Freedom of Information Act Requests

As a government agency, the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning (CMAP) adheres to the Illinois Freedom of Information Act (FOIA)

The information you are seeking may be available on this website and may not require you to submit a FOIA request form. If you can’t find the information you are looking for on our website, please follow the guidance below to request information from CMAP.

How to submit a FOIA request

Please make your request for records in writing with the following information:

Date requested
Name of requester
Street address
Phone number
Email address
Records requested: Provide as much specific detail as possible so we can identify the information that you are seeking. You may attach additional pages if necessary.
Do you want copies of the documents? If so, do you want electronic or paper copies? If you want electric copies, in what format?
Is the request for commercial purposes? It is a violation of 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 to do so by the public body. (5 ILCS 140.3)
Are you requesting a fee waiver? If you are requesting that the public body waiver any fees for copying the documents, you must attach a statement of the purpose of the request, and whether the principal purpose of the request is to access or disseminate information regarding the health, safety and welfare or legal rights of the general public. (5 ILCS 140/6)

You may submit your written request by mail, email, or in person.

By mail or in person:

Attn: FOIA officer
Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning
433 W. Van Buren Street, Suite 450
Chicago, IL 60607

By email:

Email your request to FOIA@dev.cmapstageilli.com. Please use “FOIA” in the subject line to identify your request and reduce the possibility of its being filtered as spam.

Tips for submitting a FOIA request

If you would like to submit a FOIA request, please include the information below.

Be specific in your request, so that the FOIA officer can process it more efficiently.
Tell us whether you would like copies of the requested records, or whether you wish to examine the records in person.
Include your name, telephone number(s), mailing address, and email address

Fees

Electronic records can be requested and will be provided, as allowed under the law, for free.
Physical copies are:

Free for first 50 pages (black and white)
15 cents per page thereafter (black and white)
Actual cost of copying for color and abnormal size copies

You may ask for a copying fee waiver. To do so, please include the following statement in your FOIA request: “I request a waiver of all fees associated with this request.” In addition, you must include a specific explanation as to why your request for information is in the public interest — not simply your personal interest — and merits a fee waiver.

Response

Illinois law requires public bodies to respond to FOIA requests within 5 business days for non-commercial requests and 21 days for commercial requests.