Section 651.120  Definitions

Terms not defined in this Section shall have the same meaning as in the Freedom of Information Act [5 ILCS 140]. The following definitions are applicable for purposes of this Part:

"Act" means State Treasurer Act [15 ILCS 505].

"Commercial purpose" means the use of any part of a record or records, or information derived from records, in any form for sale, resale, or solicitation or advertisement for sales or services.  For purposes of this definition, requests made by news media and non-profit, scientific, or academic organizations shall not be considered to be made for a "commercial purpose" when the principal purpose of the request is:

to access and disseminate information concerning news and current or passing events;

for articles of opinion or features of interest to the public; or

for the purpose of academic, scientific, or public research or education.  (Section 2(c-10) of FOIA)

"Copying" means the reproduction of any record by means of any photographic, electronic, mechanical, or other process, device or means now known or hereafter developed and available to the Office of the Treasurer.  (Section 2(d) of FOIA)

"FOIA" means the Freedom of Information Act [5 ILCS 140].

"Freedom of Information Officer" or "FOIA Officer" means an individual or individuals responsible for receiving and responding to requests for public records.

"News media" means a newspaper or other periodical issued at regular intervals, news service in paper or electronic form, radio station, television station, television network, community antenna television service, or person or corporation engaged in making news reels or other motion picture news for public showing.  (Section 2(f) of FOIA)

"Office of the Treasurer" means the Office of the Illinois State Treasurer as established by the Act.

"Person" means any individual, corporation, partnership, firm, organization or association, acting individually or as a group.  (Section 2(b) of FOIA)

"Private information" means unique identifiers, including a person's Social Security number, driver's license number, employee identification number, biometric identifiers, personal financial information, passwords or other access codes, medical records, home or personal telephone numbers, and personal email addresses.  Private information also includes home address and personal license plates, except as otherwise provided by law or when compiled without possibility of attribution to any person.  (Section 2(c-5) of FOIA)

"Public Access Counselor" means an individual appointed to that office by the Attorney General under Section 7 of the Attorney General Act [15 ILCS 205].

"Public body" means all legislative, executive, administrative, or advisory bodies of the State, State universities and colleges, counties, townships, cities, villages, incorporated towns, school districts and all other municipal corporations, boards, bureaus, committees or commissions of this State, any subsidiary bodies of any of the foregoing, including but not limited to committees and subcommittees thereof, and a School Finance Authority created under Article 1E of the School Code [105 ILCS 5]. (Section 2(a) of FOIA)

"Records" means all records, reports, forms, writings, letters, memoranda, books, papers, maps, photographs, microfilms, cards, tapes, recordings, electronic data processing records, electronic communications, recorded information and all other documentary materials pertaining to the transaction of public business, regardless of physical form or characteristics, having been prepared by or for, or having been or being used by, received by, in the possession of or under the control of the Office of the Treasurer.  (Section 2(c) of FOIA)

"Recurrent requester" as used in Section 3.2 of FOIA or Section 651.340, means a person that, in the 12 months immediately preceding the request, has submitted to the Office of the Treasurer:

a minimum of 50 requests for records;

a minimum of 15 requests for records within a 30-day period; or

a minimum of 7 requests for records within a 7-day period.

For purposes of this definition, requests made by news media and non-profit, scientific, or academic organizations shall not be considered in calculating the number of requests made in the time periods in this definition when the principal purpose of the requests is:

to access and disseminate information concerning news and current or passing events;

for articles of opinion or features of interest to the public; or

for the purpose of academic, scientific, or public research or education.

For the purposes of this definition, "request" means a written document (or oral request, if the Office of the Treasurer chooses to honor oral requests) that is submitted to the Office of the Treasurer via personal delivery, mail, telefax, electronic mail, or other means available to the Office of the Treasurer and that identifies the particular public record the requester seeks. One request may identify multiple records to be inspected or copied.  (Section 2(g) of FOIA)

"Requester" is any person who has submitted to the Office of the Treasurer a written request, electronically or on paper, for records.

"Treasurer" means the Illinois State Treasurer.

"Unwarranted invasion of personal privacy" means the disclosure of information that is highly personal or objectionable to a reasonable person and in which the subject's right to privacy outweighs any legitimate public interest in obtaining the information.  (Section 7(1)(c) of FOIA)

"Voluminous request" means a request that:

includes more than 5 individual requests for more than 5 different categories of records or a combination of individual requests that total requests for more than 5 different categories of records in a period of 20 business days; or

requires the compilation of more than 500 letter or legal-sized pages of public records unless a single requested record exceeds 500 pages.

"Single requested record" may include, but is not limited to, one report, form, e-mail, letter, memorandum, book, map, microfilm, tape, or recording.  

"Voluminous request" does not include a request made by news media and non-profit, scientific, or academic organizations if the principal purpose of the request is:

to access and disseminate information concerning news and current or passing events;

for articles of opinion or features of interest to the public; or

for the purpose of academic, scientific, or public research or education.

For the purposes of this definition, "request" means a written document, or oral request, if the Office of the Treasurer chooses to honor oral requests, that is submitted to the Office of the Treasurer via personal delivery, mail, telefax, electronic mail, or other means available to the Office of the Treasurer and that identifies the particular public record or records the requester seeks. One request may identify multiple individual records to be inspected or copied. (Section 2(h) of FOIA)

(Source:  Amended at 46 Ill. Reg. 1635, effective January 7, 2022)