9-1-1 Funding and Governance of 9-1-1 Funding

To Whom It May Concern:

Pursuant to the Illinois Freedom of Information Act., I hereby request the following records:

This Freedom of Information Request is submitted to the Illinois State Police’s and its Statewide 9-1-1 Administrator’s Office seeking the following information and data:

1) Copies of 9-1-1 Surcharge revenue disbursement made to every 9-1-1 Authority/ETSB, broken down by Zip Code, for Calendar Year 2019, 2020 and YTD 2021
2) Copies of all AR 9-1-1 Reports submitted by each ETSB and/or 9-1-1 Authority to the ICC/ISP for calendar year 2019, 2020, and YTD 2021

In the event that there are fees, I would be grateful if you would inform me of the total charges in advance of fulfilling my request. I would prefer the request filled electronically, by e-mail attachment if available or CD-ROM if not.

Thank you in advance for your anticipated cooperation in this matter. I look forward to receiving your response to this request within 5 business days, as the statute requires.

I disagree with the denial of the FOIA request. ISP sites the following:

2. Section 55 ofEmergency Telephone System Act
“Public disclosure. Because of the highly competitive nature of the
telephone industry, public disclosure of information about surcharge
moneys paid by carriers could have the effect of stifling competition to the
detriment of the public and the delivery of 9-1-1 services. Therefore, the
Illinois Commerce Commission, the Department of State Police,
governmental agencies, and individuals with access to that information shall
take appropriate steps to prevent public disclosure of this information.
Information and data supporting the amount and distribution of surcharge
moneys collected and remitted by an individual carrier shall be deemed
exempt information for purposes of the Freedom of Information Act and
shall not be publicly disclosed. The gross amount paid by all carriers shall
not be deemed exempt and may be publicly disclosed.” (50 ILCS 750/55).
2
Information and data supporting the amount and distribution of surcharge moneys collected
and remitted by an individual carrier is confidential and exempt from disclosure.

I am not asking for the direct distribution of 9-1-1 surcharge finds that is made by the phone carriers to the State. If I was requesting that information, I would agree that said request conflicts with the information sited by ISP above. However, what I am seeking is the 9-1-1 distribution amounts to the local ETSBs, which are based on zip codes, and which are distributed to the ETSB after the surcharge is carved out for the following:

a) 1.74% is carved out for the telephone/cellular carrier reimbursement for expense of accounting and collecting 9-1-1 surcharge. Estimated at 1.1₵ per month, per line.
b) 1.3₵ per month, per line is distributed to County ETSBs in equal amounts to County ETSBS with a population less than 100,000
c) 1.7₵ per month, per line is retained by the Illinois State Police’s Office of the Statewide 9-1-1 Administrator for Administrative costs
d) 4₵ per month, per line is distributed to ETSBs taking/receiving wireless 9-1-1 calls
e) 5₵ per month, per line is held by the Illinois State Police’s Office of the Statewide 9-1-1 Administrator for grant awards for NG 9-1-1 expenses
f) 13₵ per month, per line, line is held by the Illinois State Police’s Office of the Statewide 9-1-1 Administrator for NG 9-1-1 Expenses

Again, the request is for 9-1-1 surcharge disbursement made to ETSBs (based on Zip Codes) AFTER the above carve outs, which should negate any concerns by the ISP or Telco Carriers concerns for competition.

1. This request is not a commercial request nor a for profit request
2. The nature of this appeal and the previous two (2) requests is of significant public interest as the data would analyzed to determine the 911 surcharge funding that each ETSB receives and whether or not the funding is fair an equitable to all ETSBs since the distribution is based on Zip Codes tied to ETSBs , which said fees tied to zip codes are based not only on the volume of population residing within each zip code, but also the demographics affiliated with each zip code.