The City of Paris Freedom of Information page is your source for everything related to the Freedom of Information Act.  Below you will find the FOIA request procedures, copy information, and fees.

Freedom of Information Request Procedures

1. Non-exempt public records will be made available for inspection and copying at the City of Paris City Hall, Monday through Friday, between the hours of 8:00AM and 5:00PM except on holidays.  Public records of the Paris Police Department will be made available for inspection and copying at the Paris Police Department located at 211 W. Washington Street.
2. All requests for public records must be made in writing and should contain the name, address, and contact information for the requestor, as well as a description of the records being requested.  As a convenience, the City offers a FOIA request form that may be filled out and returned to the Freedom of Information Officer.
3. Requests for all non-police department records should be made to the attention of the Freedom of Information Officer, whose office is located in the City Clerk’s Office in City Hall.  Requests for police records should be made to the attention of the Police Freedom of Information Officer.
4. The City will accept written FOIA requests submitted in person, by U.S. mail and by fax (217-466-1308) and email.
5. All non-commercial requests for public records will be acted upon within 5 business days of their receipt in the Freedom of Information Office.  Requests made for commercial purposes will be acted upon within 21 days of receipt.  It is the policy of the City of Paris to give the highest priority to the processing of any non-commercial requests.
6. Occasionally, additional time may be needed to process certain requests.  In those instances, the Freedom of Information Officer will provide the requestor with an official written notice extending the compliance period to 10 business days.
7. If the City determines that more than 10 business days will be needed to completely fulfill a request, the Freedom of Information Officer and the requestor can agree in writing to an additional extension.
8. The Freedom of Information Act provides that certain types of records may be exempt from public inspection and copying as necessary to protect legitimate privacy or security interests.  If the City determines that a requested record or any portion of a requested record is exempt under the FOIA, the Freedom of Information Officer will provide the requestor with a written notice of denial.  Records containing both exempt and non-exempt information will be provided to the requestor with any exempt material redacted.
9. A requestor has the right to appeal for a review of any denial in writing to the Public Access Counselor of the Illinois Attorney General’s Office within 60 days of receiving the denial.  The Public Access Counselor will review all claims and issue an opinion within 60 days of receiving the request for review.
10. A requestor also retains the right to seek judicial review of any denial in the Edgar County Circuit Court.

Inspection & Copying of Records

Inspection of public records, except police records, will be conducted during business hours at City Hall.  Inspection of police records will be conducted at the Paris Police Department.  As a matter of convenience, the City and/or the requestor may request that the inspection take place in another location.  The City may require that a City employee or officer be present during the inspection and may prohibit the requestor from bringing bags, brief cases, or other containers into the inspection room.  Documents which the requestor wishes to have copied will be segregated during the course of the inspection and, after the inspection is completed, will be copied by a City employee or officer.

Copying Fees

Pursuant to the FOIA, the City has the authority to charge reasonable fees to persons requesting copies of public records.  These fees are used only to cover the actual costs of the reproduction of public documents and are not designed to recoup the costs of any staff time used in researching or compiling records for inspection or copying.

The fee schedule for copies of non-exempt public records is as follows, effective January 1, 2010:

Fees for copies of oversized documents, maps, blueprints, manuals, or any other records which are to be copied by an outside service will be based on the actual costs incurred by the City.

Copies of public records shall be provided to the requestor only upon payment of any charges due.  For black and white paper copies, the requestor will be furnished with the first 50 pages per request at no charge.

Additional charges may be waived or reduced in any case where the City determines that a waiver or fee reduction would serve the public interest.  A requestor may submit a request for a waiver or fee reduction to the Freedom of Information Officer, who will take action of the waiver request within 5 business day of receipt.

Freedom of Information contact information