Freedom of Information Act (FOIA)

The Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) is a state statute that provides the public the right to access government documents and records. The premise behind FOIA is that the public has a right to know what the government is doing. The law provides that a person can ask a public body for a copy of its records on a specific subject and the public body must provide those records, unless there is an exemption in the statute that protects those records from disclosure (for example: Library circulation and order records identifying library users with specific materials under the Library Records Confidentiality Act [75 ILCS 70/1 et. seq.] see [5 ILCS 140/7.5(b)]).

Purpose:

A brief description of the North Chicago Public Library, herein referred to as “the Library” follows:
The purpose of the Library is to provide materials and services for the recreational, social, informational, and educational needs of the community.

Operating Budget

The total amount of the Library’s operating budget for FY 2014-2015 is $754,440. Funding sources are property and personal property replacement taxes, state and federal grants, fines, fees and donations. Tax levies are:

• Corporate purposes (for general operating expenditure)
• MRF (for employee’s retirement and related expenses)
• Social Security (for employee’s FICA costs and related expenses)
• Audit (for annual audit and related expenses)
• Building Sites and Maintenance (for maintaining the building and grounds)
• Tort Liability (for insurance premiums, risk management, attorney’s fees and related expenses, unemployment and worker’s compensation insurance)
• Working Cash (for internal loans {no longer levied})
• Debt Service (for bond and interest payments {abated annually})

 

Location

The office is located at this address: 2100 Argonne Drive, North Chicago, Illinois 60064.
Employees

We have the following number of the persons employed:

• Full‐time 6
• Part‐time 10
• An organizational chart is attached.

 

Operating Budget

The total amount of the library’s operating budget for FY 2014-2015 is $754,440.  Funding sources are property and personal property replacement taxes, state and federal grants, fines, fees and donations.

 

Governance

The following organization exercises control over policies and procedures of the library: Board of Trustees of the North Chicago Public Library, which meets monthly on the second Tuesday at 6:30p.m. of each month at the library.  The members of the Board of Trustees are Etta Clement-Robinson, President; Alecia Boddie, Vice-President; Zera Dickerson, Secretary; Vance Wyatt, Treasurer; Herbert Handy, Robert Runnels, Lillie Joplin, Daniel Hartman and Caroline Harrington.

 

Advisory or Controlling Organizations

The following organization operates in an advisory capacity regarding the operation of the Library: Reaching Across Illinois Library System, Burr Ridge, Illinois.

The Library is required to report and be answerable for its operations to Illinois
State Library, Springfield, Illinois. Its members are Jesse White, Secretary of State and State
Librarian; Anne Craig, Director of the State Library; and various other staff.

 

FOIA Request Procedures

You may request the information and the records available to the public in the following manner.

•  Direct your request to a FOIA Officer.
• Specify the records requested to be disclosed for inspection, to be copied, or to be furnished in electronic format. If you desire that any records be certified, you must specify which ones.
• Reimburse the Library for reproducing records in excess of 50 pages and/or certifying records.
  For records to be copied, there is no charge for the first fifty (50) pages of “letter size” or “legal Size” black‐and‐white copies. If you request copies in another size and/or color, you will be charged a $1.00 per page, which is not more than the Library’s actual cost for reproducing the records. If you request that records be certified, you will be charged $1.00 per page to reimburse the Library for the actual costs for certifying the records.

You may request to inspect records rather than having them copied. If you wish to inspect records, an employee must be present throughout the inspection. The place and times where the records will be available are as follows: North Chicago Public Library Business Office, 2100 Argonne Drive, North Chicago, Illinois 60064, between 9:00 a.m. and 7:45 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 9:00 a.m. to
4:45pm Friday and Saturday, except holidays.

 

The office will respond to a written request within five (5) working days or sooner if possible. An extension of an additional five (5) working days may be necessary to properly respond.

The decision of the FOIA Officer may be appealed to the Public Access Counselor.

The following types of categories of records are maintained under the control of the Library.

• Monthly Financial Statements
• Annual Receipts and Disbursements Reports
• Budget and Appropriation Ordinances
• Levy Ordinances
• Operating Budgets
• Annual Audits
• Minutes of the Board of Library Trustees
• Library Policies, including Materials Selection
• Annual Reports to the Illinois State Library

Certain types of information maintained by the Library are exempt from inspection and copying.

 

AMENDMENT TO THE OPEN MEETING ACT

Public Act 097-0609 Concerning Public Employee Compensation & Benefits. In accordance with Public Act 097-0609, a list of all employees whose total compensation package equals or exceeds $75,000 is available in the library’s business office. The business offce is open Monday-Friday, 9:00am-5:00pm.

 

 

Board of Trustees
Policy # 001
Illinois Freedom of Information Act (5 ILCS 140/1) Policy
Adopted: February 17, 2011
Revised: December 18, 2013