Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA)
The following procedures are implemented by the City of Evanston pursuant to the Illinois Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) amendments, effective January 1, 2010.
Under the Act, City Clerk (Stephanie Mendoza) is the designated FOIA Officer for the City of Evanston. The FOIA Officers for the City of Evanston are Deputy City Clerks, (Saúl Rodriguez and Omar Sheikh). Additionally, FOIA Officers for the City of Evanston are the City's Law Department (Alexandra Ruggie) and the City's Police Records Bureau (Sarah Jones).
All requests for non-exempt information must be responded to within five(5) working days after the receipt of the written request, unless additional time is required, as allowed by the Act. If an extension is required, the requester must be notified by mail, email or phone within five (5) days. Requests for a commercial purpose will be responded to within twenty-one (21) working days. You must disclose whether your request is for a commercial purpose. It violates the Freedom of Information Act for a person to knowingly obtain a public record for a commercial purpose without disclosing that it is for a commercial purpose, if requested by the public body. 5 ILCS 140.3.1(c)).
Next Request (Open Public Records)
How To Submit A Request:
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Visit the Next Request website to submit a FOIA request. (You can also check on the status of an existing FOIA request ) https://evanston.nextrequest.com/. Please visit the Next Request Help Desk for assistance with accessing and managing your request
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In person or by mail at the City Clerk's Office on 2100 Ridge Ave. #1200 Evanston, IL 60201 with a completed FOIA Request form
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By email to FOIA@cityofevanston.org
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By phone to the Evanston City Clerk's office at (847) 448-8189
NOTE: All requests for public records will be submitted to Next Request by the Evanston City Clerk's office.
The City of Evanston does not retain records regarding the Police or Firefighter’s Pension Board materials. All FOIA (Freedom of Information Act) requests regarding Police or Firefighter’s Pension Board materials should be submitted directly to the Public Information Officer of the Fund:
Timothy Schoolmaster
Trustee & President Evanston Police Pension Fund
1454 Elmwood Avenue
Evanston, IL 60201
or
Deron Daugherty
Trustee & President Evanston Firefighter’s Pension Fund
702 Madison St
Evanston, IL 60202
Fees:
(only applies to hard copies)
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The first fifty (50) pages are free
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Any page(s) after the first fifty (50) will be $.15 per page
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The certification fee for FOIA records is $1.00
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Cost to produce document only include:
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DUI report (driving under the influence)
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Ambulance report
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Fire/Incident report
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Audiotapes and videotapes
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CD
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Photographs
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Transcript from the Hearings Division
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The charge to a requestor for copies of any abnormal size document is the actual cost to produce that document
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Notary Service: $2.00 per Notarized document
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Requestors seeking unredacted copies of records must provide verification sufficient to prove eligibility to receive such records
Filing An Appeal
The City Manager's Office will no longer handle appeals for denials as of January 01, 2010. All appeals must be submitted to the PAC Officer within 60 calendar days after the denial of the FOIA request. Address your request to Leah Bartelt, Public Access Counselor, Office of the Attorney General, 500 S. 2nd Street, Springfield, Illinois 62706. (877) 299-3642 public.access@ilag.gov