Ill. Admin. Code tit. 2, § 1925.450 - Requests for Review of Denials - Public Access Counselor
a) A person whose request to inspect or copy
a record is denied by the Agency may file a request for review with the Public
Access Counselor established in the Office of the Attorney General not later
than 60 days after the date of the final denial. (Section 9.5(a) of
FOIA)
b) If the Agency asserts that
the records are exempt under Section
1925.210(a)(4) or
(a)(7), it will, within the time periods
provided for responding to a request, provide written notice to the requester
and the Public Access Counselor of its intent to deny the request in whole or
in part. The notice will include:
1) A copy
of the request for access to records;
2) The proposed response from the Agency;
and
3) A detailed summary of the
Agency's basis for asserting the exemption. (Section 9.5(b) of FOIA)
c) Upon receipt of a notice of
intent to deny from the Agency, the Public Access Counselor shall determine
whether further inquiry is warranted. The Public Access Counselor shall process
the notification of intent to deny as detailed in Section 9.5(b) of FOIA. Times
for response or compliance by the Agency under Section
1925.400 will be tolled until
the Public Access Counselor concludes his or her inquiry. (Section 9.5(b) of
FOIA)
d) Within 7 working days
after the Agency receives a request for review from the Public Access
Counselor, the Agency shall provide copies of records requested and shall
otherwise fully cooperate with the Public Access Counselor. (Section 9.5(c) of
FOIA)
e) Within 7 working days
after it receives a copy of a request for review and request for production of
records from the Public Access Counselor, the Agency may, but is not required
to, answer the allegations of the request for review. The answer may take the
form of a letter, brief, or memorandum. The Public Access Counselor shall
forward a copy of the answer to the person submitting the request for review,
with any alleged confidential information to which the request pertains
redacted from the copy. (Section 9.5(d) of FOIA)
f) The requester may, but is not required to,
respond in writing to the answer within 7 working days and shall provide a copy
of the response to the Agency. (Section 9.5(d) of FOIA)
g) In addition to the request for review, and
the answer and response thereto, if any, a requester or the Agency may furnish
affidavits or records concerning any matter germane to the review. (Section
9.5(e) of FOIA)
h) A binding
opinion from the Attorney General shall be binding upon both the requester and
the Agency, subject to administrative review under Section 1925.408. (Section
9.5(f) of FOIA)
i) If the Attorney
General decides to exercise his or her discretion to resolve a request for
review by mediation or by a means other than issuance of a binding opinion, the
decision not to issue a binding opinion shall not be reviewable. (Section
9.5(f) of FOIA)
j) Upon receipt of
a binding opinion concluding that a violation of FOIA has occurred, the Agency
shall either take necessary action immediately to comply with the directive of
the opinion or shall initiate administrative review under Section
1925.470. If the opinion
concludes that no violation of FOIA has occurred, the requester may initiate
administrative review under Section
1925.470. (Section 9.5(f) of
FOIA)
k) If the Agency discloses
records in accordance with an opinion of the Attorney General, the Agency is
immune from all liabilities by reason thereof and shall not be liable for
penalties under FOIA. (Section 9.5(f) of FOIA)
l) If the requester files suit under Section
1925.460 with respect to the
same denial that is the subject of a pending request for review, the requester
shall notify the Public Access Counselor, and the Public Access Counselor shall
so notify the Agency. (Section 9.5(g) of FOIA)
m) The Attorney General may also issue
advisory opinions to the Agency regarding compliance with FOIA. A review may be
initiated upon receipt of a written request from the Director of the Agency or
the Agency's Chief Legal Counsel, which shall contain sufficient accurate facts
from which a determination can be made. The Public Access Counselor may request
additional information from the Agency in order to assist in the review. If the
Agency relies in good faith on an advisory opinion of the Attorney General in
responding to a request, the Agency is not liable for penalties under FOIA, so
long as the facts upon which the opinion is based have been fully and fairly
disclosed to the Public Access Counselor. (Section 9.5(h) of FOIA)
Notes
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