The Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) is a state law that provides citizens with access to public records.  Each City department is a separate agency responsible for maintaining its own records, so requests should be submitted to the department that maintains the records you want.

All Freedom of Information requests submitted to City of Chicago departments must include the following information:

1. The name, mailing address and contact information of the requester;
2. A description of the records that are being requested.

Submit a FOIA request online

Copies of the public records and case files maintained by the Department of Administrative Hearings may be requested through the Freedom of Information Act during normal business hours (Monday through Friday, 9:00 am to 4:30 pm). The Department reserves the right to require that requests be made in writing.

Fees
We will inform you of the fee for processing your request. Fees are: first fifty (50) pages are free, $0.15 per page thereafter, $1.00 per certified order, and $3.00 per compact disk. Your request will be processed upon receipt of the fee. All checks shall be made payable to the Chicago Department of Finance.

Email
There is no fee to process an email request. Audio records are unavailable by email. The Department can provide file records for no more than 3 cases per email request. Any records prior to 2002 are not available by email.  Citations/tickets are not available by email.

Records
The type of records available in a Department of Administrative Hearings case file may include: (i) any documents presented at the hearing; (ii) a copy of the ticket (not available by email), notice of violation or notice of hearing; (iii) a copy of a default order; (iv) a copy of findings and decision order; (v) a copy of any pleadings and (vi) an audio record of the testimony presented at the hearing, which may be made by a compact disk, tape recording or other appropriate means.

Forms
Department of Administrative Hearings request forms can be downloaded and/or emailed from this page.

For Administrative Hearings FOIA requests, write to:

Please note that all FOIA requests are posted online.  FOIA requests are public information, and when you submit a FOIA request, your name and information about the request will be made available on the City's website.

Please be specific about the information you are seeking, and indicate the exact locations and dates.  Please indicate in your request how you would like the information sent to you (via email, mail, or available to pick up at our office).

Due to our request volume, the most efficient way for us to respond to questions is via email: AHfoia@cityofchicago.org

Click here for the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Program & Initiative Page