In less than two months public documents in Illinois will be quicker and cheaper to come by, but some officials are wondering what the changes will cost.
On Jan. 1, a law goes into effect that aims to bolster the state’s Freedom of Information Act, often described by open government advocates as among the weakest in the nation.
The new law is meant to remove many of the obstacles to getting public documents, said Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan, who was a proponent for the changes when state lawmakers approved them in August.
After the new year, public bodies will have five business days to respond to a FOIA request — a quicker turnaround from the current seven days.
The law also tries to eliminate excessively high costs for reproducing documents. The first 50 pages requested must be provided for free, and the law caps the price of reproducing any additional black and white, letter- or legal-sized paper at 15 cents per page.
Public bodies also will have to designate someone to handle information requests. That person will receive annual training through the attorney general’s office on FOIA and the Open Meetings Act.
In Westmont, Deputy Village Clerk Steve Penczak serves as the village’s FOIA officer. He said the shortened time that staff has to reply on request under the new law could cause some delays in the FOIA process.
“Because of the shortened time we will have to reply to the FOIA request, we will initially request the five day extension on all requests received until we work out how to streamline our process,” he said.
Currently, the village charges 15 cents per page for copies.
Penczak also indicated the new law could mean increased cost for the village. Not only will the village not be charge for most of the copies, but more staff time will be needed to fill requests.
“This is another example of an unfunded mandate dumped on already financially struggling municipalities by the state legislature,” Penczak said.
The new FOIA law brings changes for more than just towns and other government bodies. It also gives more enforcing power to Illinois courts and the attorney general’s office.
Courts will be able to impose between $2,500 and $5,000 in penalties against public bodies that intentionally fail to comply with the law; the current law contains no penalties. Also, the law encourages courts to award attorneys fees when the plaintiff prevails in a lawsuit to obtain access.
In the attorney general’s office, a new position will be created — the public access counselor, whose job will be to ensure compliance. The counselor will review rejected FOIA requests and determine whether those documents should have been released, and he or she will be able to send out binding rulings and issue subpoenas in disputes.
The changes are meant to increase government transparency up and down the line in Illinois, said Cara Smith, Madigan’s deputy chief of staff.
“In a number of places there are tremendous incentives to comply,” she said.
Staff writer David Heitz contributed to this report.
