In a binding opinion, the Illinois Attorney General’s Public Access Counselor (“PAC”) determined that a village violated the Illinois Freedom of Information Act (“FOIA”) when it refused to release a village clerk’s termination letter in response to a FOIA request. The village attempted to justify its denial by invoking several exemptions, including the Personnel Record Review Act (“PRRA”) and FOIA’s personal privacy and disciplinary adjudication provisions. The PAC found that none of these exemptions justified withholding the letter.
A requester twice requested an unredacted copy of a letter terminating the employment of a village employee, but the village denied the request each time, citing both the privacy of the employee and an alleged prohibition on disclosure of certain personnel records. Specifically, the village argued that it could not disclose the letter because the PRRA limits disclosure of certain employee disciplinary records, and further argued that FOIA sections 7(1)(a), 7(1)(c), and 7(1)(n) justified the denial.
The PAC rejected each of these arguments, finding that none of the cited exemptions barred disclosure of the termination letter. The PAC emphasized that the PRRA did not justify withholding the letter because it merely prohibits release of certain records without notice to the affected employee. Moreover, section 7(1)(a) did not justify withholding the record because the letter addressed the employee’s public duties. Finally, the PAC found that no adjudicatory process had taken place, as required by section 7(1)(n). As a result, the village was directed to provide an unredacted copy of the termination letter to the requester.
This opinion reinforces a core principle of Illinois FOIA: public bodies cannot stretch exemptions or rely on generalized privacy concerns to withhold records that document a public employee’s official conduct. By rejecting every exemption the village cited, the PAC made clear that termination letters and similar disciplinary documents are presumptively public and must be released unless a specific statute squarely prohibits disclosure. The decision underscores that school districts must apply exemptions like the PRRA, personal privacy, and adjudication provisions narrowly, not as broad barriers to disclosure.
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Source: Public Access Opinion 25-016
