Searching for open records -- chicagotribune.com

Here is good primer on Freedom of Information Requests—Remember they can charge you only $ .10 to $.25 per page.  And if you only ask to inspect the records, there is no charge.

9. Do what you can to make it easy for public officials to comply. If you don't need copies of the records, don't ask them to go to that trouble. If possible, ask only to inspect the records and set up an appointment to view them. Unless they are specifically exempted from the law, such as the courts, public agencies can charge you only for the "actual costs" involved in photocopying - usually somewhere between $.10 and $.25 per page. It is against the law for them to charge you for staff time, or the time it takes to review records for redaction.

Click on the photocopy to enlarge the sample letter:

Click on the following to read the rest of the Tribune article:  INTERACTIVE: Searching for open records -- chicagotribune.com