Section 2701.10  Definitions and Abbreviations

 

The following definitions and abbreviations are applicable in the Office of Public Counsel's rules:

 

a)         "The OPC" or "OPC" or "the Office" refers to the Office of Public Counsel that is created in Article XI of The Public Utilities Act ("the PUA") (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1987, ch. 111⅔, pars. 11-101 et seq.).

 

b)         "The Public Counsel" refers to the person who is appointed as the Public Counsel under Section 11-202 of the PUA.

 

Section 2701.13  Freedom of Information Officer

 

The Deputy Public Counsel is the Freedom of Information Officer. The Deputy Public Counsel's address and telephone number are:

 

            Deputy Public Counsel

            ATTENTION:  Freedom of Information Officer

            Office of Public Counsel

            State of Illinois Center

            100 West Randolph Street

            Suite 11-300

            Chicago, Illinois 60601

            (312) 814-3903

 

Section 2701.16  Requests for Public Records

 

a)         Requests for public records in the custody of the OPC shall be submitted to the Freedom of Information Officer. Requests may be made in writing or orally, but an oral request does not trigger the provisions and time schedules in these rules. In order to be covered by these rules, a request for public records must be reduced to writing. When an oral request is made, the Freedom of Information Officer shall give the requestor the form that should be used to reduce the oral request to writing. (The form is provided in Appendix A to Part 2701.) If necessary, the Freedom of Information Officer will help the requestor fill out the form. Once an oral request has been reduced to writing, it shall be treated as a written request for all purposes. All requests must include the following:

 

1)         the requestor's full name, address, and telephone number at which the requester can be reached during normal business hours;

 

2)         a brief description, as specific as possible, of the public records sought; and

 

3)         an indication of whether the request is for inspection of public records, copying of public records, or both.

 

b)         In ordered to be considered for a waiver or reduction in the copying, certification, and postal fees, the requester must also state the specific purpose for the request and must identify the person or organization that he or she is representing.

 

Section 2701.19  Response to Request for Public Records

 

The Freedom of Information Officer is responsible for responding to all requests for public records. In responding to requests, the Freedom of Information Officer will follow the procedures and time schedules set out in The Freedom of Information Act ("the FOIA") (Illinois Revised Statutes, ch. 116, pars. 201 et seq.). If the Freedom of Information Officer gives notice that the request has been approved, in whole or in part, the officer will state the copying, certification, and postal fees, if any, that the OPC will charge. (The fee schedule is provided in Appendix B to Part 2701.) The documents will be made available after the fees, if any, are paid. If payment is not received within sixty days of the date that the OPC served notice on the requester that fees must be paid, the OPC shall consider the request withdrawn.

 

Section 2701.21  Appeal of Denial of Access to Public Records

 

a)         If the Freedom of Information Officer denies a request for public records, the requester may appeal the denial to the Public Counsel. An appeal is made by sending a written notice of appeal to:

 

Public Counsel

ATTENTION:  FOIA Appeal

Office of Public Counsel

State of Illinois Center

100 West Randolph Street

Suite 11-300

Chicago, Illinois 60601

 

b)         The notice of appeal shall include a copy of the original request, a copy of the denial, and a statement of the reasons for granting the appeal. In responding to the appeal, the Public Counsel will follow the procedures and the time schedules that are set out in the FOIA. If the Public Counsel rules that the request has been approved, in whole or in part, the Public Counsel will state the copying, certification, and postal fees, if any, that the OPC will charge. (The fee schedule is provided in Appendix B to Part 2701.) The documents will be made available after the fees, if any, are paid. If payment is not received within sixty days of the date that the OPC served notice on the requester that fees must be paid, the OPC shall consider the request withdrawn. If an appeal is denied, the Public Counsel will explain the basis for the denial and will tell the requester how to obtain judicial review of the denial.

 

Section 2701.24  Inspection of Public Records

 

All public records in the OPC's custody will be made available for inspection during normal office hours. The OPC will cooperate with the requester in arranging for the inspection to take place in either the OPC's Chicago office or the OPC's Springfield office. OPC employees may be present throughout the inspection. A requester may be prohibited from bringing brief cases, folders, and the like into the inspection room. During the inspection, the requester should identify the documents that he or she wants copied. All copying will be done by OPC employees or by the OPC's designees.

 

Section 2701.27  Certification of Public Records

 

When requested, the Freedom of Information Officer shall provide copies of public records appropriately certified as to their authenticity and accuracy. The certification fee is set out in Appendix B to Part 2701. In addition to the certification fee, there are also copying and postal fees as set out in Appendix B.

 

Section 2701.30  Computer Stored Records

 

When a request is made for public records that are stored on electronic data processing equipment, the Freedom of Information Officer will provide the requester with a computer printout of the requested records, and will also provide the requester with any information necessary to interpret and understand the printout. (The fee schedule for computer printouts is provided in Appendix B to Part 2626.)

Section 2701.APPENDIX A   Office of Public Counsel Request for Public Records

 

 

Date of request:
Name:
Mailing address:
City, State, and zip code:
Daytime (8am-5:30pm) telephone number:
Whom are you representing?
Please state the specific purpose for the request:
Please identify the information that you would like to review:
Please state how you would like to review this material (circle the appropriate number):
		1.	I would like to inspect, but not copy, this material.
		2.	I would like a copy of this material.
		3.	I would like to inspect and copy this material.

 

If you want a certified copy of any of the documents that are being copied, please identify
which documents you want certified:
Additional comments:
Please sign your name				Date of signature

 

 

Section 2701.APPENDIX B   Office of Public Counsel Fee Schedule for Copying Public Records

 

Type of Copying	Charge Per Page*
Paper copy of paper original	$.05**
Paper copy of computer printout	$.05**
Diskette copy of computer original	actual cost of diskette

 

Certification Fee*

The certification fee is $1.00 for each document that is certified.

 

Postal Fee*

If the requester asks that copies of the public records be sent to him, postal charges will be assessed at the actual rate charged to the OPC.

 

*Payment of fees shall be waived if:

 

(a)        the requester is a constitutional officer or a member of the General Assembly;

 

(b)        the requester is a State Agency; or

 

(c)        the requester states the specific purpose for the request and indicates that (and explains why) a waiver of the fees is in the public interest, and if (i) fewer than 201 pages of documents need to be copied and no diskettes need to be used or (ii) fewer than 6 diskettes need to be used and no pages of documents need to be copied onto paper. If the purpose for the request is in the public interest but neither (c)(i) nor (c)(ii) is met, then all or some of the fees may be waived or reduced if the waiver or reduction would not impose a budgetary burden on the OPC.

 

**If the amount of copying is voluminous, then the OPC may have to designate another State agency or a private business to do the copying. If someone other than the OPC does the copying, then the charge per page is the actual cost charged by the other State agency or private business.