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1 | | public body is located.
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2 | | (d) The circuit court shall have the jurisdiction to enjoin |
3 | | the public
body from withholding public records and to order |
4 | | the production of any
public records improperly withheld from |
5 | | the person seeking access. If the
public body can show that |
6 | | exceptional circumstances exist, and that the
body is |
7 | | exercising due diligence in responding to the request, the |
8 | | court
may retain jurisdiction and allow the agency additional |
9 | | time to complete
its review of the records.
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10 | | (e) On motion of the plaintiff, prior to or after in camera
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11 | | inspection, the court shall order the public body
to provide an |
12 | | index of the records to which access has been denied. The
index |
13 | | shall include the following:
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14 | | (i) A description of the nature or contents of each |
15 | | document
withheld, or each deletion from a released |
16 | | document, provided, however,
that the public body shall not |
17 | | be required to disclose the information
which it asserts is |
18 | | exempt; and
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19 | | (ii) A statement of the exemption or exemptions claimed |
20 | | for each such
deletion or withheld document.
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21 | | (f) In any action considered by the court, the court shall |
22 | | consider the
matter de novo, and shall conduct such in camera |
23 | | examination of the requested
records as it finds appropriate to |
24 | | determine if such records or any part
thereof may be withheld |
25 | | under any provision of this Act. The burden shall
be on the |
26 | | public body to establish that its refusal to permit public |
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1 | | inspection
or copying is in accordance with the provisions of |
2 | | this Act. Any public body that asserts that a record is exempt |
3 | | from disclosure has the burden of proving that it is exempt by |
4 | | clear and convincing evidence.
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5 | | (g) In the event of noncompliance with an order of the |
6 | | court to disclose,
the court may enforce its order against any |
7 | | public official or employee
so ordered or primarily responsible |
8 | | for such noncompliance through the court's
contempt powers.
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9 | | (h) Except as to causes the court considers to be of |
10 | | greater importance,
proceedings arising under this Section |
11 | | shall take precedence on the docket
over all other causes and |
12 | | be assigned for hearing and trial at the earliest
practicable |
13 | | date and expedited in every way.
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14 | | (i) If a person seeking the right to inspect or receive a |
15 | | copy of a public
record prevails in a
proceeding under this |
16 | | Section, the court shall award such
person reasonable |
17 | | attorneys' fees and costs. In determining what amount of |
18 | | attorney's fees is reasonable, the court shall consider the |
19 | | degree to which the relief obtained relates to the relief |
20 | | sought. The changes contained in this subsection apply to an |
21 | | action filed on or after the effective date of this amendatory |
22 | | Act of the 96th General Assembly.
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23 | | For the purposes of this subsection, a requester prevails |
24 | | if he or she obtains relief through (i) a judicial order, (ii) |
25 | | an enforceable written agreement or consent decree, or (iii) a |
26 | | voluntary or unilateral change in position after suit has been |
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1 | | filed under Section 11 or 11.5 of this Act. |
2 | | (j) If the court determines that a public body willfully |
3 | | and intentionally failed to comply with this Act, or otherwise |
4 | | acted in bad faith, the court shall also impose upon the public |
5 | | body a civil penalty of not less than $2,500 nor more than |
6 | | $5,000 for each occurrence. In assessing the civil penalty, the |
7 | | court shall consider in aggravation or mitigation the budget of |
8 | | the public body and whether the public body has previously been |
9 | | assessed penalties for violations of this Act. The changes |
10 | | contained in this subsection apply to an action filed on or |
11 | | after the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 96th |
12 | | General Assembly. |
13 | | (Source: P.A. 96-542, eff. 1-1-10; 97-813, eff. 7-13-12.)
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14 | | Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon |
15 | | becoming law.".
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