The Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) is a state statute that provides the public the right to access government documents and records. The premise behind FOIA is that the public has a right to know what the government is doing. The law provides that a person can ask a public body for a copy of its records on a specific subject and the public body must provide those records, unless there is an exemption in the statute that protects those records from disclosure (for example: records containing information concerning trade secrets or personal privacy).

Public bodies are subject to FOIA. The judiciary is not subject to FOIA, but court records and proceedings generally are open to the public.

Any person, group, association, corporation, firm, partnership or organization has the right to file a FOIA request to any state or local public body, including any city, township or county office. 

A response from the District to a request for inspection or copying of records will be provided within five business days after receipt of the request.  Day one of the five-day timeline is the first business day after the request is received by the public body.  The date the request was received does not count as "Day 1."  That time period may be extended 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 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 substantial interest in the subject matter of the request.  

The FOIA Office is a function of the department of administrative services for District 200. The assistant superintendent for administrative services also serves as the FOIA Officer. The duty of the FOIA Office is to process public requests for information. The purpose of the Office is to provide timely and accurate responses to information requests governed by the Illinois Freedom of Information Act. There is no specific budget allocated to these responsibilities. The list of documents or categories of records that are immediately available are: Available Documents