A new Illinois Appellate Court Decision, Uptown People’s Law Center v. Department of Corrections (2014 Ill. App. 1st 130161), changes the definition of “prevailing party,” related to matters involving FOIA requests. While the appellate court ultimately upheld the denial of attorneys fees to the law center, the 1st circuit found that a court order is not a prerequisite to a “prevailing party” status under FOIA, but that a party may obtain fees “regardless of the extent that he or she is successful in a court action.”
April 2014
