Know about the Freedom of Information Act

A week or two back, the Justice Department produced 17 videos to help explain everything you ever wanted to know about the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). Here they all are for your viewing pleasure.


What is FOIA?







What is FOIA.gov?







What is on FOIA.gov?







Who can make a FOIA request?







How do I make a FOIA request?









Where do I send a FOIA request?









Who oversees FOIA?









How are FOIA requests categorized?









What will I receive in response to a FOIA request?









How much does it cost to make a FOIA request?









How long does it take to get an answer to a FOIA request?









How is a FOIA request processed?









Who handles FOIA requests?









What is a consultation?









What is a backlog?







What is an appeal?







What are exemptions?






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For the policy makers and researchers out there, the USDA released a new web app called Food Desert Locator today. Combining information from the… more »
HYPERCITIES: A PLATFORM FOR UNDERSTANDING SPACES
Space is important, to say the least. Only in spaces are we able to act. Analogously, being able to understand the space where an event is taking… more »
CROWDSOURCING INNOVATION IN THE PUBLIC SECTOR
This talk from Brandon Kessler, founder of ChallengePost, is entitled, "Crowdsourcing Innovation in the Public Sector," and explores how… more »
UNDERSTANDING THE AMERICAN EXPERIENCE THROUGH PHILOSOPHY
What is it to be American? Is there such a thing? Since this country was founded, there has been a fascination with what it means to be American.… more »
WHAT TAXES REALLY PAY FOR
April is the cruellest month if for nothing else than paying taxes. In filling out the paperwork, we don't often fill out the one that explains where… more »
CAPITALVIEW FOR APRIL 22, 2011
Budget issues, appointee holdover legislation and Blagojevich Part II are discussed on this week's edition. Guests include Ray Long from the Chicago… more »
FROM WBEZ: ENGLEWOOD PINS HOPES ON NEW TAX DISTRICT
Though it is nationally known for This American Life, WBEZ continues to produce high quality programming on various challenges facing both the city… more »
ECONTALK EXPLORES THE POLITICS OF POLLING
EconTalk often bridges the gap between economic theory and economic reality. In this podcast, Doug Rivers of Stanford University and YouGov.com talks… more »
THE COMMUNITY LEADERSHIP PODCAST SERIES: INNOVATORS IN…
Mariame Kaba, founder and executive director of Project NIA… more »
CAPITALVIEW FOR APRIL 15, 2011
School reform, budget issues, workman's comp and the upcoming Blagojevich trial are discussed in this week's program. Guests: Andrew Thomason… more »
THE CIVIC COMMONS: CODE SHARING BETWEEN CITIES
Government entities at all levels face substantial but similar IT challenges. Currently they are being forced to take them on independently and the… more »
RENEWING THE CONTRACT BETWEEN THE STATE AND NONPROFITS
In this extended essay, Brent Never, assistant professor of nonprofit leadership at the University of Missouri-Kansas City, makes the case that the… more »
FREE TECHNOLOGY FOR THE SUPPORT OF COMMUNITY ACTION GROUPS:…
Urban areas are administratively complex, and bureaucrats are often overburdened, which means they are often working at what Herbert Simon called the… more »
THE UNFINISHED BUSINESS OF PEOPLE-POWERED GOVERNMENT
EFF co-founder, futurist, and former Grateful Dead lyricist John Perry Barlow gave the keynote talk at Personal Democracy Forum 2010 where he argued… more »
MAPPING ARCHITECTURE'S SOCIAL ENTREPRENEURIAL NETWORKS
In this seminar, Sharon Haar, Associate Professor at the University of Illinois at Chicago's School of Architecture, discusses how the development of… more »
THE COMMUNITY LEADERSHIP PODCAST SERIES: INNOVATORS IN…
Benny Montgomery, Constituent Services Representative, has worked for the U.S. House of Representatives for the past 28 years. Listen to Montgomery… more »
ALEC ROSS ON STATECRAFT OF THE 21ST CENTURY
Alec Ross is an up and coming star on the e-government scene. As an technology advisor to Secretarry Hillary Clinton, he is spearheading the State… more »
MAYOR DALEY ON PRIVATIZATION
Outgoing-mayor Richard Daley discusses his views on privatization… more »
PODCAST ON MILLENNIUM PARK'S FUTURE
In this Great Cities Institute podcast, Ed Uhlir explores Millennium Park's future by explaining its creation, its successes, and the factors that… more »
TECHNOLOGY AS A SOLUTION
The received opinion is that technology, like any other "solution", will only work if it is integrated in the social structure. It must become an… more »
KEEPING UP WITH THE JUSTICES
Trying to keep up with the Supreme Court? Last week, the Oyez Project at Kent College of Law at the Illinois Institute of Technology released an… more »
CROWDSOURCING FUNDING IN CHICAGO'S 49TH WARD
Beginning almost six years ago, AREA Chicago "actively gathers, produces, and shares knowledge about local culture and politics. Its newspaper,… more »
FREEWAYS WITHOUT FUTURES
Most of the well known highway removals in America have come on the heels of unpredictable collapses, brought on either by structural issues or… more »
THE TRIBUNE ASSESSES ILLINOIS' OPEN INFORMATION LAWS
At the Chicago Tribune, there is an in-depth series and corresponding web site on Illinois' FOIA laws. It highlights one of the most tenuous modern… more »
NEW MEDIA, CIVIC MEDIA
The old media model still does unique things for us. It's what people mean when they say we have to save newspapers -- the watchdog function, and… more »
ENGAGEMENT TOOLS FOR ONLINE IDEA GENERATION
A couple of days ago, we posted a catalog of online engagement tools. In a similar sort of vein, here is a report with the pros and cons for various… more »
A CASE STUDY OF NYC DURING THE SNOW STORMS OF 2011
O Reilly, if you didn't know already, is a great resource for e-gov news and studies. Recently, they did a case study of NYC's efforts at becoming a… more »
RESEARCH: DIGITAL GOVERNMENT THROUGH SOCIAL NETWORKS: HOW…
I am not completely sure when this came out, but this paper entitled … more »
KNOW ABOUT THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT
A week or two back, the Justice Department produced 17 videos to help explain everything you ever wanted to know about the Freedom of Information Act… more »
LESSENING THE IMPACT OF FUTURE HUMANITARIAN CRISES
The last couple years have been one frought with crises. Social media platforms have also been developing to coordinate in response to these… more »
TWO CATALOGS OF CIVIC ENGAGEMENT TOOLS
Finding tools and software is the one of the first steps in executing a civic engagement effort. To help you figure out what is out there, two… more »
AUDIO: OPEN SOURCE GOVERNMENT
Gov 2.0 Radio discusses Phase2 with CEO Jeff Walpole about open source in government and emerging business models for non-proprietary Web and open… more »
GARY BECKER LECTURES ON HUMAN CAPACITIES
A series of lectures by Nobel laurete and University of Chicago economist Gary Becker has recently found its way to YouTube. … more »
THE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF CHICAGO
Following the great popularity of the Encyclopedia of Cleveland, published in 1987 by Indiana University Press, the Press approached the Chicago… more »
UNDERSTANDING THE TSUNAMI
This isn't related to our normal subject areas, but the Japanese tsunami this last weekend was obviously a tragedy. It is hard, though, to understand… more »
RESEARCH PAPER: CODES OF GOOD GOVERNANCE
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2010: THE YEAR OPEN DATA WENT WORLDWIDE
Tim Berners-Lee explains what happens when government, personal, and commerica data is used by people to make sense of the world.… more »
CAPITALVIEW FOR MARCH 18, 2011
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RESEARCH PAPER: FREE TECHNOLOGY FOR COMMUNITY ACTION GROUPS
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VIDEO: DEMOCRACY AND EDUCATION IN A HYPERMEDIATED SOCIETY
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PROFESSOR KAHNE DISCUSSES POLITICAL PARTICIPATION IN A…
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PUBLIC SECTOR INNOVATION IN DENMARK
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BEST PRACTICES FOR A GOVERNMENT 2.0 WORLD
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FIVE PROJECTS THAT SHOW THE POWER OF OPEN DATA
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IMPROVING CITIES THROUGH TECHNOLOGY
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VOTE NAKED ILLINOIS
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CODE FOR AMERICA
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CCLCP TV
An overview of the Chicago Civic Leadership Certificate Program at the University of Illinois at Chicago. This video was produced by three CCLCP… more »