Public Act 93-0057

SB1204 Enrolled                      LRB093 07252 JAM 07410 b

    AN ACT concerning public bodies.

    Be it enacted by the People of  the  State  of  Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:

    Section  5.  The Open Meetings Act is amended by changing
Section 2 as follows:

    (5 ILCS 120/2) (from Ch. 102, par. 42)
    Sec. 2.  Open meetings.
    (a)  Openness required.  All meetings  of  public  bodies
shall be open to the public unless excepted in subsection (c)
and closed in accordance with Section 2a.
    (b)  Construction    of   exceptions.    The   exceptions
contained  in  subsection  (c)  are  in  derogation  of   the
requirement   that  public  bodies  meet  in  the  open,  and
therefore, the  exceptions  are  to  be  strictly  construed,
extending  only to subjects clearly within their scope.   The
exceptions authorize but do not  require  the  holding  of  a
closed  meeting  to  discuss  a  subject  included  within an
enumerated exception.
    (c)  Exceptions.  A public body may hold closed  meetings
to consider the following subjects:
         (1)  The   appointment,   employment,  compensation,
    discipline,  performance,  or   dismissal   of   specific
    employees  of  the  public  body or legal counsel for the
    public body, including hearing testimony on  a  complaint
    lodged  against an employee of the public body or against
    legal counsel  for  the  public  body  to  determine  its
    validity.
         (2)  Collective   negotiating  matters  between  the
    public body and its employees or  their  representatives,
    or  deliberations  concerning salary schedules for one or
    more classes of employees.
         (3)  The selection of a  person  to  fill  a  public
    office,  as defined in this Act, including a vacancy in a
    public office, when the public body  is  given  power  to
    appoint  under  law  or  ordinance,  or  the  discipline,
    performance  or  removal  of  the  occupant  of  a public
    office, when the public body is given power to remove the
    occupant under law or ordinance.
         (4)  Evidence  or  testimony   presented   in   open
    hearing,   or   in   closed  hearing  where  specifically
    authorized by  law,  to  a  quasi-adjudicative  body,  as
    defined  in this Act, provided that the body prepares and
    makes available for public inspection a written  decision
    setting forth its determinative reasoning.
         (5)  The  purchase or lease of real property for the
    use of the public body, including meetings held  for  the
    purpose  of discussing whether a particular parcel should
    be acquired.
         (6)  The setting of a price for  sale  or  lease  of
    property owned by the public body.
         (7)  The    sale    or   purchase   of   securities,
    investments, or investment contracts.
         (8)  Security procedures and the  use  of  personnel
    and equipment to respond to an actual, a threatened, or a
    reasonably  potential  danger to the safety of employees,
    students, staff or public property.
         (9)  Student disciplinary cases.
         (10)  The  placement  of  individual   students   in
    special  education programs and other matters relating to
    individual students.
         (11)  Litigation, when an action against,  affecting
    or on behalf of the particular public body has been filed
    and is pending before a court or administrative tribunal,
    or  when the public body finds that an action is probable
    or imminent, in which case  the  basis  for  the  finding
    shall  be  recorded  and  entered into the minutes of the
    closed meeting.
         (12)  The establishment of reserves or settlement of
    claims  as  provided  in  the  Local   Governmental   and
    Governmental  Employees  Tort  Immunity Act, if otherwise
    the disposition of a claim or potential  claim  might  be
    prejudiced,  or  the review or discussion of claims, loss
    or risk management information, records, data, advice  or
    communications from or with respect to any insurer of the
    public  body  or  any  intergovernmental  risk management
    association or self insurance pool of  which  the  public
    body is a member.
         (13)  Conciliation  of  complaints of discrimination
    in the sale or rental of housing,  when  closed  meetings
    are  authorized  by the law or ordinance prescribing fair
    housing  practices   and   creating   a   commission   or
    administrative agency for their enforcement.
         (14)  Informant sources, the hiring or assignment of
    undercover  personnel  or equipment, or ongoing, prior or
    future  criminal  investigations,  when  discussed  by  a
    public body with criminal investigatory responsibilities.
         (15)  Professional  ethics   or   performance   when
    considered  by  an  advisory  body  appointed to advise a
    licensing or regulatory agency on matters germane to  the
    advisory body's field of competence.
         (16)  Self  evaluation,  practices and procedures or
    professional ethics, when meeting with  a  representative
    of  a statewide association of which the public body is a
    member.
         (17)  The recruitment, credentialing, discipline  or
    formal  peer  review  of  physicians or other health care
    professionals  for  a  hospital,  or  other   institution
    providing  medical  care,  that is operated by the public
    body.
         (18)  Deliberations for decisions  of  the  Prisoner
    Review Board.
         (19)  Review  or discussion of applications received
    under the Experimental Organ  Transplantation  Procedures
    Act.
         (20)  The  classification  and discussion of matters
    classified as confidential or continued  confidential  by
    the State Employees Suggestion Award Board.
         (21)  Discussion  of  minutes  of  meetings lawfully
    closed under this Act, whether for purposes  of  approval
    by  the  body of the minutes or semi-annual review of the
    minutes as mandated by Section 2.06.
         (22)  Deliberations  for  decisions  of  the   State
    Emergency Medical Services Disciplinary Review Board.
         (23)  The operation by a municipality of a municipal
    utility  or  the operation of a municipal power agency or
    municipal natural gas agency when the discussion involves
    (i) contracts relating to the purchase, sale, or delivery
    of electricity or natural gas  or  (ii)  the  results  or
    conclusions of load forecast studies.
    (d)  Definitions.  For purposes of this Section:
    "Employee" means a person employed by a public body whose
relationship    with   the   public   body   constitutes   an
employer-employee relationship under  the  usual  common  law
rules, and who is not an independent contractor.
    "Public  office" means a position created by or under the
Constitution or laws of this State, the occupant of which  is
charged  with  the  exercise of some portion of the sovereign
power of this State. The term "public office"  shall  include
members  of  the  public  body,  but  it  shall  not  include
organizational  positions  filled by members thereof, whether
established by law or by a public body itself, that exist  to
assist the body in the conduct of its business.
    "Quasi-adjudicative  body"  means  an administrative body
charged by  law  or  ordinance  with  the  responsibility  to
conduct  hearings,  receive  evidence  or  testimony and make
determinations based thereon,  but  does  not  include  local
electoral  boards  when  such bodies are considering petition
challenges.
    (e)  Final action.  No final action may  be  taken  at  a
closed  meeting.  Final  action shall be preceded by a public
recital of the nature of  the  matter  being  considered  and
other information that will inform the public of the business
being conducted.
(Source: P.A. 90-144, eff. 7-23-97; 91-730, eff. 1-1-01.)

    Section  99.  Effective date.  This Act takes effect July
1, 2003.