Section 951.50  Appeal of Denial of Access

a)         Any person who is denied access to the records of the Department (either in whole, or in part) may appeal the denial to the Director.  The appeal must be made in writing within 30 days after notification of the denial and must be addressed to the Director of Insurance, 320 West Washington Street, 4th Floor, Springfield, Illinois 62767-0001. The letter and envelope should be clearly marked "FREEDOM OF INFORMATION APPEAL."

b)         The Director shall make a written determination with respect to any such appeal and shall provide a written response within 7 working days after its receipt.  .  The person filing the appeal will also be informed of the right to seek judicial review of any final determination made by the Director to uphold, in whole or in part, the Department's denial of access tothe requested records.  If the Director determines that all or part of the records may be disclosed to the public, the Director shall notify the person filing the appeal as to the extent the records will be available for inspection and copying, and any copying fees to be charged.

c)         Failure of the Director to make a written determination on an appeal within 7 working days after its receipt shall be considered a denial of the appeal.

d)         If the appeal is denied, in whole or in part, the person filing the appealmay seek judicial review by filing suit for injunctive or declaratory relief in a court with proper jurisdiction.

(Source:  Amended at 27 Ill. Reg. 18276, effective December 16, 2002)