Open Illinois.org

The Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) was a great step forward for citizens as they sought to learn about the behavior of their government and hold it to account. FOIA allows people to request certain types of information from government officials, including salaries, contracts, expenditures and more. There are some limits to what one can request through FOIA, however, those items are relatively few. Information relating to national defense or a criminal case, for instance, are generally exempt from FOIA.

There is no limit to how many documents a citizen can request through FOIA or how frequently they can petition. 

But sometimes citizens exercising their right to know about their government run into some difficulty. This can mean waiting weeks or even months before they receive the information they have requested.

Other times citizens may run into government officials who become weary of making public information available to those who ask for it. This appears to be what has happened with Riccardo A. Mora of Norridge, Illinois in his project to learn more about the operations of his local school district.

Mora has issued 21 FOIA requests since February 2008 to Ridgewood High School District 234. “I decided to investigate, gather facts and quotes from reliable sources…[and present] that information to my neighbors for their consideration,” says Mora.

Mora requested numerous items from the school district, including expenditures, capital plans, audits, and notices. He is interested in seeing just how the district spends taxpayers’ money prior to a November vote that will determine whether property taxes will increase to fund the schools.

On September 29th, Mora received a letter from the law firm Schartz, Lipton and Taylor of Chicago, which notified him that the school district had retained the firm in the matter of his FOIA requests.

In the letter (PDF), the district’s lawyer wrote that Mora was abusing the FOIA and that his requests may not be fulfilled.

The Act is not intended to be used for purposes of furthering personal gain. See 5 ILCS 140/1…Your numerous FOIA requests demonstrate that you are mis-using FOIA as a vehicle to address personal issues rather than public interest…The use of FOIA to further a personal rather than public need is clearly an abuse of the Act…We are writing at this time to make you aware that we will work closely with the District to scrutinize and future FOIA requests propounded by you upon the District to insure they are within the spirit of the Act.

The statute that the lawyer cites is the Illinois FOI law. She writes, correctly, how FOIA requests are not supposed to disrupt the work of the government body from which a citizen requests information.

This Act is not intended to be used to violate individual privacy, nor for the purpose of furthering a commercial enterprise, or to disrupt the duly‑undertaken work of any public body independent of the fulfillment of any of the fore‑mentioned rights of the people to access to information. 

The lawyer claims that a district staffer spent 20 hours fulfilling Mora’s FOIA request to prove how this interfered with the operation of the office. However, 20 hours of an employee’s time spread over a two week period hardly interferes with the normal operation of the school system.

In fact, being accountable to the citizens of the district is right up there with making sure that kids are being taught well, so public disclosure is part of the “duly-undertaken work” of the district.

The lawyer’s main claim, however, is that Mora is sending FOIA requests to further himself in some way. The letter claims that submitting a FOIA request for “personal gain” is outside of the act’s parameters. However, the only mention of “personal” anything (not pertaining to personal privacy) in the Illinois FOIA is in 5 ILCS 140/6–Authority to charge fees:

(b) Documents shall be furnished without charge or at a reduced charge, as determined by the public body, if the person requesting the documents states the specific purpose for the request and indicates that a waiver or reduction of the fee is in the public interest. Waiver or reduction of the fee is in the public interest if the principal purpose of the request is to access and disseminate information regarding the health, safety and welfare or the legal rights of the general public and is not for the principal purpose of personal or commercial benefit.

There is no mention whatsoever in the statute of the phrase “personal gain.” The petitioner’s motives are mentioned nowhere in the Illinois FOIA law.

A citizen can request a document for personal benefit, it seems, but he or she will have to pay for the reproduction of the document(s). Mora has already paid to have numerous documents reproduced, and is now requesting a refund for being overcharged (PDF).

Regardless of his reason for asking the information, Mora is entitled to the information he is requesting, and the Ridgewood High School district should provide him with it.

Additionally, the district should seriously consider posting its financial data in an accessible format on its website. Once all of the information is online the district may face the prospect of fewer FOIA requests and will increase the level of trust between the citizens and the school. A great number of school districts are already posting their expenditures and budgets online. See a list of transparent government school districts here.

There’s no doubt about it–FOIA has advanced the cause of government transparency, but it’s not necessarily a speedy solution. It does take time for staffers to complete citizens’ FOIA requests. People are entitled to know what their government is up to, and the combination of new citizen interest and new technology make it easier and more affordable than ever for government to implement comprehensive transparency policies.