Discover the Procedure of Doing a Public Records Search

By Claire Dowell


The State of Illinois holds a total population of 12,869,257 on July 1, 2011, according to the United States Census Bureau. The state of Illinois is located in the Midwest Region of the United States of America. Illinois State has a fast growth production of their agricultural products both presently in the central and northern part. Most of Illinois Public Records can be viewed by the public and some cannot be publicy viewed. This is due to the Illinois Freedom of Information Act that was granted on the year 1996. It allows the residents to gain access on their own personal vital records.

Public records are pieces of information that can be used as a primary source and are open to the public. For example a couple fills out a marriage license application and were given an option to whether the marriage is confidential or public. If they choose it to be public then they can get a copy of the record in which the marriage occurred. The different kinds of public records are sex offender registration files, professional and business licenses, consumer protections information, government spending reports, criminal records, real estate appraisal records, court dockets and voter registration.

The Freedom of Information Act is a federal freedom of information law that permits people to have an access for the full or partial disclosure of previously unreleased information and documents controlled by the United States government. This act was enacted on July 4, 1996 by President Lyndon B. Johnson and went into effect the following year. However, not everybody had agreed on this act for private reasons and others believe that certain types of government information should remain confidential. Records that are protected from disclosure by Federal or State law are not considered public. The government holds certain limitations to its residents about confidential records.

Anyone has the right to file a request to any local public body. For requesting copies, the requester must write a letter that includes the name, address, date and contact number. Also it should include in the letter the type of record that the requester wants. Requests are granted in five or more business days after it is received by the office clerk. An office clerk notifies requesters for any statutory reasons for any extension and when the requested information will be produced.

For the first fifty pages of black and white, letter or legal sized copies has no charge. Any additional pages of the copy will cost the requester no more than fifteen cents per page. Color copies or beyond more than the free size copy will be charged the actual cost of copying which would be less than seven dollars.

Freedom of Information Act defines Public Records as all records, reports, forms, writings, letters, memoranda, books, papers, maps, photographs, microfilms, cards, tapes, recordings, electronic data processing records, electronic communications, recorded information and all other documentary materials pertaining to the transaction of public business. In order to get information about a certain public record, it is available in electronic as well as paper format.




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