In accordance with the general Provisions of the Freedom of Information Act (5 ILCS 140), the Crete Public Library District offers the following procedures for requesting information and records available to the public.
Requests for records are not required to be in writing, but this will facilitate the process. You may submit your written request by mail, fax, email, or by dropping your request off in person, or you may call the Library.
Please direct your request to:
FOIA Officer – Executive Director
Crete Public Library District
1177 N. Main St.
Crete, IL 60417
Fax: 708-672-3529
director@cretelibrary.org
Please be as specific as possible when describing the records you are seeking. Remember, the Freedom of Information Act is designed to allow you to inspect or receive copies of records. It is not designed to require a public body to answer questions. To the extent that you wish to ask questions of a representative of the Crete Public Library District, you may call the Library at 708-672-8017 to be directed to the FOIA Officer.
You must specify the records requested to be disclosed for inspection or to be copied. You have the right to either option. If you desire that any records be certified, you must specify which ones.
You must indicate whether you have a “commercial purpose” in your request.
To reimburse us our actual costs for reproducing and certifying (if requested) the records, you will be charged the following fees:
- There will be a $1.00 charge for each certification of records.
- There is no charge for the first fifty (50) pages of black & white text, either letter or legal sized.
- There is a $0.15 per page charge for copied records in excess of 50 pages.
- The actual copying cost will be charged for color copies and other sized copies.
If the records are kept in electronic format you may request a specific format, and if feasible, they will be so provided. If not, they will be provided either in the electronic format in which they are kept (and you would be required to pay the actual cost of the medium only, i.e. disc, flash drive, etc.) or in printed format.
Records may be inspected or copied. If inspected, an employee must be present throughout the inspection.
The office will respond to a written request within five (5) working days or sooner if possible. An extension of an additional five (5) working days may be necessary to properly respond.
The place and times the records will be available are as follows:
Monday – Friday: 9:30am – 5:00pm
Crete Public Library District
1177 N. Main St.
Crete, IL 60417
Available Records
Certain types of information maintained by the Library are exempt from inspection and copying. However, the following types or categories of records are maintained under our control:
- Monthly Financial Statements
- Annual Receipts and Disbursements Reports
- Budget and Appropriation Ordinances
- Levy Ordinances
- Operating Budgets
- Annual Audits
- Minutes of the Board of Library Trustees
- Library Policies
- Annual Reports to the Illinois State Library
You have the right to seek review by the Illinois Attorney General’s Public Access Counselor, 500 S. Second St., Springfield, IL 62701, 877-299-3642, public.access@ilag.gov or the Circuit Court.
Public Body Information
A brief description of our public body is as follows:
- Our purpose is to provide library services to the residents of the defined library district (most of Crete Township, excluding the Village of Steger, and portions of University Park and Park Forest in Crete Township).
- The total amount of our operating budget for FY2023 is $1.7 million. Funding sources are local property taxes and some grants.
- The primary office is located at: 1177 N. Main St., Crete, IL 60417
- The Library’s number of employees is approximately: 28
- The Board of Library Trustees exercises control over finances and policies. The Board meets at 7:00 PM the 3rd Wednesday of the month at the Library.