FAQ's

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 other FOIA Officers for the City of Evanston are Interim Corporate Council, Alexandra Ruggie, and Kina Robinson.

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:

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
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
By email to FOIA@cityofevanston.org
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.

City of Evanston FOIA Policy

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

Deron Daugherty

Trustee & President Evanston Firefighter’s Pension Fund

702 Madison St

Evanston, IL 60202

Fees:

(only applies to hard copies)

The first fifty (50) pages are free
Any page(s) after the first fifty (50) will be $.15 per page
The certification fee for FOIA records is $1.00
The cost to produce the document only includes:
DUI report (driving under the influence)
Ambulance report
Fire/Incident report
Audiotapes and videotapes
CD
Photographs
Transcript from the Hearings Division
The charge to a requestor for copies of any abnormal-size document is the actual cost to produce that document.
Notary Service: $2.00 per Notarized document
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