A list of Freedom of Information (FOIA) officers, to whom all
initial requests for access to records of the Village are to be referred,
is on file in the Village offices. Such requests are to be made at
the offices of the Village Clerk at the Village Hall, 106 S. Scott
Street, Oakwood, Illinois, during the regular business hours of the
Village Clerk's office, Monday through Friday. Except in instances
when records are furnished immediately, the FOIA Officer, or his designees,
shall receive requests submitted to the Village under the Freedom
of Information Act (5 ILCS 140/1 et seq.), ensure that the Village
responds to requests in a timely fashion, and issue responses under
the Act. The FOIA Officer shall develop a list of documents or categories
of records that the Village shall immediately disclose upon request.
Upon receiving a request for a public record, the FOIA Officer
shall:
A. Note the date the Village receives the written request;
B. Compute the day on which the period for response will expire and
make a notation of that date on the written request;
C. Maintain an electronic or paper copy of the written request, including
all documents submitted with the request, until the request has been
complied with or denied; and
D. Create a file for the retention of the original request, a copy of
the response, a record of written communications with the requester,
and a copy of other communications.
The FOIA Officer and Deputy FOIA Officer shall, within six months
after January 1, 2010, successfully complete an electronic training
curriculum to be developed by the Public Access Counselor of the State
of Illinois and thereafter successfully complete an annual training
program. Whenever a new Freedom of Information Officer is designated
by the Village, that person shall successfully complete the electronic
training curriculum within 30 days after assuming the position.
Any records which are the subject of a request under the Freedom
of Information Act shall be retrieved from such place as they are
stored by the FOIA Officer, or by an employee of the Village acting
under the direction of the FOIA Officer. In no event shall records
be retrieved by the party requesting them or by any person who is
not employed by the Village.
If copies of records are requested, the fees for such copies,
whether certified or not, shall be determined from time to time by
the FOIA Officer pursuant to Section 6(b) of the Freedom of Information
Act [5 ILCS 140/6(b)]. The Village Clerk shall maintain a written
schedule of current fees in the Clerk's office. The fees so charged
shall reflect the actual cost of copying the records, and the cost
of certifying copies, if certification is requested.
In the event that a request to inspect Village records is denied
by the FOIA Officer, the denial may be appealed to the Public Access
Counselor of the State of Illinois.
The FOIA Officer shall prepare:
A. A Village
Information Directory;
B. A block
diagram of the functional subdivisions of the Village;
C. A Village
Records Directory; and