March 24, 2004
City of Collinsville
123 South Center Street
Collinsville, IL 62234
Pursuant to 5 ILCS 140/ Freedom of Information Act, I am requesting access to and a copy of the following records:
1. A list of all currently licensed and
registered businesses identified under the Collinsville City Business License
Ordinance which includes at a minimum the business name, mailing address,
physical address owner’s name home phone number business license number and
issue date and business phone number.
2.
A list of businesses identified
by the city as to not currently be in compliance with the City Business License
Ordinance and the basis for non-compliance.
3. A list of businesses which have applied for a
Collinsville City Business License and were turned down or who have had their
licenses suspended or revoked.
4. A list of businesses which have applied for
the Collinsville City Business License who have had city authorities inspect
their place of business in the course of enforcing the ordinance, the date and
nature of the inspection, the inspector’s name and their department within the
city.
5. A list of all individuals, persons, private
and public entities, as well as governmental and interdepartmental entities who
have requested or received information pertaining to licensed and registered
businesses under the City of Collinsville Business License Ordinance.
6. A list of any parties identified by the city
as to either now be, or have been, in violation of the City of Collinsville
Business License Ordinance who had administrative action taken against them
including, but not limited to, fines, hearings or incarceration as well as the
disposition of the infraction.
I agree to pay any reasonable copying and postage fees of not more than $20. If the cost would be greater than this amount, please notify me. Please provide a receipt indicating the charges for each document.
As provided by the open records law, I will expect your response within seven (7) working days.
If you choose to deny this request, please provide a written explanation for the denial including a reference to the specific statutory exemption(s) upon which you rely. Also, please provide all segregable portions of otherwise exempt material.
Please be advised that I am prepared to pursue whatever legal remedy necessary to obtain access to the requested records. I would note that willful violation of the open records law can result in the award of reasonable attorney' fees.
Thank you for your assistance.
Sincerely,
Mark R McCoy
41 Grandview
Collinsville, IL 62234
314-591-1991
Addendum to original request:
1. Pursuant to 5 ILCS 140/1 – 140/11, all
“Public records” as defined in 5 ILCS 140/2 (c) pertaining to proposing,
discussing, debating or enforcing the City of Collinsville Business License
including the statutory authority for the making, enacting and enforcement of
the City of Collinsville Business License.
2. Pursuant to 5 ILCS 140/4
(a) For the City of Collinsville, A brief
description of itself, which will include, but not be limited to, a short
summary of its purpose, a block diagram giving its functional subdivisions, the
total amount of its operating budget, the number and location of all of its
separate offices, the approximate number of full and part‑time employees, and
the identification and membership of any board, commission, committee, or
council which operates in an advisory capacity relative to the operation of the
public body, or which exercises control over its policies or procedures, or to
which the public body is required to report and be answerable for its
operations; and
(b) A brief description of the methods whereby the public may request
information and public records, a directory designating by titles and addresses
those employees to whom requests for public records should be directed, and any
fees allowable under Section 6 of this Act.
3. Pursuant to 5 ILCS 140/5
A reasonably current list of all types or categories of records under the
City of Collinsville’s control and a description of the manner in which public
records stored by means of electronic data processing may be obtained.
Request for copies to be provided for free or at a reduced charge
Pursuant to 5 ILCS 140/6 (b) I hereby request
the public body to fulfill this request for public records, as specified in the
above items, at no charge or at a reduced charge. The intent of procuring this
information is to provide and disseminate to the interested public at large at
my own time and expense, such information as they may deem applicable to their
own circumstances, interests and legal rights.
Appeal to Collinsville's denial:
FREEDOM OF INFORMATION APPEAL RE: 0563
April 6, 2004
Appellant’s
Name: Mark McCoy
Appellant’s
Address: 41 Grandview
Collinsville, IL 62234
Appellant’s
Telephone Number: 618-345-2981
Date of original
FOIA request: March 24, 2003
Copy of original
FOIA request: See attached
Copy of denial
response from FOIA officer: See attached
Reason for appeal to
be granted:
The above referenced
request was denied based on (5 ILCS 140/7)(b)(iii), (NOT REFERENCED IN IT’S
ENTIRETY), AND (5 ILCS 140/7(b)(v), (NOT REFERENCED IN IT’S ENTIRETY). The
officer’s incomplete excerpts do not represent the letter and context of the law
as it applies to my request.
In addressing the
officer’s explanations for denial we will look at the subsection in it’s
entirety starting with (5 ILCS 140/7)(b)(iii), to wit:
(iii) files and
personal information maintained with respect to any applicant, registrant or
licensee by any public body cooperating with or engaged in professional or
occupational registration, licensure or discipline.
The request(s) I
submitted, numbers 1 though 6 inclusive, deal exclusively with the category of
business licensing and not professional or occupational registration or
licensing as mentioned in the exemptions. The “list(s)” I requested do not
constitute files, as files are separate items and not defined in (5 ILCS
140/2)(c)”Public Records” which also must pertain to professional or
occupational registration and licensing.
The statute makes no
exemptions for information pertaining to general business licensing unless
identified under the occupational or professional penumbra, which the ordinance
already provides for since those disciplines and professions are preemptively
regulated by the state.
Therefore, the
denial based on the exemptions specified in (5 ILCS 140/7)(b)(iii) are
inappropriately applied, moot and erroneous.
Moving on to the
second explanation for denial as alluded to in (5 ILCS 140/7(b)(v), to wit:
(v) information
revealing the identity of persons who file complaints with or provide
information to administrative, investigative, law enforcement or penal agencies;
provided, however, that identification of witnesses to traffic accidents,
traffic accident reports, and rescue reports may be provided by agencies of
local government, except in a case for which a criminal investigation is
ongoing, without constituting a clearly unwarranted per se invasion of personal
privacy under this subsection;
None of the
information requested in items numbered 1 through 6 ask for information germane
to the above exclusion. I am befuddled as to how such an extrapolation can be
arrived at given the specificity of my request(s). The only information I
requested NOT directly attributable to the licensee itself is detailed in item
number 4 whereby I request the name of the inspector, and item number 5 whereby
I request individuals, persons and entities who have requested information
pertaining to licensees. Neither of those two items meet the test of exclusion
under the rule prohibiting identification of “…who file complaints with or
provide information to administrative, investigative, law enforcement or penal
agencies”.
Therefore, the
denial based on the exemptions specified in (5 ILCS 140/7(b)(v) are
inappropriately applied, moot and erroneous.
To further clarify,
I believe my request is lawful and appropriate, being duly supported by the
following provisions of the statutes (BOLD EMPHASIS ADDED):
(5 ILCS 140/2)
(c) "Public records"
means all records, reports, forms, writings, letters, memoranda, books,
papers, maps, photographs, microfilms, cards, tapes, recordings, electronic data
processing records, recorded information and all other documentary materials,
regardless of physical form or characteristics, having been prepared, or having
been or being used, received, possessed or under the control of any public body.
"Public records" includes, but is expressly not limited to: (i)
administrative manuals, procedural rules, and instructions to staff, unless
exempted by Section 7(p) of this Act; (ii) final opinions and orders made in
the adjudication of cases, except an educational institution's adjudication
of student or employee grievance or disciplinary cases; (iii) substantive rules;
(iv) statements and interpretations of policy which have been adopted by a
public body; (v) final planning policies, recommendations, and decisions;
(vi) factual reports, inspection reports, and studies whether prepared by or
for the public body; (vii) all information in any account, voucher, or
contract dealing with the receipt or expenditure of public or other funds of
public bodies; (viii) the names, salaries, titles, and dates of
employment of all employees and officers of public bodies; (ix)
materials containing opinions concerning the rights of the state, the
public, a subdivision of state or a local government, or of any private
persons; (x) the name of every official and the final records of voting in
all proceedings of public bodies; (xi) applications for any contract, permit,
grant, or agreement except as exempted from disclosure by subsection (g) of
Section 7 of this Act; (xii) each report, document, study, or publication
prepared by independent consultants or other independent contractors for the
public body; (xiii) all other information required by law to be made
available for public inspection or copying; (xiv) information relating to
any grant or contract made by or between a public body and another public body
or private organization; (xv) waiver documents filed with the State
Superintendent of Education or the president of the University of Illinois under
Section 30‑12.5 of the School Code, concerning nominees for General Assembly
scholarships under Sections 30‑9, 30‑10, and 30‑11 of the School Code; (xvi)
complaints, results of complaints, and Department of Children and Family
Services staff findings of licensing violations at day care facilities, provided
that personal and identifying information is not released; and (xvii) records,
reports, forms, writings, letters, memoranda, books, papers, and other
documentary information, regardless of physical form or characteristics, having
been prepared, or having been or being used, received, possessed, or under the
control of the Illinois Sports Facilities Authority dealing with the receipt or
expenditure of public funds or other funds of the Authority in connection with
the reconstruction, renovation, remodeling, extension, or improvement of all or
substantially all of an existing "facility" as that term is defined in the
Illinois Sports Facilities Authority Act.
I also defer to (5
ILCS 140/8) which states:
If any public record
that is exempt from disclosure under Section 7 of this Act contains any material
which is not exempt, the public body shall delete the information which is
exempt and make the remaining information available for inspection and copying.
I will ask that the
municipality consider (5 ILCS 140/8) when considering denying any of the
requested information and if so then redact excluded information and provide the
applicable materials.
Therefore, in
summation, I can find no legislative authority to support the officer’s
assertions in (5 ILCS 140/7)(b)(iii),and (5 ILCS 140/7(b)(v) as they may pertain
to my original request for items 1 through 6, inclusive, dated March 24, 2004.
Should any 1 item be found to be excluded by law, the remaining items should
stand on their own merit and be considered separately and responded to
accordingly per this appeal. I feel that the arguments for defining the
requested information per (5 ILCS 140/2)(c) are accurate and speak to the intent
of the statutes in providing for an open and Constitutional form of government.