PAC Finds that Imposing a "Redaction Charge" Violates FOIA
The Illinois Attorney General's Public Access Counselor's (PAC) office released its 14th opinion for 2025 finding a public body in violation of FOIA for charging a fee for redaction of responsive records. PAC Op. 25-014.
An individual filed a FOIA request with a police department seeking copies of body camera footage relating to an incident he was involved in. The police department responded that it had responsive video that had to be redacted and that the requester would have to submit payment in advance in the amount of $2.58 per minute for redactions, totaling $696.60. The requester then filed a request for review with the PAC arguing that redaction charges are not authorized by FOIA. The police department argued that it charged a fee because it had to purchase redaction software, and that the "redaction charge" was intended to reimburse the department for those charges. The department further argued that it was not charging for its personnel time in redacting the video recording.
The PAC rejected the department's arguments. First, the PAC noted that in section 1 of FOIA, the General Assembly acknowledged that FOIA imposes fiscal obligations on public bodies. Second, the PAC stated that had the General Assembly intended to allow public bodies to be reimbursed for redaction costs it would have included a provision in section 6 of FOIA. Finally, the PAC found that FOIA restricts fees for electronic records to the cost of purchasing the "recording medium" (i.e., CD, flash drive) and not other costs. In sum, the PAC determined that the police department could not impose a "redaction charge" on FOIA requesters as that violates FOIA.
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