Section 1910.75  Access to Board Records – Freedom of Information Procedures

a)         Board Policy.

            This Section is established to implement the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act [5 ILCS 140].  The purpose of this Section is to support the policy of providing public access to public records in the possession of the Property Tax Appeal Board while, at the same time, protecting legitimate privacy interests and maintaining administrative efficiency.

b)         Definitions.

1)         FOIA - the Freedom of Information Act.

2)         Freedom of Information Officer - the individual responsible for receiving and responding to requests for public records.

3)         Requester - a person who submits a request for public records in accordance with this Section.

4)         Working days - calendar days other than Saturdays and Sundays and legal State holidays.

c)         Person to whom requests are submitted.

            Requests for public records shall be submitted to the Freedom of Information Officer of the Board.  Requests shall be submitted to the following address:

            Freedom of Information Officer

            Illinois Property Tax Appeal Board

            402 Stratton Building

            401 South Spring Street

            Springfield, IL 62706

            ATTN:  FOIA Request

d)         Form and contents of requests.

1)         Requests in accordance with the FOIA and this Section shall be in writing.  Such requests shall be submitted on FOIA request forms provided by the Board.

2)         Oral requests are not precluded by the FOIA; neither are they governed by it.

3)         The requester shall provide the following information in a request for public records:

A)        The requester's full name, address, and telephone number;

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

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

e)         Inspection of records at the Board's offices.

1)         Generally, public records will be available for inspection at the Board's offices in Springfield or Des Plaines between the hours of 8:30 AM and 5:00 PM Monday through Friday, except on State holidays.  Space will be provided for the requester to inspect public records.

2)         An employee of the Board may be present throughout the inspection.

3)         A requester shall not be permitted to take briefcases, bags, folders or other similar materials, or pens, into the inspection area.

4)         A requester will be permitted to take pencils and paper into the inspection area.

5)         Documents which the requester wishes to have copied shall be segregated during the course of inspection.  Generally, all copying will be done by Board employees.

f)          Copies of public records.

1)         Copies of public records shall be provided to the requester only upon payment of any charges that are due.

2)         Fees for copies of public records shall be assessed in accordance with Section 6(a) of the FOIA.  A schedule of fees will be available in each of the Board's offices as required by Section 4 of the FOIA.  Fees may be reduced or waived if the requester satisfies the criteria set forth in Section 6(b) of the FOIA.

3)         Fees shall be waived if the requester is a State agency, a constitutional officer, or member of the General Assembly.

4)         Payment shall be made by check or money order payable to the Illinois Property Tax Appeal Board and sent to the Freedom of Information Officer.

5)         If the requester is unwilling or unable to pick up the copies of requested records at the Board's offices, the requester shall bear mailing or shipping costs.

g)         Time for response.

1)         The Freedom of Information Officer shall respond to a written request for public records within 7 working days after receipt of such request.

2)         In the event the request for public records cannot be responded to within 7 days for one of the reasons provided in Section 3(d) of the FOIA, the Board shall have an additional 7 working days in which to respond.  The Board shall give the requester notice of the extension of time to respond.  Such notice of extension shall set forth the reasons why the extension is necessary.

h)         Types of Board responses.

1)         The Freedom of Information Officer shall respond to a request for public records in one of three ways:

A)        approve the request;

B)        approve in part and deny in part; or

C)        deny the request.

2)         Upon approval of a request for public records, the Freedom of Information Officer may either provide the materials immediately, give notice that the materials shall be made available upon payment of reproduction costs, or give notice of the time and place for inspection of records.

3)         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 of the FOIA and the names and titles of individuals responsible for the decision.  It shall also give notice of the requester's right to appeal to the Chairman of the Board.

4)         Categorical requests creating an undue burden upon the Board shall be denied only after extending to the requester an opportunity to confer in an attempt to reduce the request to manageable proportions in accordance with Section 3(f) of the FOIA.

5)         Failure to respond to a written request within 7 working days may be considered by the requester a denial of the request.

i)          Appeal of a denial.

1)         A requester whose request for public records has been denied by the Freedom of Information Officer may appeal the denial to the Chairman of the Board.  The Notice of Appeal shall be in writing and shall be addressed to the Board's Springfield office, attention:  Chairman (FOIA Appeal).

2)         The Notice of Appeal shall include a copy of the original request and a written statement setting forth the reasons why the requester believes the appeal should be granted.

j)          Chairman's response to denial.

            The Chairman shall respond to an appeal within 7 working days after receiving a Notice of Appeal.  The Chairman shall either affirm the denial or provide access to the requested public records.  Failure to respond within 7 working days may be considered by the requester as an affirmation of the denial.

(Source:  Amended at 24 Ill. Reg. 1233, effective January 5, 2000)