The Illinois Office of the Comptroller maintains this website as a public service. This Privacy Policy explains how we handle the information we receive from visits to our website.  The information that we receive depends on what you do when you visit our site. Generally, because we are governed by public record laws and regulations and have various statutory reporting responsibilities,  we may be required by law to disclose the information that we receive.

 

Upon any visit to our site, we collect information for site management functions. The information that we collect for site management functions does not include personally identifiable information. “Personal information” is information about an individual that is readily identifiable to that specific individual. Personal information includes personal identifiers such as an individual’s name, address, phone number, drivers license number and social security number. A domain name, date and time of access, or Internet Protocol address is not considered personal information.

 

For site management functions, we use Log analysis tools to create summary statistics, which are used for purposes such as assessing what information on our site is of most interest, determining technical design specifications, and identifying system performance or problem areas. We collect and store the following information for this analysis:

 

User Client hostname - The hostname (or IP address if DNS is disabled) of the user/client requesting access.
HTTP header, "user-agent" - The user-agent information includes the type of browser, its version, and the operating system it's running on.
HTTP header, "referrer" - The referrer specifies the page from which the client accessed the current page.
System date - The date and time of the user/client request.
Full request - The exact request the user/client made.
Status - The status code the server returned to the user/client.
Content length - The content length, in bytes, of the document sent to the user/client.
Method - The request method used.
Universal Resource Identifier (URI) - The location of a resource on the server.
Query string of the URI - Anything after the question mark in a URI.
Protocol - The transport protocol and version used.

 

We use “cookies” on this site to ensure integrity of survey results or to enable automatic logins for data collection applications.

 

Cookies ensure vote integrity for votes cast in surveys.  For example, after a vote is cast in the Fiscal Forum survey, we attach a cookie as a mechanism to alert us that a particular Internet address has voted and to preclude multiple votes from a particular Internet address. This cookie does not show how the user voted, only that they did vote.  These cookies, if accepted by the user, expire in 120 days.

 

The Office uses several online data collection applications to enable the public, state agencies and local governments to fulfill statutory obligations.  The user has the option in some of these applications to use the “AutoLogin” feature, which adds a cookie to identify the user. 

 

The information stored in the cookie is not reported or used in any manner that will reveal personally identifiable information, and will not be released to any outside parties unless required to do so by law or regulation.

 

We will not obtain personally identifying information about you when you visit our site, unless you choose to provide such information. If you choose to identify yourself by sending us an email or when using our online forms, we only use personally identifying information for official business purposes as necessary to provide better government services. For example, we use the personally identifying information to respond to your request or identify key questions to place in our Frequently Asked Questions section. Further, personally identifying information included within online forms enable the user to complete reporting via the Internet – an electronic option that may ease the burden of reporting. In some cases, we may redirect your message to another government agency or person who is in a better position to answer your question. Release of personal information you choose to provide will be governed by applicable law.

 

If you send us an email, you should know that the email is not necessarily secure against interception.  So, if your communication includes sensitive information like your social security number, bank account, or charge card, contact us by postal mail or telephone rather than email.

 

The Office of the Comptroller is committed to complying fully with the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act. Accordingly, if you are under the age of 13, you are not authorized to provide us with personally identifying information. We appreciate your cooperation with this federally mandated requirement. Users are cautioned that the collection of personal information volunteered by children on-line or by e-mail will be treated the same as information given by an adult and may be subject to public access.

 

The information collected from our website, including for example, any data generated, email correspondence, Internet filings submitted, is subject to record retention laws and regulations.

 

This website links to documents located on websites maintained by various state agencies or other organizations.  Once you access an individual document that links you to another website, you are subject to the privacy policy of the website containing that document.

 

If you have any questions, click here to go to our Comments section.

Access to the Office of the Comptroller’s website is provided subject to the following terms and conditions. Please read these terms carefully, as use of these pages constitutes acceptance of all of the following terms and conditions.

 

LEGAL NOTICES

 

Disclaimer of Liability
Neither the State of Illinois, nor any of its agencies nor any of its employees or agents shall be held liable for any improper or incorrect use of the information described and/or contained herein. The State of Illinois, its agencies, employees and agents assume no responsibility for anyone’s use of the information. In no event shall the State of Illinois, the Comptroller, the Office of the Comptroller’s web-site or any employees or agents of the same be liable for any direct, indirect, incidental, special, exemplary, or consequential damages (including, but not limited to, procurement or substitute goods or services; loss of use, data, or profits; or business interruption) however caused and on any theory of liability, whether in contract, strict liability, or tort (including negligence or otherwise) arising in any way out of the use of this system, even if advised of the possibility of such damage. This disclaimer of liability applies to any damages or injury, including but not limited to those caused by any failure of performance, error, omission, interruption, deletion, defect, delay in operation or transmission, computer virus, communication line failure, theft or destruction or unauthorized access to, alteration of, or use of record, whether for breach of contract, tortious behavior, negligence or under any other cause of action.

 

Disclaimer of Warranties and Accuracy of Data
Although the data found using the Office of the Comptroller’s access systems have been produced and processed from sources believed to be reliable, no warranty, express or implied, is made regarding accuracy, adequacy, completeness, legality, reliability or usefulness of any information. This disclaimer applies to both isolated and aggregate uses of the information. The Office of the Comptroller provides this information on an “as is” basis. All warranties of any kind, express or implied, including but not limited to the implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, freedom from contamination by computer viruses and non-infringement of proprietary rights are disclaimed. Changes may be periodically made to the information herein; these changes may or may not be incorporated in any new version of the publication. If you have obtained information from any of the Office of the Comptroller’s web pages from a source other than the Office of the Comptroller’s pages, be aware that electronic data can be altered subsequent to original distribution. Data can also quickly become out of date. It is recommended that careful attention be paid to the contents of any data associated with a file, and that the originator of the data or information be contacted with any questions regarding appropriate use. If you find any errors or omissions, we encourage you to report them to the Office of the Comptroller.

 

Disclaimer of External Links
The Office of the Comptroller is not responsible for the contents of any off-site pages referenced. The user specifically acknowledges that the State of Illinois is not liable for the defamatory, offensive or illegal conduct of other users, links, or third parties and that the risk of injury from the foregoing rests entirely with the user. Links from the Office of the Comptroller’s web pages on the World Wide Web to other sites do not constitute an endorsement. These links are provided as an information service only. It is the responsibility of the web surfer to evaluate the content and usefulness of information obtained from other sites. The Office of the Comptroller’sweb-site contains links to other related World Wide Web Internet sites and resources. Since neither the Office of the Comptroller nor the State of Illinois is responsible for the availability of these outside resources or their contents, you should direct any concerns regarding any external link to its site administrator or webmaster.

 

Disclaimer of Duty to Continue Provision of Data
Due to the dynamic nature of the Internet, resources that are free and publicly available one day may require a fee or restricted access the next, and the location of items may change as menus,homepages, and files are reorganized. The user expressly agrees that use of the Office of the Comptroller’s web-site is at the user’s sole risk. The Office of the Comptroller does not warrant that the service will be uninterrupted or error free. The documents and related graphics published on this server could contain technical inaccuracies or typographical errors. Changes are periodically made to the information herein. The State and/or its respective agencies and programs may make improvements and/or changes in the information and/or programs described herein at any time.

 

Choice of Law
Construction of the disclaimers above and resolution of disputes thereof are governed by the laws of the State of Illinois. The laws of the State of Illinois, U.S.A., shall apply to all uses of this data and this system. By use of this system and any data contained therein, the user agreesthat use shall conform to all applicable laws and regulations and user shall not violate the rights of any third parties. Use of this site constitutes user’s assent to the terms herein set forth.