FOIA Documents Maintained by Departments

Below is a list of the documents typically maintained by each Department for FOIA, and most popularly-requested.

311

  • Number of calls/complaints about a particular location or address
  • Number of calls/complaints about an establishment or business
  • Number of calls/complaints requesting a particular service
  • Request for copies of Service Requests (SR)
  • Status of Service Request

Administrative Hearings

  • Administrative Notices of Violation
  • Orders entered by Administrative Law Judges
  • Vehicle impoundment case documents
  • All other documents contained in Administrative Hearing case files

Animal Care & Control

  • 311 reports
  • Bite reports

Aviation

  • A list of all Concessions operated by Host.
  • All contracts with the Chicago Department of Aviation.
  • Copies of the Chicago Department of Aviation Quarterly DBE/MBE/WBE Utilization Reports.
  • Information on the Sound Insulation Program.
  • Monthly Concession Reports for O'Hare and Midway Airports filed by Clear Channel.

Board of Ethics

  • Others' (and their own) previously submitted (to the Board of Ethics) requests for records ("FOIA requests")

Budget & Management

  • Aldermanic Menu Account spending

Buildings

  • Handwritten application
  • Permits
  • Plans
  • Press Inquiry
  • Verify Number of Dwelling Units
  • Violations

Business Affairs & Consumer Protection

  • Business License Disciplinary History
  • Business Investigation History
  • Enforcement Documents (Notices to Correct, Administrative Notices of Violation (ANOV)/citations, and Cease and Desist Orders)
  • Public Chauffeur Applications and Supplemental Documents
  • Public Passenger Vehicle Applications and Supplemental Documents
  • Public Way Use Permit Applications and Supplemental Documents
  • Shared Housing Documents
  • Sidewalk Cafe Permit Applications and Supplemental Documents
  • Taxicab Medallion License Applications and Transfers
  • Transportation Network Providers (Ride-Hail Companies) Documents
  • 311 Complaints Related to a Business

The following data is available online in the City's Data Portal, without submitting a request:

Civilian Office of Police Accountability

Data on Complaints

Investigative Files

Officer Complaint Histories

Complaint Histories

Closing documents

COPA policies

Cultural Affairs and Special Events

  • Archival records of past programs and exhibitions
  • Film projects in the City of Chicago (excluding locations of film projects prior to completion of filming – protected information for closed sets.)
  • Grant applications and fact sheets on available DCASE grants
  • Information related to DCASE produced Festivals and Events (Performer contracts and Sponsorship contracts are proprietary information.)
  • Information related to Neighborhood festivals (however DCASE does not produce these events and does not enter into any contracts related to them.)
  • Information related to Walks and Runs (however DCASE does not produce these events with the exception of Race to Taste and does not enter into any contracts related to them.)
  • Information related to Parades (however DCASE does not produce these events with the exception of the Memorial Day Parade and does not enter into any contracts related to them.)
  • Outside contracts for festivals and events (Cleaning, security, event partners, Port-a-lets)
  • Personnel and payroll records
  • Press releases, brochures, calendars and other marketing materials about current programs and exhibitions presented by DCASE
  • Taste of Chicago Restaurant vendor process

Community Commission for Public Safety and Accountability

  • All contracts executed by the Community Commission for Public Safety and Accountability 
  • Commission and District Council Meeting Minutes  
  • Department personnel files, reports and payroll records
  • Records relating to nomination and goal setting for Public Safety Department Heads

Emergency Management & Communication

  • 911 audio
  • 911 event queries
  • 911 standard location reports
  • Video requests

Family & Support Services

  • Delegate Agency Agreements
  • Listing of Delegate Agencies and Program Descriptions
  • Shelter System Budget and Program Descriptions

Finance

  • Annuitant benefit records
  • Canceled checks
  • Expenditure reports
  • Employee benefit records
  • Payrolls
  • Revenue reports

Fire

  • Address specific reports on hazardous material responses and mitigation including site history if any
  • Certain structure Fire Reports on closed and or inactive cases (active and open cases require a valid court order or subpoena)
  • Fire deaths by year and cause
  • Inspection reports and location details on Underground Fuel Storage Tanks within the City of Chicago, such as those used in gasoline filling stations and commercial heating and motor fuel storage
  • Inspection and Fire Prevention Bureau violation reports on institutional and commercial locations, including Fire Pump tests and Sprinkler reports after 2005
  • Number of Fire and EMS responses by category and geographic Fire District (Including number of standard (still) Alarms and Extra Alarm events)
  • Overall Fire Department employee breakdown by various criteria including race, gender, rank and age

Fleet and Facility Management

  • Brownfields Sites
  • Budget requests and City Council budget hearing documentation
  • City facility locations
  • Department personnel files, reports and payroll records
  • Electric bills
  • Environmental, Health & Safety Management
  • Equipment maintenance records
  • Equipment files and maintenance files
  • Fuel usage records 
  • Leases for City facilities 
  • Maintenance costs for City facilities 
  • Natural gas bills
  • Sustainability Initiatives
  • Vehicle title records 
  • Vehicle usage records 
  • Vehicle inventory records
  • Work orders for City facilities
  • Task order requests, proposals and acceptance and rejection letters

Health

  • Above Ground Storage Tank
  • Communicable disease reports for a large food borne disease outbreaks (Taste of Chicago outbreak)
  • Demolition Permit 
  • Environmental Complaint Record
  • Environmental Inspection Record Environmental Enforcement Action
  • EPCRA Record (Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act) 
  • Health data reports
  • Installation Permit 
  • Lead home inspection reports/files
  • Underground Storage Tank

Human Relations

  • Annual Hate Crime Reports for Chicago
  • Adjudication Division Annual Activity Reports.
  • Board Rulings Digest listing the decisions of the Board of Commissioners on liability and attorney fees, made after administrative hearings on discrimination complaints filed under the Human Rights and Fair Housing Ordinances
  • Commission on Human Relations Annual Reports
  • Copies of rulings of the Board of Commissioners and other precedential decisions issued in discrimination cases filed under the Human Rights and Fair Housing Ordinances.  Each decision must be requested by citation (case number, decision date), which can be found by research in the Board Rulings Digest or the Subject Matter Index
  • Copies of discrimination complaints filed under the Human Rights and Fair Housing Ordinances.  Available for inspection in binders by calendar year and general area (employment, housing, public accommodations), or individual complaints may be requested by case number or the name of at least one party sufficient to identify the case through CHR’s computer database.
  • Investigation files for closed discrimination cases filed under the Human Rights and Fair Housing Ordinances.  An investigation file typically contains the complaint, responses to the complaint, motions, Commission notices and orders, and evidence obtained during the investigation of the complaint.  Each file must be requested by case number or by names of the parties sufficient to identify the case through CHR’s computer database.  Additional time may be required to remove exempt material or to obtain older closed files from offsite storage.
  • Official hearing records for pending and closed discrimination cases filed under the Human Rights and Fair Housing Ordinances, if the case advanced to the administrative hearing process.  A hearing record typically contains the complaint, responses to the complaint, and all Commission notices, filings of the parties, and Commission orders issued after a finding of substantial evidence or order of default.  Each hearing record must be requested by case number or by names of the parties sufficient to identify the case through CHR’s computer database or hearing list.
  • Ordinance Booklet containing the Commission on Human Relations Enabling Ordinance, Chicago Human Rights Ordinance, and Chicago Fair Housing Ordinance
  • Regulations Booklet containing the procedural rules and interpretive standards for enforcing the Human Rights and Fair Housing Ordinances.
  • Subject Matter Index, a legal research tool listing by topic the precedential decisions of the Commission, including rulings after administrative hearings, issued in cases filed under the Human Rights and Fair Housing Ordinances (currently 575 pages at cost of $70, or $35 for Volume 2 only).

Human Resources

  • Employee Database
  • Employee Work History

Law

  • Payments of settlements and judgments
  • Outside counsel payments
  • Records related to specific cases

Mayor's Office

  • Initiative summaries
  • Policy proposals
  • Policy research and analysis
  • Press Releases
  • Mayor’s Public Calendar 
  • State and federal legislative records and ordinances

Mayor's Office for People with Disabilities

  • AccessChicago Exhibitors
  • Accessibility Compliance Accessibility Survey Forms 
  • Accessibility Compliance Plan Review Documents 
  • Accessibility Compliance Pre-Permit Plan Review Documents 
  • HomeMod Program Statistics 
  • MOPD Delegate Agencies that provide direct services to people with disabilities 
  • MOPD Vendors and Consultants 
  • Sidewalk Cafe Accessibility Requirements 
  • Technical Assistance Materials

Police

  • Arrest Reports
  • Case Reports
  • Crime Data
  • Department Directives
  • Supplementary Case Reports

Police Board

  • Monthly reports of the Superintendent of Police to the Police Board, which include crime statistics, complaint statistics, and General Orders issued
  • The record of proceedings of Police Board disciplinary cases, including the board's findings and decisions
  • Transcripts of the Police Board's public meetings

Procurement Services

  • Applications for Certification
  • Bid Packages
  • Bid Tabulations
  • Contracts
  • M/WBE Utilization Reports M/WBE Compliance Schedules
  • Payments to Subcontractors
  • Performance & Payment Bonds
  • Proposals
  • Solicitations (Specifications, RFPs, RFIs, RFQs, etc.)
  • Supplier Diversity Information

Streets & Sanitation

  • Budget Info
  • Forestry: tree trimming & removal
  • Garbage Pick-up
  • Street Sweeping
  • Tow Information

Technology and Innovation

  • Budget requests and City Council budget hearing documentation
  • City technology standard policies and procedures
  • Department personnel files, reports and payroll records
  • Software licenses
  • Task order requests, proposals and acceptance and rejection letter

Transportation

  • Driveway permits
  • Installation date of street sign
  • Public way construction permits
  • Street configuration (width, pavement markings, etc.)

Water Management

  • Consumer Confidence Report
  • Department personnel and payroll records
  • Plumbing inspection reports (please provide the year the inspection occurred) 
  • Sewer inspection reports
  • Service requests for water and sewer work
  • Water and sewer main inspection reports
  • Water and sewer project and construction reports
Helpful Links
City of Chicago Transparency