Section 5025.110  Purpose

 

These rules are established to implement the provisions of The Freedom of Information Act ("Act") (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1987, ch. 116, par. 201 et seq.) and shall govern access to public records of the Board of Governors of State Colleges and Universities, its universities, the Cooperative Computer Center, and the Educational Computing Network.

 

Section 5025.120  Freedom of Information Officers

 

There shall be one Freedom of Information Officer at each of the Board of Governors universities and in the System Office.

 

a)         Requests for access to public records concerning the Board of Governors System, the Cooperative Computer Center, or the Educational Computing Network shall be addressed as follows:

 

Freedom of Information Act Request

Board of Governors of State Colleges and Universities

2040 Hill Meadows Drive, Suite B

Springfield, IL  62702

 

b)         Requests for access to public records concerning one of the Board of Governors universities shall be addressed as follows:

 

1)         Freedom of Information Act Request

 

Chicago State University

Office of the President

95^th Street at King Drive

Chicago, IL  60628

 

2)         Freedom of Information Act Request

 

Eastern Illinois University

Office of the President

Charleston, IL  61920

 

3)         Freedom of Information Act Request

 

Governors State University

Office of the President

University Park, IL  60466

 

4)         Freedom of Information Act Request

 

Northeastern Illinois University

Office of the President

Bryn Mawr at St. Louis Avenue

Chicago, IL  60625

 

5)         Freedom of Information Act Request

 

Western Illinois University

Office of the President

Macomb, IL  61455

 

Section 5025.130  Form and Content of Requests

 

a)         All requests under the Act for access to public records shall be in writing and shall contain the following information.

 

1)         the name and address of the person submitting the request;

 

2)         a specific description of the public records sought including, whenever possible, names, dates, and other identifying information.

 

b)         A request shall be "received" for purposes of Section 3. of the Act on the date on which it arrives in the office referred to above.  Failure to submit the request to the appropriate address may delay its receipt.

 

Section 5025.140  Inspection and Copying of Records

 

a)         Inspection of public records which are required by the Act to be made available for public inspection shall occur under the supervision of the Freedom of Information Officer in the place where the records are kept or the office of the Freedom of Information Officer during regular office hours when the records are not being used by persons performing official duties.  Upon request, the Freedom of Information Officer will make arrangements for an explanation of computer language or printout format.

 

b)         One copy of each public record required to be copied by the Act shall be provided by the Freedom of Information Officer, if requested, following receipt of the fees specified in Section 5025.150 of this Part.

 

Section 5025.150  Fees

 

a)         The fee for copies of public records on letter or legal size paper shall not exceed $.25 per page.  For copies which cannot be made on available standard office copying equipment a fee will be charged reasonably calculated by the Freedom of Information Officer to cover the actual cost of producing the copies by other means.  For preparation in printed form of computer-stored data a fee will be charged reasonably calculated by the Freedom of Information Officer to cover the actual cost of programming, computer usage, and printing.  The fee for certification shall not exceed $1.00 per document or set of documents.  The fee for mailing copies will be the actual postage.

 

b)         Fees shall be reduced or waived if the person requesting copies of documents states the specific purpose for the request and demonstrates to the satisfaction of the Freedom of Information Officer that the principal purpose of the request is to access and disseminate information regarding the health, safety, and welfare or legal rights of the general public and not to provide personal or commercial benefit.  In setting the amount of the waiver or reduction, the Freedom of Information Officer may take into consideration the amount of materials requested and the cost of copying them.

 

Section 5025.160  Denial of Requests

 

A denial of a request for access to public records shall be made by the Freedom of Information Officer by letter mailed to the person submitting the request.  The letter shall state the reasons for the denial and the names and titles of each person responsible for the denial and shall give notice of the right to appeal the denial.  Failure of the Freedom of Information Officer to respond to a request for access to public records within 7 working days after its receipt shall be considered a denial of the request.

 

Section 5025.170  Response Time

 

The Freedom of Information Officer shall respond to each request for access to public records within 7 working days after its receipt, unless the response time is extended for an additional period of not more than 7 working days in accordance with Section 3. of the Act.  The response shall be by letter mailed to the person making the request and shall approve the request in its entirety, approve the request in part and deny it in part, or deny the request in its entirety.

 

Section 5025.180  Appeals

 

a)         Persons whose request for access to public records has been denied in whole or in part may appeal as follows:

 

1)         for requests for access to public records concerning the Board of Governors System, the Cooperative Computer Center, or the Educational Computing Network, to the Chancellor of the Board of Governors of State Colleges and Universities at the address set forth in Section 5025.120 (a) of this Part;

 

2)         for requests for access to public records concerning one of the Board of Governors universities, to the President of the university at the address set forth in Section 5025.120 (b) of this Part.

 

b)         Appeals shall be in writing and should be accompanied by a copy of the request for access to public records, a copy of the denial (if a written denial was provided), and a statement of the reasons the appeal should be granted.  Appeals shall be decided within 7 working days after receipt, and a notice of the decision shall be mailed to the person submitting the appeal.  Failure to respond to an appeal within this time limit shall be considered a denial of the appeal.

 

Section 5025.210  Rulemaking

 

Rules are adopted in accordance with The Illinois Administrative Procedure Act (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1991, ch. 127, par. 1001-1 et seq.) after being recommended by the Chancellor and approved by the Board of Governors of State Colleges and Universities.

 

Section 5025.310  Description

 

The Board of Governors of State Colleges and Universities is a body corporate and politic created to operate, manage, control, and maintain Chicago State University, Eastern Illinois University, Governors State University, Northeastern Illinois University, and Western Illinois University pursuant to "AN ACT to provide for the management, operation, control and maintenance of the State Colleges and Universities system" (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1987, ch. 144, par. 1001 et seq.).

 

Section 5025.320  Location of System Office and Universities

 

a)         The System Office of the Board of Governors is located at 2040 Hill Meadows Drive, Suite B, Springfield, IL 62702, the Cooperative Computer Center is located at 190 Prospect, Elmhurst, IL 60126, and the Educational Computing Network is located at 2 Cottonwood Road, Building #1, Suite #102, Edwardsville, IL 62025.

 

b)         The Board of Governors universities are located at the following addresses:

 

1)         Chicago State University – 95^th Street at King Drive, Chicago, IL  60628

 

2)         Eastern Illinois University – Charleston, IL  61920

 

3)         Governors State University – University Park, IL  60466

 

4)         Northeastern Illinois University – Bryn Mawr at St. Louis Avenue, Chicago, IL 60625

 

5)         Western Illinois University – Macomb, IL  61455