Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA)

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 Corporate Council, Alexandra Ruggie for the Law Department.

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)).

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 909 Davis St., 2nd Floor. 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 Firefighters’ 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 Firefighters’ Pension Fund
702 Madison St
Evanston, IL 60202

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

Year	Number of Requests
2016	769
2017	924
2018	1394
2019	1423
2020	1263
2021	1694
2022	3062
2023	3163
2024	4035
2025	4546
2026	1505 (as of April 01, 2026)

Standard scale of fees established pursuant to the Illinois Freedom of Information Act, 5 ILCS 140/6

Revised August 31, 2026.

Fees are statutory maximums or actual costs as noted. Statutory citations appear in the right-hand column.
Item	Fee	Authority and notes
Paper copies
Black & white, letter or legal size — first 50 pages	No charge	5 ILCS 140/6(b)
Black & white, letter or legal size — each page after 50	$0.15 per page	5 ILCS 140/6(b) (statutory maximum)
Color copies or non-standard sizes	Actual reproduction cost	5 ILCS 140/6(b)
Electronic records
Records provided electronically (email or portal download)	No charge	5 ILCS 140/6(a) — no search, review, or personnel charges on non-commercial, non-voluminous requests
Recording medium (CD, DVD, USB drive), when requested	Actual cost of the medium	5 ILCS 140/6(a)
Certified FOIA request
Certification of a record furnished in response to a FOIA request — original City of Evanston records only; applied per record, not per request (for example, a response containing 5 original City records is 5 certifications, $5.00)	$1.00 per record certified	5 ILCS 140/6(b) — statutory maximum. The City certifies only individual records created or maintained by the City of Evanston; it cannot certify third-party documents or a FOIA request as a whole
Certified City records
Certification of an individual record with the City Seal, requested outside the FOIA process — original City of Evanston records only	$3.00 per record	City Code § 1-16-2 (use of the City Seal on any attestation, acknowledgement, or other certificate; payable to the City Clerk). Not applicable to records furnished in response to a FOIA request
Police records
Traffic crash report	$5.00 per report	625 ILCS 5/11-416; fee fixed by statute per 5 ILCS 140/6(b)
Crash reconstruction report	$20.00 per report	625 ILCS 5/11-416
Commercial requests (5 ILCS 140/3.1)
Personnel time — search, retrieval, and examination for redaction — first 8 hours	No charge	5 ILCS 140/6(f)
Personnel time — each hour after the first 8	$10.00 per hour	5 ILCS 140/6(f); an itemized accounting of fees, costs, and personnel hours is provided
Off-site record retrieval and transport (third-party storage)	Actual cost	5 ILCS 140/6(f)
Copies and media	Per the scales above	Payment in full is required before records are copied or released
Voluminous requests — electronic records (5 ILCS 140/6(a-5))
Files not in PDF format — up to 2 MB	Up to $20	5 ILCS 140/6(a-5)
Files not in PDF format — more than 2 MB, up to 4 MB	Up to $40	5 ILCS 140/6(a-5)
Files not in PDF format — more than 4 MB	Up to $100	5 ILCS 140/6(a-5)
PDF files — up to 80 MB	Up to $20	5 ILCS 140/6(a-5)
PDF files — more than 80 MB, up to 160 MB	Up to $40	5 ILCS 140/6(a-5)
PDF files — more than 160 MB	Up to $100	5 ILCS 140/6(a-5); mixed-format responses may be charged under both scales, with an itemized accounting provided

Fee waiver or reduction

Documents will be furnished without charge or at a reduced charge where the requester states the specific purpose of the request and a waiver or reduction is in the public interest — that is, the principal purpose of the request is to access and disseminate information regarding the health, safety, welfare, or legal rights of the general public and is not for personal or commercial benefit. 5 ILCS 140/6(c).

Payment

Payments may be made online through the City's FOIA portal, or by check or cash in person at the City of Evanston, 909 Davis Street, Evanston, IL 60201. Payment is due within 30 days of the invoice. Commercial requests require payment in full before records are copied or released. For voluminous requests, unpaid fees remain a debt due and owing to the City. 5 ILCS 140/3.6(e).

Top Results

All Results

Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA)

How To Submit A Request:

Fee waiver or reduction

Payment

Top Results

All Results

Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA)

Submit A FOIA Request (Open Public Records)

How To Submit A Request:

Filing An Appeal

Yearly FOIA Request Data

FOIA Fee Schedule

Fee waiver or reduction

Payment