Online Free Illinois Public Records

Illinois has a total population of 12,869,257 on July 1, 2011, according to the United States Census Bureau. The state of Illinois is located in the Midwest Region of the United States. This state is known to have a great agricultural productivity both in central and northern Illinois and great for its natural resources. Name Illinois is supposed to mean man or men in the Miami Illinois language. Illinois Public Records is under the Illinois Freedom of Information Act. The Act allows residents of the state to access or view their vital records. This can either be done using the internet or visit the nearest local office. However, there are some records that are not considered public or expunged due to private reasons.  

Public records are documents or records or pieces of information that are not restricted. For example, a couple fills out a marriage license application and in the license application they were given an option of checking the box as to whether the marriage is confidential or made public. If they checked the public box, they can get a copy of the record to the county in which marriage occurred. Census records, criminal records, real estate appraisal records, court dockets, voter registration, legislation minutes, professional and business licenses, consumer protections information, government spending reports and sex offender registration files are types of public records.

The Freedom of Information Act is a federal freedom of information law that permits people to have an access for the full or partial disclosure of previously unreleased information and documents controlled by the United States government. This act was enacted on July 4, 1996 by President Lyndon B. Johnson and went into effect the following year. However, not everybody had agreed on this act for private reasons and others believe that certain types of government information should remain confidential. Records that are protected from disclosure by Federal or State law are not considered public. The government holds certain limitations to its residents about confidential records.

Anyone living in the state of Illinois has the right to file such request to any local public body. In order to make a request, one must write a letter that includes the name of the requester, address, date and contact number. Also to be included the information or the type of record that is requested. The requests are given within five business days or more after the request is received by the office clerk. The date that the request was received by the office clerk is not included in the count.  

For the first fifty pages of black and white, letter or legal sized copies has no charge. Any additional pages of the copy will cost the requester no more than fifteen cents per page. Color copies or beyond more than the free size copy will be charged the actual cost of copying which would be less than seven dollars.

Public Records are defined by the Freedom of Information Act as all records, reports, forms, writings, letters, memoranda, books, papers, maps, photographs, microfilms, cards, tapes, recordings, electronic data processing records, electronic communications, recorded information and all other documentary materials pertaining to the transaction of public business. Information can be available in electronic as well as paper format.