Over the years, the Illinois Bar Journal has provided some great research tips for those searching for government agency regulations, policies, interpretive letters, opinions, digests, forms, and other information. See, e.g., Phill Johnson, “Illinois Agencies on the Web” (IBJ, Sept 2004). In case you missed these articles, we thought an update might be useful to government attorneys.

State Web sites

One State Web site that is especially helpful is <http://www.illinois.gov/government/agency.cfm>. This site contains an alphabetical listing of links to state agency Web sites.

The Office of the Illinois Attorney General Web site may be found at 

<http://www.illinoisattorneygeneral.gov>. Included on this site are the AG opinions from 1992 to present, as well as consumer complaint forms. The site contains information related to obtaining free credit reports and dealing with identity theft issues. A model ethics ordinance for units of local government may also be found on the Web site.

Information regarding adoption, foster care, day care licensing, and child abuse may be found on the Department of Children and Family Services Web site <http://www.state.il.us/dcfs/index.shtml>.

The Illinois Commerce Commission Web site, <http://www.icc.illinois.gov/home.aspx>, contains the “e-Docket” system, that allows public access to information regarding the ICC’s cases and rulemakings initiated on or after January 3, 2000. The “e-Agenda” portion of the Web site provides notice to the public of meeting dates and agendas for regular and special meetings of the Commission.

Prevailing wage rates, labor law complaint forms, and a listing of debarred contractors are among the information that may be found on the Illinois Department of Labor’s Web site <http://www.state.il.us/agency/idol/>.

The Illinois Environmental Protection Agency Web site, <http://www.epa.state.il.us>, contains information regarding environmental statutes, rules, and regulations. In addition, the site has downloadable forms for various types of permits required prior to engaging in a number of activities that impact the environment. The site also contains a statewide schedule for household hazardous waste collections.

State tax forms, law, rules, and regulations may be found on the Illinois Department of Revenue Web site <http://www.revenue.state.il.us/>. Units of local government can access information related to Personal Property Replacement Tax estimates, Rental Housing Support Program Fund, and property taxes. Qualifying Illinois residents may also e-file their state income taxes for free through the Web site.

The Illinois State Police Web site, <http://www.isp.state.il.us/sor/sor.cfm>, provides access to the Illinois Sex Offender Registry.

Federal Web sites

The Federal government offers First Government as the “official U.S. government Web portal,” there you can find federal, state, local, and tribal agency information, <http://www.firstgov.gov/>.

The Department of Housing and Urban Development Web site,<http://www.hud.gov/>, contains information, among other things, related to HUD grant applications and SuperNOFA funds available to units of local government.

Information regarding the Family and Medical Leave Act, the Fair Labor Standards Act, and OSHA may be found on the Department of Labor Web site, <http://dol.gov/>.

The Department of Veterans Affairs Web site, <http://www.va.gov/>, contains information regarding veterans’ health benefits, burial and memorial benefits, as well as education, home loan, life insurance and pension benefits. The site also contains special program information for disabled veterans.

Information related to various types of discrimination, as well as an explanation on filing a charge of discrimination may be found on the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s Web site, <http://eeoc.gov/>.

The Internal Revenue Service, <http://www.irs.gov/>, maintains forms and publications related to federal income tax filings. Additional tax information may also be found for charities and not-for-profit organizations and governmental entities.

Information about the new Medicare prescription drug coverage program may be found on the Medicare Web site, <http://www.medicare.gov/>. 

The United States Postal Service Web site, <http://www.usps.com/>, provides assistance in finding zip codes, calculating postage, and obtaining change of address and other postal service forms.

Finally, information about inmates at both federal and state correctional institutions is available on the Web through either: the Illinois Department of Corrections inmate search, <http://www.idoc.state.il.us/subsections/search/default.asp>, or the Federal Bureau of Prisons inmate locator, <http://www.bop.gov/iloc2/LocateInmate.jsp>.

These are just a few of the readily available resources for your researching pleasure. Happy surfing!