FOIA Information

Illinois Freedom of Information Act 5ILC 140/1 et seq. (FOIA) is intended to guarantee citizens access to all government records in whatever form they are maintained while protecting legitimate governmental interests and the privacy of individual citizens.

Direct Requests by mail, email or personal delivery to:

Jeffrey Wait, CPRP, Executive Director and FOIA Luisa Gonzalez, Freedom of Information Officer
6834 Dempster Street
Morton Grove, IL 60053
Phone: 847-965-1200
E-mail: jwait@mgparks.com and lgonzalez@mgparks.com

Required Information for a Request

(Must be in writing, however, a form is not needed)

• Requestor’s full name, address, daytime phone number and e-mail address if you would like the response sent electronically.
• A detailed description of the records being sought, and whether the request is for on-location inspection, copies or another format.
• A statement letting us know if the request is for a commercial purpose (will the information requested be used, in any form, for sale, resale, or solicitation or advertisement for sales or services)

Timeline to Respond to Request

The Morton Grove Park District has five business days after the receipt of a written request to respond except for commercial requests when the District has 21 business days to respond. Day one of the time limit starts the first business day after the request is received.

The District may request an extension of time to respond for reasons provided in Section 3 (5ILC 140/3 (e)) of the act. The extension is for no more than 5 additional business days.

Responses

• Grant the request
• Deny the request
• Grant in part and deny in part
• Notice that the request is unduly burdensome
• Request additional time to respond and provide a reason for the delay
• When a request is denied in part or whole, the requester may appeal the decision. Appeals should be made within 60 days in writing to the Office of the Attorney General.

Inspection or Pickup of Information

Conducted during normal business hours of the Park District Administrative Office 9 a.m. – 5 p.m.

Fees

No fee will be charged for the first 50 pages of black and white, letter or legal-sized copies requested by a requester except when a fee is otherwise fixed by statutes. Fees will be charged for postage at cost, additional b/w copies will be $.15 per copy, oversized materials and recording materials will be at cost. The District can not charge for any administrative costs.

Request to waive the fees must be made in writing and must state how the primary purpose of the requested information is to access and disseminate information regarding the health, safety, and welfare of the legal rights of the public; and it is not for the principal purpose of personal or commercial benefits.

Additional Information

Available upon request are a list of documents that the Morton Grove Park District will provide immediately to a requester and a list of categories of records under the District’s control.