Filing FOIA requests to the State of Illinois can seem intimidating, but it shouldn’t be. I’ve requested a lot of FOIA logs from the State of Illinois. To help aspiring FOIA requesters, I’m going to review each agency’s logs and summarize the common requests, and briefly discuss the types of records available. The goal is to give you a head start in your inquiries.
The Illinois Commerce Commission Transit Bureau deals with trains and trucks – of all varieties – and their related equipment. Have you ever wondered who owns a railroad viaduct? ICCTB can tell you. Want copies of grade crossings? ICCTB again! In legal speak, anything under the Illinois Vehicle Code [625 ILCS 5] you can request from ICCTB.
Two common requests stuck out. You can request records for moving companies, or household goods movers (HHG). These reports allow you to see the ownership of the company, pieces of equipment, profit, miles traveled, and ownership.
Towing companies also fall with the jurisdiction of the ICCTB. Annual relocator reports capture similar information as HHG, but also detail how many cars were towed, the number of relocation towing contracts, and the number of unclaimed vehicles sold as scrap.
Common acronyms you may run across in your requests are : MC – motor carrier, and PCC – public carrier certificate.
I feel the logs here are pretty straightforward and you can download the logs from 2015-2017 here. There isn’t detail around whether records were produced, but there are notes denoting voluminous requests. Given the frequency of the types of records sought and the lack of notes, I’m of the impression that the ICCTB is able to produce records quickly and without much in the way of redactions.