Section 551.10  Summary and Purpose

 

a)         These rules are established to implement the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act (P.A. 83-1013, effective July 1, 1984, Supplement to Ill. Rev. Stat. 1983, ch. 116, par. 201 et seq.).  The purpose of these rules is to support the policy of providing public access to the public records in the possession of the Office of the Secretary of State, while at the same time, protecting legitimate privacy interests and maintaining administrative efficiency.

 

b)         These rules create a procedure by which the public may request and obtain public records.  Therefore, they are being filed in accordance with Section 5-15 of the Illinois Administrative Procedure Act (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1991, ch. 127, par. 1005-15).

 

Section 551.20  Definitions

 

Terms used in these rules shall have the same meaning as in the Freedom of Information Act:

 

            "Department" means a subdivision of the Office of the Secretary of State, identified at 2 Ill. Adm. Code 550.

 

            "Director" means the Director of each Department, appointed by the Secretary of State.

 

            "FOIA" means the Freedom of Information Act.

 

            "Freedom of Information Officer" means an individual responsible for receiving and responding to requests for public records designated in each Department.

 

            "Requestor" means a person who submits a request for public records in accordance with these rules.

 

Section 551.30  Principal Office

 

For the purposes of the Illinois Freedom of Information Act, the principal office of the Office of the Secretary of State, its departments, committees, and subdivisions, shall be the City of Springfield, County of Sangamon.

 

Section 551.40  Availability of Records

 

a)         Records of the Secretary of State's Office, its departments, committees, and subdivisions, unless otherwise exempt pursuant to statute, shall be available for inspection in the City of Springfield between the hours of 8:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, except during official State holidays.

 

b)         Records will be inspected in the Reference Reading Room of the State Library, 300 South Second Street, second floor, City of Springfield, or at the State of Illinois Center, 100 West Randolph Street, fifth floor, City of Chicago, unless the Secretary of State or a Department Director who has custody of the required record determines that the bulk, daily government use, size, nature, or computerization of a record requires the requestor to inspect the record within the Department maintaining the record.

 

(Source:  Amended at 14 Ill. Reg. 13852, effective August 15, 1990)

 

Section 551.110  Inspection of Records at Department Offices

 

a)         Documents which the requestor wishes to have copied shall be segregated during the course of the inspection.  Generally, all copying shall be done by Department employees.

 

b)         An employee of the Department may be present throughout the inspection.  A requestor may be prohibited from bringing bags, brief cases or other containers into the inspection room.

 

Section 551.120  Notice of Denial

 

Notices of Denial shall be maintained in the General Counsel's Office in the Centennial Building, Springfield, Illinois.

 

Section 551.130  Requests

 

a)         All requests shall be in writing addressed to the Freedom of Information Officer or Director of the Department maintaining the record. The list of Departments and addresses for the Departments is located at 2 Ill. Adm. Code 550.10(c) and 550.210.

 

b)        

 

1)         All requests shall be on the approved request form, which shall be available in all offices of the Secretary of State's Departments, or in a letter containing the same or similar elements.

 

A)        The requestor's full name, address, and phone number.

 

B)        A brief description of the public records sought, being as specific as possible.

 

C)        Whether the request is for inspection of public records, copies of public records, or both.

 

2)         The approved form is attached as Appendix A to these rules.

 

c)         Oral requests will be handled expeditiously.  However, the required response times and the appeal procedures contained in the FOIA and these rules do not apply to oral requests.

 

d)         Timelines for responses to requests for records, and appeals to the Secretary of State are found in Section 3 of the FOIA.

 

Section 551.140  Appeal Procedure to Secretary of State

 

a)         Any person requesting a record who has been denied access by a Department Director or Freedom of Information Officer may appeal such denial to the Secretary of State, pursuant to Section 10 of the FOIA.

 

b)         The appeal request must be in writing and addressed to the Deputy Secretary of State, Room 213, Capitol Building, Springfield, Illinois.  It shall contain a copy of the original request, a copy of the denial received by the requestor, and a statement of the reasons why the appeal should be granted.

 

(Source:  Amended at 12 Ill. Reg. 19515, effective November 7, 1988)

 

Section 551.150  Fees

 

a)         The fee for copying any record shall be 50 per page of material 8 1/2" x 11" in size, $1.00 per page of material larger than 8 1/2" x 11" in size, and certification shall be $2.00 per document unless a specific statute provides otherwise.

 

b)         The cost of any transcript of any administrative hearing shall be at the lowest per page cost of a transcript paid in the city in which the hearing was conducted if transcribed by the Office of the Secretary of State.  If transcribed by a commercial court reporter, the actual cost to the Secretary of State shall be charged to the requestor.

 

c)         Requests for a waiver or reduction of any fee pursuant to Section 6 of FOIA shall be directed to the Director or Freedom of Information Officer of the Department maintaining the record.

 

d)         Copies of public records shall be provided to the requestor only upon payment of the charges which are due.

Section 551.APPENDIX A   Freedom of Information Request Form

 

 

Requestor's Name

Date

Address

Telephone Number

City

Zip Code

Secretary of State Employee Name, Title & Department to Receive FOI Request:

Department

Name

Title

RECORDS SOUGHT (Be Specific):

Requestor's Signature

The department will respond to a request for public records within seven (7) working days after its receipt. If your request is denied, you may file an appeal. Appeals should be addressed to the Assistant Secretary of State, 208 Capitol, Springfield, Illinois 62756.

(FOR DEPARTMENT USE ONLY)

Response:

Department  ______________________

Records Made Available          Date  _______________

Copies Made      Yes         No

Request denied and why?     ______________________

How many? ______________________

Fee  ____________________________

Other (Attach Correspondence):

Department Comments (Use Reverse)

Date Request Received