The Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) is the principal Illinois law governing public records inspection. It is a pro-government transparency statute originally enacted on July 1, 1984. The FOIA provides the public the right to access existing documents and records of a public body. Requests for a copy of records on a specific subject may be made. The public body must provide those records unless there is a specific exemption in the statute that restricts those records from disclosure. Any individual, group, association, corporation, firm, partnership, or organization has the right to file a FOIA request to Kaskaskia College.
At Kaskaskia College, the Director of Marketing is designated as the Freedom of Information (FOIA) Officer. The College FOIA Officer will fulfill all training as required by the State of Illinois and respond to requests made to Kaskaskia College. Identification of the FOIA Officer and information on filing a Freedom of Information Request is listed on the Kaskaskia College webpage.
Requests must be submitted in writing and either emailed or mailed to the Kaskaskia College FOIA Officer. Any Kaskaskia College employee who receives a FOIA request must forward that request to the College FOIA Officer as soon as possible.
Responding to FOIA Requests
Kaskaskia College will make every effort to respond to a FOIA request within five business days after receiving the request. The time period may be extended according to Illinois statute for an additional five business days from the date of the original due date if:
- The requested information is stored at a different location;
- The request requires the collection of a substantial number of documents;
- The request requires an extensive search;
- The requested records have not been located and require additional effort to find;
- The requested records need to be reviewed by staff or legal counsel who can determine whether they are exempt from FOIA;
- The requested records cannot be produced without unduly burdening the public body or interfering with its operations; or
- The request requires the public body to consult with another public body that has a substantial interest in the subject matter of the request.
If additional time is needed, the Kaskaskia College FOIA Officer will notify the requestor in writing within five business days after receiving the request of the statutory reason(s) for the extension and when the requested information will be produced.
Each request for a commercial purpose will be complied with or denied within twenty-one (21) days after its receipt. Accordingly, if the request is for a commercial purpose, the requestor is asked to please indicate such. Any attempt to procure a public record for a commercial purpose without disclosing that the use is for a commercial purpose constitutes a violation of the Act .
Kaskaskia College requests may be denied as "unduly burdensome." This would apply if the request is categorical in nature and incapable of being narrowed or reduced, and the burden on the public body to produce the information outweighs the public interest in the information. Before denying a request, the College shall confer with the requestor and the requestor will be given an opportunity to reduce the request to manageable proportions. If the same person requests the same identical information , it shall be considered unduly burdensome. Kaskaskia College will make every effort to provide all FOIA requested information that meets State of Illinois guidelines.
The first 50 pages of black and white, letter or legal sized copies are free. Any additional pages will be charged at 15 cents per page. Color copies and any large-sized documents that require specialized copying equipment such as blueprints, etc., will be charged at cost. In addition, CDs, disks, or specialized drives needed to copy electronic files will be charged at cost.
Replaces Freedom of Information Act Procedure 6.9P approved February 18, 2010.