Draft aFOIA request
The Illinois Freedom of Information Act gives you the right to city records. Describe what you want, and we'll draft a statute-ready letter routed to the right department's FOIA officer.
5 business days
The department must respond, extend once, or deny within five business days of receipt.
First 50 pages free
Black-and-white copies are free up to 50 pages; electronic records usually cost nothing at all.
Denied? Appeal.
You can appeal to the Attorney General's Public Access Counselor within 60 days.
Nothing is ever sent for you
chicago.fyi only drafts the letter. You review it and send it from your own email. Save a draft to track it against the statutory deadlines.
Letter preview
Pick a department and fill in your name, email, and a description of the records — the letter drafts itself here as you type.
After you send
- The 5-business-day clock starts the first business day after receipt. The department can extend once, by 5 more business days, with written notice.
- If you're denied (or ignored), you have 60 days to file a request for review with the Public Access Counselor at the Illinois Attorney General's office — it's free.
- Denials must cite a specific statutory exemption. Vague "we don't have that" answers are appealable too.
- FOIA logs are themselves public — you can FOIA a department's FOIA log to see what others have requested.