FOIA

The Illinois Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) declared that all persons are entitle to full and complete information regarding the affairs of government and the official acts and policies of those who represent them as public officials and public employees consistent with the terms of the Act. The City Clerk’s Office is the central contact of all FOIA’s for the City of Bloomington. Requests may be submitted in person at 109 E. Olive St., emailed to cityclerk@cityblm.org, or faxed to (309) 434-2628.

The City of Bloomington was established in 1831 and incorporated 1850. Home Rule status was deferred upon the City on July 1, 1971. The City of Bloomington is a municipality incorporated and organized under the laws of the State of Illinois for the purpose of providing its residents with the following services:

1. Police protection.
2. Fire protection.
3. Sewer service.
4. Garbage collection service.
5. Water service.
6. Parks & Recreation facilities and activities.
7. Planning and Code Enforcement.
8. Community Development.

The offices are located at:

1. City Hall 109 E. Olive St.
     Administration
     City Clerk
     Information Services
     Finance
     Legal
     Parking Violations
     Water Billing
2. Public Works – Public Service 401 S. East St.
3. Public Works – Fleet Management 336 S. Main St.
4. Government Center 115 E. Washington
     Public Works – Engineering
     Planning & Code Enforcement (PACE)
     Community Development
     Facilities Management
     Parks & Recreation and Cultural Arts
     Miller Park Zoo 1020 S. Morris Ave.
     Highland Park Golf Course 1613 S. Main St.
     Prairie Vista Golf Course 502 W. Hamilton Rd.
     The Den at Fox Creek 3002 Fox Creek Rd.
     Pepsi Ice Center 201 S. Roosevelt Ave.
     Cultural District 600 N. East St.
5. Water Department 603 W. Division
6. Police Department 305 S. East St.
7. Fire Department HQ 310 N. Lee St.

The City Council meets every 2nd & 4th Monday of the month at 7:30 p.m. in the Council Chambers at City Hall. Its members consist of the Mayor, nine Alderman, City Clerk, Corporation Council and City Manager.

Meetings of various boards and commissions are held within the City. The meetings are held at various times throughout the month.


There are 541 full and part time benefited employees and 443 seasonal employees.

The current budget can be found in the Finance Department's Annual Budget page. Funding sources are property taxes, sales tax, fees, state and federal grants, and fines.

Tax levies are:

1. General corporation purposes. (for general operating expenditures)
2. Police & Fire Protection.
3. Public Parks.
4. IMRF. (provides for employee’s retirement & related expenses)
5. Social Security. (provides for employee’s FICA costs & related expenses)
6. Police & Fire Pension. (provides for police & firefighter’s retirement & related expenses)
7. Judgment.
8. Public Benefit.
9. Public Library.
10. Audit (for annual audit & related expenses)

Bond issues are from:

1. 1996
2. 2001
3. 2003
4. 2007

Requests for information can be made from the FOIA Request for Public Records form, or at the City Clerk’s office at 109 E. Olive St. The office hours are Monday – Friday 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Records may be inspected, copied or provided electronically. If inspected, an employee must be present throughout the inspection.

Decisions can be reviewed by the Public Access Counselor, Cara Smith. Her contact information is: Cara Smith, Public Access Counselor, Office of the Attorney General, 500 S. 2nd Street, Springfield, Illinois 62706, Phone: 312-814-5526 or 1-877-299-FOIA (1-877-299-3642), Fax: 217-782-1396 -- Email: publicaccess@atg.state.il.us

The fee schedule is as follows:

Certification of records:		$1.00 per certification
Document Copies:	black & white	less than fifty (50) pages no charge
duplexing where possible		$0.15 per page for any document over fifty (50)
	color	$0.75 per page
Blueprints:		actual cost of reproduction
Photographs:		actual cost of reproduction
Microfilm:		actual cost of reproduction
CD:		actual cost of reproduction

Index of records