Illinois Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Information

Illinois Freedom of Information Act (FOIA)

The Retirement Board has adopted a policy regarding FOIA requests. Interested parties should review the policy as well as the frequently asked questions below.

 

Frequently Asked Questions

 

What is the description of the Fund?

The Metropolitan Water Reclamation District Retirement Fund is the administrator of a single employer defined benefit plan, established by the Illinois State Legislature in 1931 to provide retirement and survivor annuities, and disability benefits for certain employees of the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago (District) as well as Fund employees. The Fund is administered in accordance with the Illinois Pension Code, 40 ILCS 5/101, et seq.

Funding to meet the annuity and benefit obligations of the Fund comes from employee contributions, employer contributions, and monies earned on the Fund’s investments. Minimum employer and employee contribution rates are set by state statute.

Management of the Fund is vested in a seven-member Board of Trustees, composed of four member-elected employee Trustees, and three appointed Trustees, one of which is a retiree. Illinois law authorizes the Board to make investments, pay benefits, hire staff and consultants, and perform all necessary functions to carry out the provisions of the Illinois Pension Code. The provisions of the Pension Code may be amended or terminated only by the Illinois Legislature. The administration of the detailed affairs of the Fund is vested in the Executive Director, under the direction of the Board of Trustees.

The Fund’s office location and approximate number of full and part-time employees, and identification of the Board of Trustees is available on this website.

 

What is FOIA?
The purpose of FOIA is to ensure that all persons are entitled to full and complete information regarding the affairs of government, and other official acts and policies of those who represent them as public officials, while at the same time, protecting legitimate privacy interests and maintaining administrative efficiency. More information about FOIA can be viewed on the Illinois Attorney General’s website at https://illinoisattorneygeneral.gov/open-and-honest-government/pac/.

The principal mandate of FOIA provides that each public body, upon submission of a written request shall (1) make available to any person for inspection, or (2) provide copies, of any requested public records that are subject to disclosure under FOIA. Not all records are subject to disclosure, and the Act provides for several exemptions.

FOIA is not intended to be used to violate individual privacy, nor to allow a commercial enterprise to unduly burden public resources (there are further rules covering commercial requests), or to disrupt the duly undertaken work of any public body independent of the fulfillment of the rights of the people to access information. FOIA does not require the Fund to create new records or to answer questions other than through the production of records.

 

Who is the Fund’s FOIA Officer?
The Fund has designated the following staff as the official FOIA Officer:

Vrinda Kulkarni
FOIA Officer
[email protected]

 

How do I make a FOIA request?

Requests for inspection or copies should be made in writing and directed to the FOIA Officer as follows:

By mail or personal delivery:
FOIA Officer
Metropolitan Water Reclamation District Retirement Fund
111 East Erie Street, Suite 330
Chicago, Illinois 60611

By email: [email protected]

By Fax: 312-751-5699

FOIA requests should provide:

1. The date of the request.
2. The requester’s contact information.
3. A brief description of the public records being sought, being as specific as possible.
4. Whether the request is for inspection of public records, copies of public records, or both.
5. Whether the request is for a commercial purpose, which is when the requester seeks to use part or all of the public records for sale, resale, or solicitation or advertisement for sales or services. Requests by the news media, not-for-profit organizations, and scientific or academic institutions are not considered commercial information requests.

 

How long does the Fund have to respond to a FOIA request?

In general, the Fund’s response must be made within five (5) business days after the day that request has been received, provided that the Fund may extend the time to respond for up to an additional five (5) business days for specific reasons.

If the FOIA request is for a “commercial purpose,” as defined below, then within 21 working days of the receipt of the request the Fund will: (i) provide the requester with an estimate of the time required to respond and the estimated fees to be charged; (ii) deny the request pursuant to one or more of the exemptions set out in FOIA; (iii) notify the requester that the request is unduly burdensome and extend an opportunity to the requester to attempt to reduce the request to manageable proportions; or (iv) provide the records requested. Requests for commercial purposes shall be complied with within a reasonable period considering the size and complexity of the request, and giving priority to records requested for non-commercial purposes.

If the FOIA request is from a “recurrent requester,” then the Fund will within five (5) business days notify the requester of that designation will have twenty-one (21) business days to respond in accordance with the provisions of Section 3.2 of FOIA. “Recurrent requester” means a person that, in the 12 months immediately preceding the request, has submitted to the Fund (i) a minimum of 50 requests for records, (ii) a minimum of 15 requests for records within a 30-day period, or (iii) a minimum of 7 requests for records within a 7-day period.
If the FOIA request is a “voluminous request,” as defined below, then the Fund will within five (5) business days notify the requester of that designation and will follow the provisions of Section 3.6 of FOIA.


What is the charge for a FOIA request?


There is no charge or fee to submit a FOIA request. When it is not feasible to provide public records in electronic format, then the Fund shall furnish it in the format in which it is maintained or in paper format at the option of the requester. The Fund will charge the requester for the actual cost of purchasing the recording medium, whether disc, diskette, tape, or other medium.

The Fund will charge fees reasonably calculated to reimburse its actual cost for reproducing and certifying public records. There shall be no charge for the first 50 pages of black and white, letter or legal sized copies requested by a requester. The fee for black and white, letter or legal sized copies is 15 cents per page. If the Fund provides copies in color or in a size other than letter or legal, the Fund will charge its actual cost for reproducing the records, not including the costs of any search for and review of the records or other personnel costs associated with reproducing the records. The cost for certifying a record shall be $1.

A “voluminous request” means a request that: (i) includes more than 5 individual requests for more than 5 different categories of records or a combination of individual requests that total requests for more than 5 different categories of records in a period of 20 business days; or (ii) requires the compilation of more than 500 letter or legal-sized pages of public records unless a single requested record exceeds 500 pages. "Single requested record" may include, but is not limited to, one report, form, e-mail, letter, memorandum, book, map, microfilm, tape, or recording. If a “voluminous request” is for electronic records and those records are not in a PDF, the Fund will charge $20 for not more than 2 megabytes of data, $40 for more than 2 but not more than 4 megabytes of data, and $100 for more than 4 megabytes of data. If a “voluminous request” is for electronic records and those records are in a PDF, the Fund will charge $20 for not more than 80 megabytes of data, $40 for more than 80 megabytes but not more than 160 megabytes of data, and $100 for more than 160 megabytes of data. If the responsive electronic records are in both a PDF and not in a PDF, the Fund may separate the fees and charge the requester under both fee scales. The Fund must provide an accounting of all fees, costs, and personnel hours in connection with the request.

For requests for “commercial purposes,” the Fund will charge $10 for each hour spent by personnel in searching for and retrieving a requested record or examining the record for necessary redactions. No fees shall be charged for the first 8 hours spent by personnel in searching for or retrieving a requested record. The Fund will provide the requester with an accounting of all fees, costs, and personnel hours in connection with the request for public records.

The Fund will produce records without charge or at a reduced charge, at the Fund’s discretion, if the requester states the specific purpose for the request and indicates that a waiver or reduction of the fee is in the public interest. Waiver or reduction of the fee is in the public interest if the principal purpose of the request is to access and disseminate information regarding the health, safety and welfare or the legal rights of the general public and is not for the principal purpose of personal or commercial benefit.

If a waiver or reduction of fees is requested, please do so in writing, explaining why the waiver is requested.

 

What records/documents are available by FOIA request?
FOIA statutes require that the FOIA Officer develop a list of documents or categories of documents that are available by FOIA request. Below is a non-exhaustive list of the categories of information and specific documents retained as public records by the Fund, which are available for inspection and copying upon request. MWRDRF records consist of information about the members, the administration, and investment/finances of the Fund, as follows:

 

Member Information:
Member information subject to FOIA requests
Name
Contributions
Active employee salaries
Benefit payments

Member information NOT subject to FOIA requests:
Social Security number
Date of birth
Address (including zip code)
Telephone number
Personal email address
Beneficiary information
QILDRO
Medical records
Member/Employee Identifying Number

Administration:
List of Trustees and contact information*
Staff Directory*
Board Meeting Agendas*
Open Board Meeting Minutes*
Open Board Meeting Transcripts
Closed Session Meeting Minutes that have been opened by the Retirement Board*
Board of Trustee Election information
Annual Budget
Annual Administrative Expenses*
Administrative Policies
List of Independent Consultants*


Investment/Finances:

Composition of Investment Portfolio*
Investment Performance Reports*
Asset Allocation*
List of Investment Managers*
Policies – Investment Policy, Broker/Dealer Utilization Policy, Emerging Investment Manager Utilization Policy, and MWDBE Investment Manager Utilization Policy*
Securities Lending Reports
Annual Valuation Report of Actuary*
Annual Report to Illinois Department of Insurance
Annual Comprehensive Financial Report*

* Information is published on the Fund’s website and linked herein.

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