Freedom of Information Act

FOIA Request Form

The following procedures are implemented by the City of Evanston pursuant to the amendments to the Illinois Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), effective January 1, 2010.

 All requests for public records shall be submitted to the Evanston City Clerk. Requests may be mailed to the City Clerk, 2100 Ridge Avenue, Evanston, IL 60201, submitted in person (room 1200) during regular business hours, 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding holidays, by emailing both rgreene@cityofevanston.org, AND eautwell@cityofevanston.org, or fax to the City Clerk at (847) 448-8131.

 Pursuant to the Act, Rodney Greene and Elaine Autwell are the designated FOIA Officers for the City of Evanston.

 All requests for non-exempt information must be responded to within five(5) working days after the receipt of the written request, unless additional time is required, as allowed by the Act. The requestor must be notified by mail, email or phone in five (5) days if an extension is required. Requests for a commercial purpose will be responded to within twenty-one (21) working days. You must disclose whether your request is for a commercial purpose. It is a violation of the Freedom of Information Act for a person to knowingly obtain a public record for a commercial purpose without disclosing that it is for a commercial purpose, if requested to do so by the public body. 5 ILCS 140.3.1(c)).

 Appeals for denials will no longer be handled by the City Manager's Office as of January 01, 2010. All appeals must be submitted to the PAC Officer within 60 calendar days after the denial of the FOIA request. Address your request to Cara Smith, Public Access Counselor, Office of the Attorney General, 500 S. 2nd Street, Springfield, Illinois 62706.

Fees

  • The first fifty (50) copies are free.
  • Copies of 51 pages or more of public records are $.15 per page.
  • Certification fee is $1.00.
  • DUI report (driving under the influence) is cost to produce the document only.
  • Ambulance report is cost to produce the document only.
  • Fire/Incident report is cost to produce the document only.
  • Audiotapes and videotapes are cost to produce the document only.
  • CD is cost to produce the document only.
  • Photographs cost to produce the document only.
  • Transcript from the Hearings Division is cost to produce the document only.
  • The charge to a requestor for copies of any abnormal size document is the actual cost to produce that document.
  • Notary Service: free for the first document, then $1.00 each additional document.