103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2023 and 2024
SB3671

 

Introduced 2/9/2024, by Sen. Erica Harriss

 

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
 
New Act

     Creates the State's Attorney and Peace Officer Privacy Act. Provides that government agencies shall not publicly post or display publicly available content that includes the personal information of a State's Attorney, Assistant State's Attorney, or peace officer if the government agency has received a written request in accordance with the Act that it refrain from disclosing the personal information of a State's Attorney, Assistant State's Attorney, or peace officer. Provides that if a government agency fails to comply with a written request to refrain from disclosing personal information, the State's Attorney, Assistant State's Attorney, or peace officer may bring an action seeking injunctive or declaratory relief in any court of competent jurisdiction. Provides that it is unlawful for any person to knowingly publicly post on the Internet the personal information of a State's Attorney, Assistant State's Attorney, or peace officer or of the immediate family of a State's Attorney, Assistant State's Attorney, or peace officer if the person knows or reasonably should know that publicly posting the personal information poses an imminent and serious threat to the health and safety of the State's Attorney, Assistant State's Attorney, or peace officer or the immediate family of the State's Attorney, Assistant State's Attorney, or peace officer, and the violation is a proximate cause of bodily injury or death of the State's Attorney, Assistant State's Attorney, or peace officer or the immediate family of the State's Attorney, Assistant State's Attorney, or peace officer. Provides that a person who violates this provision is guilty of a Class 3 felony. Provides exemptions. Defines terms. Effective immediately.


LRB103 36530 JRC 66637 b

 

 

A BILL FOR

 

SB3671LRB103 36530 JRC 66637 b

1    AN ACT concerning State's Attorneys, Assistant State's
2Attorneys, peace officers, and their immediate families.
 
3    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
4represented in the General Assembly:
 
5    Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the
6State's Attorney and Peace Officer Privacy Act.
 
7    Section 5. Purpose. The purpose of this Act is to improve
8the safety and security of Illinois State's Attorneys,
9Assistant State's Attorneys, and peace officers to ensure they
10are able to administer their duties fairly without fear of
11personal reprisal from individuals affected by the decisions
12they make in the course of carrying out their public function.
13    This Act is not intended to restrain a State's Attorney,
14Assistant State's Attorney, or peace officer from
15independently making public his or her own personal
16information. Additionally, no government agency, person,
17business, or association has any obligation under this Act to
18protect the privacy of the personal information of a State's
19Attorney, Assistant State's Attorney, or peace officer until
20the State's Attorney, Assistant State's Attorney, or peace
21officer makes a written request that his or her personal
22information not be publicly posted.
23    Nothing in this Act shall be construed to impair free

 

 

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1access to the official actions of a State's Attorney,
2Assistant State's Attorney, or peace officer that are public
3information and in the course of carrying out his or her public
4functions.
 
5    Section 10. Definitions. In this Act:
6    "Government agency" includes all agencies, authorities,
7boards, commissions, departments, institutions, offices, and
8any other bodies politic and corporate of the State created by
9the Constitution or statute, whether in the executive,
10judicial, or legislative branch; all units and corporate
11outgrowths created by executive order of the Governor or any
12constitutional officer, by the Supreme Court, or by resolution
13of the General Assembly; or agencies, authorities, boards,
14commissions, departments, institutions, offices, and any other
15bodies politic and corporate of a unit of local government, or
16school district.
17    "Home address" includes a permanent residence of a State's
18Attorney, Assistant State's Attorney, or peace officer and any
19secondary residences affirmatively identified by the State's
20Attorney, Assistant State's Attorney, or peace officer, but
21does not include a work address of a State's Attorney,
22Assistant State's Attorney, or peace officer.
23    "Immediate family" includes a spouse, child, parent, or
24any blood relative of the State's Attorney, Assistant State's
25Attorney, or peace officer who lives in the same residence.

 

 

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1    "Peace officer" has the meaning given the term in Section
22-13 of the Criminal Code of 2012.
3    "Personal information" means a home address, home
4telephone number, mobile telephone number, pager number,
5personal email address, social security number, federal tax
6identification number, checking and savings account numbers,
7credit card numbers, marital status, and identity of children
8under the age of 18.
9    "Publicly available content" means any written, printed,
10or electronic document or record that provides information or
11that serves as a document or record maintained, controlled, or
12in the possession of a government agency that may be obtained
13by any person or entity, from the Internet, from the
14government agency upon request either free of charge or for a
15fee, or in response to a request under the Freedom of
16Information Act.
17    "Publicly post" or "publicly display" means to communicate
18to another or otherwise make available to the general public.
19    "Written request" means written notice signed by a State's
20Attorney, Assistant State's Attorney, or peace officer or a
21representative of the employer of the State's Attorney,
22Assistant State's Attorney, or peace officer requesting a
23government agency, person, business, or association to refrain
24from posting or displaying publicly available content that
25includes the personal information of a State's Attorney,
26Assistant State's Attorney, or peace officer.
 

 

 

SB3671- 4 -LRB103 36530 JRC 66637 b

1    Section 15. Publicly posting personal information;
2government agencies.
3    (a) Government agencies shall not publicly post or display
4publicly available content that includes the personal
5information of a State's Attorney, Assistant State's Attorney,
6or peace officer if the government agency has received a
7written request in accordance with Section 20 that it refrain
8from disclosing the personal information of a State's
9Attorney, Assistant State's Attorney, or peace officer. After
10a government agency has received a written request, that
11agency shall remove the personal information of a State's
12Attorney, Assistant State's Attorney, or peace officer from
13publicly available content within 5 business days. After the
14government agency has removed the personal information of a
15State's Attorney, Assistant State's Attorney, or peace officer
16from publicly available content, the agency shall not publicly
17post or display the information and the personal information
18of a State's Attorney, Assistant State's Attorney, or peace
19officer shall be exempt from the Freedom of Information Act
20unless the government agency has received consent from the
21State's Attorney, Assistant State's Attorney, or peace officer
22to make the personal information available to the public.
23    (b) Redress. If a government agency fails to comply with a
24written request to refrain from disclosing personal
25information, the State's Attorney, Assistant State's Attorney,

 

 

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1or peace officer may bring an action seeking injunctive or
2declaratory relief in any court of competent jurisdiction.
 
3    Section 20. Publicly posting personal information;
4persons, businesses, and associations; Internet.
5    (a) Prohibited Conduct.
6            (1) All persons, businesses, and associations
7        shall refrain from publicly posting or displaying on
8        the Internet publicly available content that includes
9        the personal information of a State's Attorney,
10        Assistant State's Attorney, or peace officer if the
11        State's Attorney, Assistant State's Attorney, or peace
12        officer has made a written request to the person,
13        business, or association that it refrain from
14        disclosing the personal information.
15            (2) No person, business, or association shall
16        solicit, sell, or trade on the Internet the personal
17        information of a State's Attorney, Assistant State's
18        Attorney, or peace officer with the intent to pose an
19        imminent and serious threat to the health and safety
20        of the State's Attorney, Assistant State's Attorney,
21        or peace officer or the immediate family of the
22        State's Attorney, Assistant State's Attorney, or peace
23        officer.
24            (3) This subsection includes, but is not limited
25        to, Internet phone directories, Internet search

 

 

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1        engines, Internet data aggregators, and Internet
2        service providers.
3    (b) Required Conduct.
4            (1) After a person, business, or association has
5        received a written request from a State's Attorney,
6        Assistant State's Attorney, or peace officer to
7        protect the privacy of the personal information of the
8        State's Attorney, Assistant State's Attorney, or peace
9        officer, that person, business, or association shall
10        have 72 hours to remove the personal information from
11        the Internet.
12            (2) After a person, business, or association has
13        received a written request from a State's Attorney,
14        Assistant State's Attorney, or peace officer, that
15        person, business, or association shall ensure that the
16        personal information of the State's Attorney,
17        Assistant State's Attorney, or peace officer is not
18        made available on any website or subsidiary website
19        controlled by that person, business, or association.
20            (3) After receiving a written request from the
21        State's Attorney, Assistant State's Attorney, or peace
22        officer, no person, business, or association shall
23        transfer the personal information of the State's
24        Attorney, Assistant State's Attorney, or peace officer
25        to any other person, business, or association through
26        any medium.

 

 

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1    (c) Redress. A State's Attorney, Assistant State's
2Attorney, or peace officer whose personal information is made
3public as a result of a violation of this Act may bring an
4action seeking injunctive or declaratory relief in any court
5of competent jurisdiction. If the court grants injunctive or
6declaratory relief, the person, business, or association
7responsible for the violation shall be required to pay the
8State's Attorney, Assistant State's Attorney, or peace officer
9costs and reasonable attorney's fees.
 
10    Section 25. Written requests.
11    (a) Requirement that a State's Attorney, Assistant State's
12Attorney, or peace officer make a written request. No
13government agency, person, business, or association shall be
14found to have violated any provision of this Act if the State's
15Attorney, Assistant State's Attorney, or peace officer fails
16to submit a written request calling for the protection of the
17person's personal information.
18    (b) Written request procedure. A written request shall be
19valid if:
20        (1) the State's Attorney, Assistant State's Attorney,
21    or peace officer sends a written request directly to a
22    government agency, person, business, or association; or
23        (2) if the Attorney General has a policy and procedure
24    for a State's Attorney, Assistant State's Attorney, or
25    peace officer to file the written request with the

 

 

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1    Attorney General to notify government agencies, the
2    State's Attorney, Assistant State's Attorney, or peace
3    officer may send the written request to the Attorney
4    General. In each quarter of a calendar year, the Attorney
5    General shall provide a list of all State's Attorneys,
6    Assistant State's Attorneys, and peace officers who have
7    submitted a written request to the Attorney General, to
8    the appropriate officer with ultimate supervisory
9    authority for a government agency. The officer shall
10    promptly provide a copy of the list to any and all
11    government agencies under his or her supervision. Receipt
12    of the written request list compiled by the Attorney
13    General by a government agency shall constitute a written
14    request to that Agency for the purposes of this Act.
15    (c) A representative from the State's Attorney, Assistant
16State's Attorney, or peace officer employer may submit a
17written request on the State's Attorney, Assistant State's
18Attorney, or peace officer behalf if the State's Attorney,
19Assistant State's Attorney, or peace officer gives written
20consent to the representative and if the representative agrees
21to furnish a copy of that consent when a written request is
22made. The representative shall submit the written request as
23provided in subsection (b) of this Section.
24    (d) Information to be included in the written request. A
25written request of the State's Attorney, Assistant State's
26Attorney, or peace officer shall specify what personal

 

 

SB3671- 9 -LRB103 36530 JRC 66637 b

1information shall be maintained private.
2    If a State's Attorney, Assistant State's Attorney, or
3peace officer wishes to identify a secondary residence as a
4home address as that term is defined in this Act, the
5designation shall be made in the written request.
6    A State's Attorney, Assistant State's Attorney, or peace
7officer shall disclose the identity of the immediate family of
8the State's Attorney, Assistant State's Attorney, or peace
9officer and indicate that the personal information of these
10family members shall also be excluded to the extent that it
11could reasonably be expected to reveal the personal
12information of the State's Attorney, Assistant State's
13Attorney, or peace officer.
14    (e) Duration of the written request. A written request of
15the State's Attorney, Assistant State's Attorney, or peace
16officer is valid until the State's Attorney, Assistant State's
17Attorney, or peace officer provides the government agency,
18person, business, or association with written permission to
19release the private information. The written request of a
20State's Attorney, Assistant State's Attorney, or peace officer
21expires on death.
 
22    Section 30. Unlawful publication of personal information.
23It is unlawful for any person to knowingly publicly post on the
24Internet the personal information of a State's Attorney,
25Assistant State's Attorney, or peace officer or of the

 

 

SB3671- 10 -LRB103 36530 JRC 66637 b

1immediate family of a State's Attorney, Assistant State's
2Attorney, or peace officer if the person knows or reasonably
3should know that publicly posting the personal information
4poses an imminent and serious threat to the health and safety
5of the State's Attorney, Assistant State's Attorney, or peace
6officer or the immediate family of the State's Attorney,
7Assistant State's Attorney, or peace officer, and the
8violation is a proximate cause of bodily injury or death of the
9State's Attorney, Assistant State's Attorney, or peace officer
10or the immediate family of the State's Attorney, Assistant
11State's Attorney, or peace officer. A person who violates this
12Section is guilty of a Class 3 felony.
 
13    Section 35. Exceptions for employees of government
14agencies. If the employee of a government agency has complied
15with the conditions set forth in this Act, it is not a
16violation of Section 30 if an employee of a government agency
17publishes personal information, in good faith, on the website
18of the government agency in the ordinary course of carrying
19out public functions.
 
20    Section 40. Construction. This Act and any rules adopted
21to implement this Act shall be construed broadly to favor the
22protection of the personal information of a State's Attorney,
23Assistant State's Attorney, or peace officer or the immediate
24family of a State's Attorney, Assistant State's Attorney, or

 

 

SB3671- 11 -LRB103 36530 JRC 66637 b

1peace officer.
 
2    Section 97. Severability. The provisions of this Act are
3severable under Section 1.31 of the Statute on Statutes.
 
4    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
5becoming law.