Request 029 — 1/29/2026

Winning big, but where?

It’s Thursday! Happy foiaday!

We’re bracing for more snow here in Chicago, and I genuinely can’t wait. There’s nothing more calming, in my opinion, than taking a nighttime stroll in the snow, when everything’s still, quiet and hasn’t gotten slushy and gross yet.

I have a couple FOIA updates that I’ll share at the end about some requests, but first, let’s get into today’s request: Illinois Lottery records.

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You didn’t forget that lotteries are run by state agencies, did you? And state agencies are, naturally, FOIA-ble. (My favorite.)

Illinois Lottery has some documents available on their website about financial statements and investments, which is great and all, but I’m curious what else they have.

Let’s get some inspiration by first prowling Google for .pdf documents that might be lurking or lost on the lottery website:

It really is that easy. When I’m looking to file FOIA requests, but not quite sure what might already exist, site: and type: are my go-to search methods; they can lift out documents, especially things like blank forms (like a claim form!), SOPs, or quarterly reports that give an understanding of what kinds of records are created with frequency. All we’re doing is telling our search engine to only return webpages matching illinoislottery.com and only results matching a .pdf.

If you’ve ever encountered a FOIA officer who reminds you that documents are, in fact, “available on the website,” this can be a good way to keep them on your good side by having the defense of “I already checked” ready.

So rapid fire, a few things that came to mind that I want to request, based on some digging:

• Game tickets purchased versus the wins for each game! Illinois Lottery makes the odds available for each game (if you’ve ever bought a scratch-off ticket, for example, they’re on there!), but are some games yielding more wins?

• Details on sales by some sort of geography: per store, per zip code, per city. MuckRock has a great Sale by Zipcode request from way back when that Illinois responded to, so I’ll have to think they still keep that record type around.

• Speaking of MuckRock, I’m fascinated by this request for “winners who are extremely lucky,” which this requester filed in Florida. I’m also going to grab the “wins accepted by LLCs or trusts” part of that request, too.

• I mentioned how the Illinois Lottery invests the funds — a significant amount of profits go toward public school funding — but I’m curious what other special causes are funded by lottery revenue.

We’ll also grab a list of retailers, and retailers who have had their licenses pulled, just based on this doc that I was able to find from my Googling.

And, finally, a request to a different agency: IDHS. The Illinois Department of Human Services funds the Illinois Helpline, a gambling hotline for folks to call. Illinois Lottery talks frequently about how they promote responsible gaming, including the specific steps they’ve taken to design games that are fun, but not addictive, and exciting but not kid-friendly.

I want to see just how much has changed with call volume to the helpline; I’m sure that it’s gotten significantly more busy with the advent of sports betting and video gaming, so we’ll see how that goes.

So! With all of that in mind, here’s the language I’m using:

- Data or documents sufficient to show the number and dollar amount purchased of current (1/1/2025 to 1/29/2026) individual game tickets, as well as the amount paid out by game. Please release data in a machine-readable format, like an Excel or csv file, if possible.

- Data or documents sufficient to show the volume of tickets sold per store/retailer, as well as the volume of winning tickets per store/retailer. If possible, please also include the amount of revenue commissions per retailer, and include the retailer name and address if available. Please release data in a machine-readable format.

- Data or documents sufficient to show a list of claims made/accepted by trusts, LLCs or legal entities from 1/1/2024 to present (1/29/2026). For each claim, please include the name of the trust or legal entity, the prize amount, the date of the win and the purchase location of the winning ticket.

- Data or documents sufficient to show "extremely lucky winners," or winners who have won more than three prizes of $10,000 or more through the Illinois Lottery from 1/1/2024 to present (1/29/2026). Please include the total number of prizes won, the prize amounts for each win, the dates of each win and the purchase location of the ticket.

- Data, documents or reports that show the individual "special causes" investments made by Illinois Lottery with revenue. Please break out each special cause by line item, organization name, amount invested/donated, date of the donation and any other associated metadata with the special cause. Please release data in a machine-readable format like a .csv or .xlsx, unless the information is better received via .pdf.

- A current (1/29/2026) list of licensed retailers for the Illinois Lottery. 

- A current (1/29/2026) list of retailers who have had their license revoked for the Illinois Lottery. Please include the date of termination of the license, as well as the address of the retailer, name of the retailer, and any possible reasoning (if available) for the revocation.

And from IDHS for the gambling hotline:

- Data, documents or other records that show the call volume of the Illinois Helpline between 1/1/2023 and 1/29/2026. If possible, please release individual call data (eg, each row of a file is equal to one call), but if not, then please aggregate the call volume by zip code or other geography, and include any other associated metadata able to be released (causes of call, outcome of call, etc). Please release data in a machine-readable format like a .csv or .xlsx, unless the information is better received via .pdf.

- Financial documents showing donations or funding support given by organizations toward the Illinois Helpline between 1/1/2023 and present (1/29/2026). Please include dates or years of donations or financial support, the organization name, the dollar amount of support given and any associated metadata. Please release data in a machine-readable format like a .csv or .xlsx, unless the information is better received via .pdf.

And, just for kicks, from both IDHS and Illinois Lottery:

- A log, list, document or data to show all records requests filed with this agency (like a "FOIA log") between 1/1/205 and the present (1/28/2026 or whenever this request is processed). Please release documents in a digitized format.

- The most recent records retention schedule for the agency, which includes a list of documents kept by the agency and for how long each record is retained. This may be called a general records schedule, a records index, or something else. Please release this in a .pdf if possible.

Some updates on requests!

The Department of Defense got back to me about my request for details on the Pentagon loot box vending machine, with an interim response:

Although we have already begun processing your request, we will not be able to respond within the FOIA's 20-day statutory time period as there are unusual circumstances which impact our ability to quickly process your request. The FOIA defines unusual circumstances as (a) the need to search for and collect records from a facility geographically separated from this office; (b) the potential volume of records responsive to your request; and (c) the need for consultation with one or more other agencies or DoW components having a substantial interest in either the determination or the subject matter of the records. At least one, if not more of these scenarios applies or would likely apply to your request. While this office handles FOIA requests for OSW, JS, and other component offices, we do not actually hold their records and our office is not geographically located with these organizations. As we do not hold the records, until the required record searches are complete, we are unable to estimate the potential volume of records or the number of consultations that will be required to make a release determination.

Your request has been placed in our complex processing queue and is being worked based on the order in which the request was received. Our current administrative workload is approximately 3,414 open requests.

I’m really not surprised, because it does seem like something that wouldn’t be readily available. (Hell, I haven’t been able to track anything down, even as I’ve combed through SAM and USASpending and everything I possibly can in the meantime.)

We got records back from the University of Illinois system about public safety expenditures. Those will be uploaded into DocumentCloud by the weekend!

Also back in: Lolla records from DCASE! We got the permit from last year’s event, which is fascinating to look through. The sheer volume of planning and logistics is really, really cool. I’ll see if I can toss in some annotations in the DocumentCloud file to highlight some interesting bits. (Like no shots, six-packs or THC/CBD drinks allowed!) The permit was filed in April of last year, and Lolla’s permit for this year likely won’t be filed until then, so we’ll have to wait to refile in order to get 2026’s permit.

Unfortunately, stuff slips through the cracks sometimes:

• I failed to reply to the Cook County Sheriff’s Office in time to their reply to my request for ChatGPT logs from staff, so the request was closed. I’ll refile the request and narrow it down based on the feedback they gave me from the initial one!

• I have to refile a few requests, including one to the Mayor’s Office for Chicagwa records. That request was inadvertently filed to the Department of Technology, not the Mayor’s Office. Oops!

On a different bent: this Friday, I’ll be hosting my final FOIAFriday for MuckRock! I’ll be joined by the illustrious Chicago author, historian and journalist Robert Loerzel, and the inimitable New York Times investigative reporter Steve Eder, in a panel discussion about using FOIA to obtain historical records and documents.

It’ll be recorded and uploaded to YouTube, but if you’re free at 12 pm Central Time on Friday and want to hop on a lunchtime Zoom and say hi, here’s where to register.

Alrighty. Time to watch The Pitt and catch up on some freelancing projects. (Which, for the record, my books are opening up for spring!)

Good night + happy filing!

Cam