103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2023 and 2024
HB5125

 

Introduced 2/8/2024, by Rep. Dennis Tipsword, Jr. - Patrick Windhorst and Dave Severin

 

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
 
5 ILCS 140/3  from Ch. 116, par. 203

    Amends the Freedom of Information Act. Provides that, if a request for public records for officer-worn body camera recorded audio or video is received by a public body, the public body shall either comply with or deny the request within 15 business days (rather than 5 days) after its receipt of the request. Allows an extension to the time to respond to a request for officer-worn body camera recorded audio or video to 15 business days (rather than 5 business days).


LRB103 38087 AWJ 68219 b

 

 

A BILL FOR

 

HB5125LRB103 38087 AWJ 68219 b

1    AN ACT concerning government.
 
2    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3represented in the General Assembly:
 
4    Section 5. The Freedom of Information Act is amended by
5changing Section 3 as follows:
 
6    (5 ILCS 140/3)  (from Ch. 116, par. 203)
7    Sec. 3. (a) Each public body shall make available to any
8person for inspection or copying all public records, except as
9otherwise provided in Sections 7 and 8.5 of this Act.
10Notwithstanding any other law, a public body may not grant to
11any person or entity, whether by contract, license, or
12otherwise, the exclusive right to access and disseminate any
13public record as defined in this Act.
14    (b) Subject to the fee provisions of Section 6 of this Act,
15each public body shall promptly provide, to any person who
16submits a request, a copy of any public record required to be
17disclosed by subsection (a) of this Section and shall certify
18such copy if so requested.
19    (c) Requests for inspection or copies shall be made in
20writing and directed to the public body. Written requests may
21be submitted to a public body via personal delivery, mail,
22telefax, or other means available to the public body. A public
23body may honor oral requests for inspection or copying. A

 

 

HB5125- 2 -LRB103 38087 AWJ 68219 b

1public body may not require that a request be submitted on a
2standard form or require the requester to specify the purpose
3for a request, except to determine whether the records are
4requested for a commercial purpose or whether to grant a
5request for a fee waiver. All requests for inspection and
6copying received by a public body shall immediately be
7forwarded to its Freedom of Information officer or designee.
8    (d) Each public body shall, promptly, either comply with
9or deny a request for public records within 5 business days
10after its receipt of the request, unless the time for response
11is properly extended under subsection (e) of this Section or
12unless time of response is covered under subsection (d-5).
13Denial shall be in writing as provided in Section 9 of this
14Act. Failure to comply with a written request, extend the time
15for response, or deny a request within 5 business days after
16its receipt shall be considered a denial of the request. A
17public body that fails to respond to a request within the
18requisite periods in this Section but thereafter provides the
19requester with copies of the requested public records may not
20impose a fee for such copies. A public body that fails to
21respond to a request received may not treat the request as
22unduly burdensome under subsection (g).
23    (d-5) If a request for public records for officer-worn
24body camera recorded audio or video allowed under subsection
25(b) of Section 10-20 of the Law Enforcement Officer-Worn Body
26Camera Act is received by a public body, the public body shall,

 

 

HB5125- 3 -LRB103 38087 AWJ 68219 b

1promptly, either comply with or deny a request for the audio or
2video within 15 business days after its receipt of the
3request. The time for a response under this subsection may be
4extended by the public body for not more than 15 business days
5from the original due date for any of the reasons allowed under
6subsection (e) unless the person making the request and the
7public body make an agreement in writing to extend the time for
8compliance as allowed under subsection (e).
9    (e) Except as provided in subsection (d-5), the The time
10for response under this Section may be extended by the public
11body for not more than 5 business days from the original due
12date for any of the following reasons:
13        (i) the requested records are stored in whole or in
14    part at other locations than the office having charge of
15    the requested records;
16        (ii) the request requires the collection of a
17    substantial number of specified records;
18        (iii) the request is couched in categorical terms and
19    requires an extensive search for the records responsive to
20    it;
21        (iv) the requested records have not been located in
22    the course of routine search and additional efforts are
23    being made to locate them;
24        (v) the requested records require examination and
25    evaluation by personnel having the necessary competence
26    and discretion to determine if they are exempt from

 

 

HB5125- 4 -LRB103 38087 AWJ 68219 b

1    disclosure under Section 7 of this Act or should be
2    revealed only with appropriate deletions;
3        (vi) the request for records cannot be complied with
4    by the public body within the time limits prescribed by
5    subsection (d) of this Section without unduly burdening or
6    interfering with the operations of the public body;
7        (vii) there is a need for consultation, which shall be
8    conducted with all practicable speed, with another public
9    body or among 2 or more components of a public body having
10    a substantial interest in the determination or in the
11    subject matter of the request.
12    The person making a request and the public body may agree
13in writing to extend the time for compliance for a period to be
14determined by the parties. If the requester and the public
15body agree to extend the period for compliance, a failure by
16the public body to comply with any previous deadlines shall
17not be treated as a denial of the request for the records.
18    (f) When additional time is required for any of the above
19reasons, the public body shall, within 5 business days after
20receipt of the request, notify the person making the request
21of the reasons for the extension and the date by which the
22response will be forthcoming. Failure to respond within the
23time permitted for extension shall be considered a denial of
24the request. A public body that fails to respond to a request
25within the time permitted for extension but thereafter
26provides the requester with copies of the requested public

 

 

HB5125- 5 -LRB103 38087 AWJ 68219 b

1records may not impose a fee for those copies. A public body
2that requests an extension and subsequently fails to respond
3to the request may not treat the request as unduly burdensome
4under subsection (g).
5    (g) Requests calling for all records falling within a
6category shall be complied with unless compliance with the
7request would be unduly burdensome for the complying public
8body and there is no way to narrow the request and the burden
9on the public body outweighs the public interest in the
10information. Before invoking this exemption, the public body
11shall extend to the person making the request an opportunity
12to confer with it in an attempt to reduce the request to
13manageable proportions. If any public body responds to a
14categorical request by stating that compliance would unduly
15burden its operation and the conditions described above are
16met, it shall do so in writing, specifying the reasons why it
17would be unduly burdensome and the extent to which compliance
18will so burden the operations of the public body. Such a
19response shall be treated as a denial of the request for
20information.
21    Repeated requests from the same person for the same
22records that are unchanged or identical to records previously
23provided or properly denied under this Act shall be deemed
24unduly burdensome under this provision.
25    (h) Each public body may promulgate rules and regulations
26in conformity with the provisions of this Section pertaining

 

 

HB5125- 6 -LRB103 38087 AWJ 68219 b

1to the availability of records and procedures to be followed,
2including:
3        (i) the times and places where such records will be
4    made available, and
5        (ii) the persons from whom such records may be
6    obtained.
7    (i) The time periods for compliance or denial of a request
8to inspect or copy records set out in this Section shall not
9apply to requests for records made for a commercial purpose,
10requests by a recurrent requester, or voluminous requests.
11Such requests shall be subject to the provisions of Sections
123.1, 3.2, and 3.6 of this Act, as applicable.
13(Source: P.A. 101-81, eff. 7-12-19.)