILCS 140/1 et seq., I respectfully
request electronic copies of the following public records.

RECORDS REQUESTED

1. [Item — be specific: what records, what time period, what scope]
2. [Item]

[If requesting a contract, study, or agreement that may predate your date range but remained
in effect during it: "For item N, if the governing [contract/study/agreement] predates
[start date] but remained in effect during the requested period, please include that record
as well."]

FEE WAIVER REQUEST

I request a waiver of all fees pursuant to 5 ILCS 140/6(c). The principal purpose of this
request is to access and disseminate information regarding the health, safety and welfare
or the legal rights of the general public — specifically, [topic] — and it is not for the
principal purpose of personal or commercial benefit.
If a fee waiver is denied, please provide written notice before fulfilling this request.

FORMAT

Please produce records in electronic format (PDF or native electronic format), pursuant to
5 ILCS 140/6(a), delivered via email to [your email].

FEE NOTIFICATION

If any fees will be assessed, please notify me before beginning any fee-generating work so
that I may decide whether to proceed or narrow the request.

Sincerely,

[Your Name]
[Your Email]

Subject line convention: FOIA Request – [Entity Name] – [Topic]. Records requested should be numbered and specific — vague requests ("all emails about X") are the most common target of an unduly-burdensome denial under §3(g).

2. Follow-up / deferred request

Use when a public body asked you to split a request, or you agreed in an earlier email to submit certain items separately. Structurally identical to a new request — same three sections (fee waiver, format, fee notification) — with one added sentence up top pointing back to the original exchange.

[Entity Name / Department]
Re: Freedom of Information Act Request — [Topic] (Follow-Up)

Dear [FOIA Officer Name / FOIA Officer]:

As I indicated in my [prior email date] email, I am submitting this as a separate request
for items I agreed to defer from my earlier request. Specifically, pursuant to the Illinois
Freedom of Information Act, 5 ILCS 140/1 et seq., I request electronic copies of the
following public records.

RECORDS REQUESTED

1. [Item]
2. [Item]

FEE WAIVER REQUEST
[same as new-request template]

FORMAT
[same as new-request template]

FEE NOTIFICATION
[same as new-request template]

Sincerely,

[Your Name]
[Your Email]

Don't drop the fee waiver / format / fee notification sections just because a prior request already covered them — each standalone request needs its own.

3. Narrowing / confer reply

Use when a public body sends a confer/narrow notice, an unduly-burdensome claim (§3(g)), or a voluminous-request notice (§2(h)) and you'd rather narrow than escalate immediately. Unlike the two templates above, this is a reply — send it in the existing thread, not as a fresh email.

Re: [Original subject line]

Dear [FOIA Officer Name]:

Thank you for your letter dated [date]. In response, I am narrowing my request as follows:

[Tighten the date range, reduce or consolidate categories, or offer alternative search
parameters — e.g., "Please limit item 2 to records dated January 1, 2024 through the
present" or "I am withdrawing item 3 and narrowing item 1 to..."]

I renew my request for a fee waiver pursuant to 5 ILCS 140/6(c) and ask that you contact me
before incurring any fees. I reserve the right to seek review by the Public Access Counselor
if this request is denied.

Sincerely,

[Your Name]
[Your Email]

Category-counting: if a public body claims "too many categories" as the burden, count only the numbered top-level headings in your original request — not sub-examples or bullet points within a category. Note that §3(g)'s unduly-burdensome standard has no category-count test at all; it weighs the burden of compliance against the public interest and requires the body to offer to confer about narrowing. The "more than 5 categories" figure comes from the separate voluminous request definition in §2(h) — a different classification with different consequences. Knowing your real count is still useful, but the two shouldn't be conflated when you respond.

Voluminous ≠ denial. §3.6 governs voluminous requests. Once you respond to a voluminous notice, §3.6(c) limits the public body to exactly four responses: (i) a fee estimate, which it may require prepayment on; (ii) a denial under a §7 exemption; (iii) an unduly-burdensome notice under §3(g) with an offer to confer; or (iv) producing the records. Sitting on your response indefinitely, or holding non-exempt records hostage to a disputed category, isn't one of the four options.

4. PAC Request for Review

Filed with the Illinois Attorney General's Public Access Counselor after a denial, a reaffirmed denial, or any determination you want reviewed. Must be filed within 60 days of the final denial under §9.5(a), in writing, signed, and enclosing (i) a copy of your original request and (ii) any responses from the public body.

Two situations where the PAC can't review your denial. Section 9.5(a) excludes denials by the General Assembly and its committees, commissions, and agencies. Section 9.5(b) bars anyone whose request was made for a commercial purpose (as defined in §2(c-10)) from filing at all — except that if the public body treated your request as commercial under §3.1, you may still ask the PAC to review whether that classification was correct. Check both before relying on the 60-day window, because it runs whether or not the PAC can act.

Public Access Counselor
Office of the Illinois Attorney General
500 South 2nd Street
Springfield, Illinois 62701

Re: Request for Review — [Entity Name] FOIA Denial/Determination

Dear Public Access Counselor:

Pursuant to 5 ILCS 140/9.5(a), I respectfully request review of the following denial of
a public records request.

BACKGROUND

On [date], I submitted a Freedom of Information Act request to [Entity] seeking [brief
description of records requested]. [Include reference number if one was assigned.]

On [date], [Entity] [denied the request in full / issued a voluminous determination /
reaffirmed its denial after reconsideration] citing [exemption(s) or basis stated].
[One sentence summarizing what was or was not produced.]

WHY REVIEW IS WARRANTED

[Explain concisely why the denial is improper — e.g., the records are not exempt, the cited
exemption does not apply to these facts, the burden claim is unsupported, or the entity
missed the statutory deadline. If a PAC opinion on this site addresses a materially identical
denial, cite it: "The Public Access Bureau has previously addressed identical denials. In
[PAC Op./letter #] ([Entity], [date]), the Bureau found/the body withdrew the denial and
produced the records following review."]

RELIEF REQUESTED

I request that the Public Access Counselor:
a) Review [Entity]'s [denial/determination] and find that the requested records are
   subject to disclosure under FOIA;
b) Direct [Entity] to produce the requested records; and
c) Take any other action the Public Access Counselor deems appropriate.

TIMELINESS

This request is submitted within 60 calendar days of [Entity]'s [date] response, as
required by 5 ILCS 140/9.5(a).

ENCLOSURES

1. My original FOIA request dated [date]
2. [Entity]'s response/denial letter dated [date]
3. [Any further correspondence]

Sincerely,

[Your Name]
[Your Email]
[Your Mailing Address]
[Your Phone Number]

Use the fuller "name, email, address, phone" signature block only on PAC filings — routine requests only need name and email. Attach your original request and the denial letter as enclosures; PAC review is free and doesn't require a lawyer.

Quick-reference: citations that come up often

Citation	Covers
`5 ILCS 140/2(h)`	Voluminous request definition
`5 ILCS 140/3(g)`	Unduly burdensome test; "all records" language
`5 ILCS 140/3.6(c)`	The four permitted responses to a voluminous request
`5 ILCS 140/6(a)`	Format — electronic copies where feasible
`5 ILCS 140/6(a-5)`	Voluminous-request fee schedule + accounting requirement
`5 ILCS 140/6(c)`	Fee waiver standard (public interest, non-commercial)
`5 ILCS 140/6(d)`	Improper fee assessment can be a constructive denial
`5 ILCS 140/7(1)(d)`	Law enforcement records exemption
`5 ILCS 140/9.5(a)`	PAC review request; 60-day window

For the full text of these sections, see Statutes. For opinions and determination letters that interpret them, see the Opinions & Lettersbrowser.