Hart v. Illinois State Police
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The plaintiffs alleged that the Illinois State Police (ISP), violated the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) (5 ILCS 140/1) by failing to provide them with documents relating to their Firearm Owners’ Identification (FOID) cards under the Firearm Owner’s Identification Card Act (430 ILCS 65/0.01). ISP had denied the plaintiffs’ requests for the documents, finding the requested information exempt from disclosure under FOIA section 7.5(v). The circuit court ordered ISP to produce each plaintiff’s FOID card application and to produce copies of letters it had previously sent to the plaintiffs in which it informed them it was revoking their FOID cards. After consolidating the cases, the appellate court affirmed.
The Illinois Supreme Court reversed. Section 7.5(v) states that the “names and information” of people who have applied for or received FOID cards are exempt from disclosure under FOIA; it makes no distinction between another person’s FOID card information and one’s own information. An individual may not consent to the disclosure of his FOID card information under FOIA. The plaintiffs may obtain their FOID card applications and revocation letters through the Firearms Services Bureau, the division of ISP that processes FOID card applications and determines FOID card eligibility but FOIA is not the proper means for obtaining the requested information.
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