Freedom of Information Act

Purpose

These procedures are intended to implement the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act (5 ILCS 140/1et seq.; Senate Bill 189, P.A. 096-0542), effective January 1, 2010, as amended. The Village of Vernon Hills supports the policy of providing public access to the public records in the possession of the Village while, at the same time, protecting legitimate privacy interests, and maintaining administrative efficiency and operational priorities.

Requesting Public Records

Requests for public records shall be submitted to the following:

Village Response

The Village shall respond to a written request for public records within 5 working days after the receipt of such request. For commercial requests, the response time is 21 working days.

The Village may give notice of an extension of time to respond which does not exceed an additional 5 working days, or a total of 10 working days from the written request. Such an extension is allowable only if written notice is provided within the original 5 working day time limit and only for the reasons provided in Section 3 of the FOIA (5 ILCS 140/3(e)). Such notice of extension shall state the reasons why the extension is necessary.

A denial of a request for public records shall be made in writing. It shall state the reasons for the denial in accordance with either Section 3(f) or Section 7 (5 ILCS 140/7) of the FOIA and the names and titles of individuals responsible for the decision. It shall also inform the requestor of the right to seek review from either the Illinois State Attorney General’s Public Access Counselor or from a court.

Appeal of a Denial

A requestor, whose request has been denied, 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. This request must be made in writing and must include the requestors signature, a copy of the request for access to records and any responses from the public body. The request is to be submitted to:

Public Access Bureau

500 S. 2nd Street

Springfield, IL 62706

Publicaccess@atg.state.il.us

The Public Access Counselor has 60 calendar days to respond.

Copying and Inspection of Public Records (FOIA)

Copies of public records shall be provided to the requestor only upon payment of any charges which are due. Charges may be waived in any case where the Village determines that the waiver serves the public interest.

Police, crash or accident reports - $5.00 per copy

Black and photo copies – Free up until 50 pages, with $0.15 per each additional page

Plats & Plans - $0.50 per square foot

CDs/DVDs - $0.50 per CD/DVD

Flash Drives - Cost

Postage - Cost

Records stored by electronic data processing shall be handled in the same manner and under the same rules as normal public record documents.