Tony McCombie
STATE REPRESENTATIVE • DISTRICT 89
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FOIA Reform Survey
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1. What type of local government entity do you represent?
Municipality/City/Village
County
Township
School District
Sheriff’s Department
Municipal Law Enforcement
Park District
Library District
Special District
Other (Please Specify)
1a. Other
2. What is your role within the organization?
Elected official
Appointed official
FOIA Officer
Administrator/Manager
Legal Counsel
Clerk/Records Officer
Other (Please specify)
2a. Other
3. Approximate population served by your jurisdiction:
Under 1,500
1,500-5,000
5,000-25,000
25,000-100,000
100,000+
4. Does your unit of government have a designated FOIA officer?
Yes
No
5. Approximately how many FOIA requests do you receive annually?
0-25
26-100
101-250
251-500
500+
6. Over the past five years, FOIA request volume has:
Increased significantly
Increased somewhat
Stayed about the same
Decreased
7. What types of requests are most common? (Select all that apply)
Media Requests
Requests from residents
Requests from attorneys
Requests from business/vendors
Requests from advocacy groups
Requests from data aggregators
Requests suspected to be from AI bots
Other
8. On average, how many staff hours are required to process a typical FOIA request?
Less than 1 hour
1-3 hours
4-10 hours
More than 10 hours
9. How many staff members are typically involved in responding to a FOIA request?
1
2-3
4-5
More than 5
10. How often do FOIA requests require legal review?
Rarely
Sometimes
Frequently
Almost always
12. Estimate the annual cost to your organization for FOIA compliance, including staff time, legal review, redaction, and administrative overhead.
Under $5,000
$5,000-$25,000
$25,000-$100,000
Over $100,000
Unsure
13. Which of the following contribute most to FOIA costs?
Select between
1
and
3
choices.
Staff time locating records
Legal review
Redaction of documents
Technology/software
Large or complex requests
Repeat requests
Appeals or disputes
14. Has FOIA compliance required hiring additional staff or outside legal services?
Yes
No
Occasionally
15. What aspects of FOIA compliance are most difficult? (Select up to 3)
Identifying responsive records
Redacting confidential information
Meeting statutory deadlines
Determining exemptions
Large or overly broad requests
Repeated requests from the same requestor
Requests requiring data compliation
Managing electronic records
Other (Please specify)
15a. Other
16. Has your organization ever had a FOIA request appealed to the Illinois Attorney General's Public Access Counselor?
Yes
No
Unsure
17. If yes, what was your experience with the appeals process?
Very fair and efficient
Generally fair
Slow or burdensome
Unclear guidance
18. What improvements, if any, would you suggest to the appeals or guidance process?
19. In your opinion, what specific reforms would improve FOIA while maintaining public transparency?
20. Is there anything else you would like policymakers to understand about the impact of FOIA on local governments?
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