Freedom of Information

It is the public policy of this State that public bodies exist to aid in the conduct of the people’s business and that the people have a right to be informed as to the conduct of their business. 

The Illinois Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) provides public access to government documents and records. The Illinois FOIA notes that it is "the public policy of the State of Illinois that all persons are entitled to full and complete information regarding the affairs of government and the official acts and policies of those who represent them as public officials and public employees consistent with the terms of this Act. Such access is necessary to enable the people to fulfill their duties of discussing public issues fully and freely, making informed political judgments and monitoring government to ensure that it is being conducted in the public interest." 

An open, honest and accountable government - the cornerstone of a democracy - can be achieved only through the free and open exchange of information between government and the public. 

Section 5 ILCS 140/3.5 of the act requires the KCHA to make available a list of documents or categories of records that can be disclosed immediately upon request. The items listed below constitute many but not all of the records that are immediately available. 

• Board meeting minutes
• Budgets
• Audit reports
• Financial performance documents
• Quick facts - agency personnel, leaders, board members, client statistics
• Strategic plans - Annual and 5-Year Plans
• Policy documents
• Office information and location

FOAI Requests may be denied for the following reasons (5 ILCS 140/7): 

1. Private information – “Private information” is exempt from disclosure under FOIA. FOIA defines “private information” as “unique identifiers, including a person’s social security number, driver’s license number, employee identification number, biometric identifiers, personal financial information, passwords or other access codes, medical records, home or personal telephone numbers, and personal e-mail addresses.” Under FOIA, “private information also includes home addresses and personal license plate numbers, except as otherwise provided by law or when compiled without possibility of attribution to any person.”
2. Personal information that, if disclosed, would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of personal privacy, unless the disclosure is consented to in writing by the person who is the subject of the information. Under FOIA, the “unwarranted invasion of personal privacy” means the “disclosure of information that is highly personal or objectionable to a reasonable person and in which the subject’s right to privacy outweighs any legitimate public interest in obtaining the information.” Disclosing information that relates to the public duties of public employees is not considered an invasion of personal privacy.
3. Law enforcement records that, if disclosed, would interfere with a pending or reasonably contemplated proceeding or that would disclose the identity of a confidential source.
4. Information that, if disclosed, might endanger anyone’s life or physical safety.
5. Preliminary drafts or notes in which opinions are expressed or policies are formulated, unless the record is publicly cited and identified by the head of the public body.
6. Business trade secrets or commercial or financial information that is proprietary, privileged or confidential and disclosure would cause competitive harm to the person or business.
7. Proposals and bids for any contract, until a final selection is made.
8. Closed or Executive Session meeting minutes.
9. Requests that are unduly burdensome. 

A person whose request to inspect or copy a public record is denied by a public body may file a request for review with the Public Access Counselor established in the Illinois Office of the Attorney General not later than 60 days after the date of the final denial. The request for review must be in writing, signed by the requester, and include (i) a copy of the request for access to records and (ii) any responses from the public body. (5 ILCS 140/9.5)  

The Attorney General appointed Sarah Pratt to the position of Public Access Counselor. Her contact information is:

Sarah Pratt
Public Access Counselor
Office of the Attorney General
500 S. 2nd Street
Springfield, Illinois 62701
Phone:
1-877-299-FOIA
(1-877-299-3642)
Fax: (217) 782-1396

E-mail: publicaccess@atg.state.il.us 

1. Complete a FOIA request form.
2. Submit completed form to the KCHA FOIA Officer.
3. Based on the nature of the request, there may be a fee assessed. You'll be informed of any such fee prior to production of the materials.
4. FOIA response time.

• For individual requests, five(5) business days after receipt of the request. 
• For commercial requests, twenty-one (21) business days after receipt of the request.

Submitting a FOIA request is easy! Simply scroll down to complete our online FOIA Request Form, or click the button below to download a PDF fillable version of the KCHA FOIA Request.