Illinois: Denied Personalized License Plates

Adam Steinbaugh filed this request with the Secretary of State of Illinois of Illinois.

It is a clone of this request.

Submitted March 1, 2022
Status
Completed

Communications

From: Adam Steinbaugh

Subject: Illinois Freedom of Information Act. Request: Illinois: Denied Personalized License Plates

Email

To Whom It May Concern:

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

With respect to motor vehicle license plates:

1. If one is kept, a copy of the current list of prohibited or automatically denied vanity or personalized license plates.

2. A copy of any list of requested vanity or personalized plates denied in 2021 or 2022.

3. Any correspondence sent to any person whose vanity or personalized plates were denied. This request is limited to correspondence sent after January 1, 2022.

4. If a system is maintained for soliciting or receiving complaints concerning vanity or personalized license plates, a copy of any complaint received in 2021 or 2022.

5. If any vanity or personalized license plates have been revoked since January 1, 2021, any records related to the revocation.

6. A copy of any statute or regulations concerning what combinations of vanity or personalized license plates are permitted or prohibited.

The requested documents will be made available to the general public, and this request is not being made for commercial purposes.

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.

Sincerely,

Adam Steinbaugh

From: Secretary of State of Illinois

Subject: FOIA Request-April 7, 2022

Email

To: Adam Steinbaugh

Dear Mr. Steinbaugh:

This email is to acknowledge the receipt of and to respond to the FOIA request you submitted to Secretary of State employee, Jeffrey Swaney, on April 7, 2022. In that request, you assert that you filed a request on March 1, 2022. The Secretary of State has no record of having received your March 1, 2022 request. Accordingly, the Secretary of State will treat your April 7, 2022 request as a first request for the information. The Secretary of State has reviewed your request and provides you with the response, in red, below.

Secretary of State response:

1. Request for list of prohibited license plates and for a list of plates denied in 2021 or 2022.
Secretary of State response: The request is granted in part and denied in part. The attached list, titled "Inhibit List" is a continuous, comprehensive list of prohibited license plate combinations and is attached for your reference. This list is not broken down by year. The Secretary of State does not maintain a separate list (by year) of vanity or personalized plates that are denied in a given year. Accordingly, this portion of your request is denied.

1. Correspondence sent to person whose vanity/personalized plates were denied. The request is limited to correspondence sent after January 1, 2022.
Secretary of State response: The request is denied. The Director of the Secretary of State Vehicle Services Department advises me that the Vehicle Services Department does not retain copies of letters generated by the Secretary of State Pick-a-Plate system. Since the Department does not retain copies of Pick-a-Plate system generated letters, there are no letters to provide. Accordingly, your request is denied.

1. Complaints received in 2021 and 2022.
Secretary of State response: The request is denied. The Director of the Secretary of State Vehicle Services Department advises me that the Department does not maintain a system for soliciting or receiving complaints concerning vanity or personalized plates. The Director and his staff further advise me that complaints received by the Department are oral, meaning, the complainant telephones the office to make the complaint and does not (and is not required to) leave a name or contact information. Typically, complainants do not wish to share their personal information as they fear retaliation by the subject of their complaint. Since the Secretary of State does not maintain a system for soliciting or receiving complaints related to vanity/personalized license plates, there is no information to provide. Accordingly, your request is denied.

1. Records related to revocation of vanity or personalized plates since January 1, 2021.
Secretary of State response: The request is granted. The redacted letters are attached. Please be advised that all personally identifying information (name, address, city, state, VIN) has been redacted from the letters as Section 2-123(f-5) of the Illinois Vehicle Code prohibits the Secretary of State from releasing the personally identifying information to you. [625 ILCS 5/2-123(f-5)]. Accordingly, the personally identifying information for each individual is exempt from production pursuant to both Sections 7(1)(a) and 7(1)(b) of the Illinois Freedom of Information Act. [5 ILCS 140/7(1)(a); 5 ILCS 140/7(1)(b)].

1. Statutory authority.
Secretary of State response: The request is granted. The Secretary of State's authority is found in 625 ILCS 5/3-405.2. You may obtain a copy of the statutory language from the Illinois General Assembly website: www.ILGA.gov<http://www.ILGA.gov>, under the link "Illinois Compiled Statutes".

With this transmission, the Secretary of State's compliance with your April 7, 2022 request is complete. In the future, kindly direct any FOIA requests to me, as I am the FOIA officer for the Office of the Illinois Secretary of State.

Sincerely,

Donna M. Leonard
Executive Counsel
Illinois Secretary of State

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