The Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) is a federal law. It allows people to get records from the federal government. It requires the government to give records to people who request them.

There is an Illinois FOIA. It requires the state government to give records to people.

Agencies covered

Federal

This applies to all:

• Federal agencies,
• Departments,
• Regulatory commissions,
• Government controlled corporations, and
• Other groups in the executive branch of the federal government

This includes:

• Cabinet offices,
• Independent regulatory agencies,
• Corporations controlled by the government,
• Presidential commissions,
• The Executive Office of the President, and
• The Office of Management and Budget

There are exceptions. It does not apply to:

• The President or his immediate staff,
• The Office of the Vice President,
• The Office of Administration,
• Congress,
• The federal courts,
• Private corporations,
• Federally funded state agencies, or
• State and local governments

Illinois 

This allows you to get information from Illinois public bodies. Those bodies are required to give people some records if requested.

This includes:

• Legislative bodies of Illinois,
• Executive bodies of Illinois,
• Administrative bodies of Illinois, 
• Advisory bodies of Illinois,
• State universities and colleges,
• Counties, townships, cities, villages, and incorporated towns,
• School districts, and
• Other municipal corporations, boards, bureaus, committees, or commissions of Illinois

The information you can get

There are many types of information you can request.

Federal 

This covers all records that have been:

• Prepared,
• Used, or
• Possessed by the public bodies.

These can include:

• Orders,
• Rules,
• Policy information,
• Reports and studies,
• Public contracts, and
• Titles and salaries of public employees

This also includes records held by non-government entities.

The term “records" includes:

• Papers,
• Reports,
• Letters,
• E-mail,
• Films,
• Computer Tapes,
• Photographs, and
• Sound recordings

Physical objects are not considered records.

Illinois

This allows you to request all records that have been:

• Prepared,
• Used, or
• Possessed by public agencies.

These can include:

• Orders,
• Rules,
• Policy information,
• Reports and studies,
• Public contracts, and
• Titles and salaries of public employees.

The information you cannot get

Federal 

There are exemptions. They include:

• Information relating to national security that is ordered to be kept secret,
• Records that are related  to the internal personnel rules and practices of an agency,
• Information exempt by federal law,
• Trade secrets, 
• Commercial or financial information,
• Internal agency memos,
• Information that would cause an unnecessary invasion of personal privacy,
• Records that could get in the way of an investigation,
• Records that could take away someone’s right to a fair trial,
• Bank reports, and
• Oil and gas well data

If you request information from one of these groups, the agency may deny it. The denial should state which type the information you requested falls under.

Illinois

Some information is not covered. This includes:

• Data that cannot be disclosed because of federal or state law,
• Private information,
• Documents from a law enforcement agency about a person’s mental or physical state,
• Law enforcement records that would take away someone's rights,
• Law enforcement records that would interfere with a pending or likely to occur proceeding,
• Records that could affect the security of jails,
• Preliminary drafts,
• Trade secrets,
• Proposals and bids for contracts that would interfere with the bidding process,
• Valuable data that could produce private gain or public loss,
• Data reported by an employer to the Department of Human Rights,
• Records relating to a public body’s handling of an employee’s grievance or disciplinary case, except the outcome,
• Restrictions on the records a person committed to the Department of Corrections may request, and
• Information about individual abortion providers from the Department of Public Health

If you request information from one of these groups, the agency may deny it. It must notify you of its reason for doing so. The agency may also remove the parts of the information that is exempt, and provide you with the rest.

Note: Starting January 1, 2024, in Illinois, users of Automatic License Plate Readers (ALPRs) are not allowed to sell, share, or transfer information from ALPRs to enforce laws that interfere with reproductive health care choices or permit detention based on immigration status. This means you might be refused access to information or records created using ALPRs.