PAC Rules Public Body Improperly Denied FOIA Request as Unduly Burdensome
In the 13th binding PAC opinion of the year, the
PAC found that the Governor’s office improperly denied a request for records as
unduly burdensome. PAC Op.
18-013. The requester, One Illinois, submitted a FOIA request to the
Governor’s office seeking documents and emails sent or received by seven
current and former employees and officials pertaining to certain appointments.
The Governor’s office responded that the request was unduly burdensome and
offered the requester the opportunity to narrow the request under Section 3(g)
of FOIA. The requester then narrowed his request to seek only emails and
not related documents. The Governor’s office again denied the
narrowed request as unduly burdensome. The requester then filed a
complaint with the PAC.
In defense of its denial, the Governor’s office claimed that its initial search for
emails yielded 44,356 potential responsive emails. However, that initial search
was not limited to the subject of appointments. The PAC found that the
Governor’s office failed to demonstrate that the initial search was a
reasonably adequate search for responsive emails, noting that a
subsequent search that included the word “appoint” yielded only
1,783 potentially responsive emails. The PAC found that the Governor’s
office did not show that review of 1,783 emails would be unduly
burdensome. Further, the PAC noted that the Governor’s office did not
show that the burden of reviewing and responding to this FOIA request would
outweigh the public interest in the information sought. The PAC ordered
the Governor’s office to provide the requester with the e-mails in response to
the request.
This opinion shows that when responding to a claim as unduly burdensome, the
public body must demonstrate that it conducted an adequate search, with tailored
search terms, and show why the burden outweighs the public interest in the
information.
Post Authored by Erin Pell, Ancel Glink
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