93RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2003 and 2004
HB5165


 
Introduced 02/05/04, by Ruth Munson
 
SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
 		














5 ILCS 140/1
  from Ch. 116, par. 201







    Amends the Freedom of Information Act.  Provides that it is the policy of the State for each public body to take every reasonable step to ensure that adequate precautions are taken to prevent the disclosure of personal information unless  disclosure is required or authorized by law.  Effective immediately.
















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A BILL FOR









 











HB5165

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    AN ACT concerning public records.

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


 
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    Section 5. The Freedom of Information Act is amended  by 
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changing Section 1 as follows:
 



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    (5 ILCS 140/1)  (from Ch. 116, par. 201)



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    Sec. 1. Pursuant to the fundamental philosophy of the 
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American constitutional
form of government, it is declared to 
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be the public policy of the State of
Illinois that all persons 
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are entitled to full and complete information
regarding the 
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affairs of government and the official acts and policies of

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those who represent them as public officials and public 
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employees consistent
with the terms of this Act. Such access is 
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necessary to enable the people
to fulfill their duties of 
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discussing public issues fully and freely, making
informed 
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political judgments and monitoring government to ensure that it

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is being conducted in the public interest.

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    This Act is not intended to be used to violate individual 
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privacy, nor
for the purpose of furthering a commercial 
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enterprise, or to disrupt the
duly-undertaken work of any 
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public body independent of the fulfillment of
any of the 
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fore-mentioned rights of the people to access to information. 
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It is further the policy of this State that all public bodies 
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are authorized to and must take every reasonable step to ensure 
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that adequate precautions are taken to protect personal 
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information from being divulged in order to ensure personal 
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privacy, unless disclosure is required or specifically 
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authorized by law, such as, without limitation, to protect the 
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public and our children from sex offenders and to ensure that 
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child support payments are collected.


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    This Act is not intended to create an obligation on the 
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part of any public
body to maintain or prepare any public 
 


 






HB5165
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record which was not maintained or
prepared by such public body 
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at the time when this Act becomes effective,
except as 
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otherwise required by applicable local, State or federal law.

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    These restraints on information access should be seen as 
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limited exceptions
to the general rule that the people have a 
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right to know the decisions,
policies, procedures, rules, 
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standards, and other aspects of government
activity that affect 
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the conduct of government and the lives of any or all
of the 
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people.  The provisions of this Act shall be construed to this 
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end.

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    This Act shall be the exclusive State statute on freedom of 
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information,
except to the extent that other State statutes 
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might create additional restrictions
on disclosure of 
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information or other laws in Illinois might create additional

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obligations for disclosure of information to the public.

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(Source: P.A. 83-1013.)

 

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    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon 
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becoming law.