96TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2009 and 2010
HB3683

 

Introduced 2/24/2009, by Rep. Paul D. Froehlich

 

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
 
5 ILCS 140/3   from Ch. 116, par. 203
5 ILCS 140/11   from Ch. 116, par. 211

    Amends the Freedom of Information Act. Authorizes a court to award reasonable attorneys fees and costs and assess a fine not to exceed $1,000 if it finds that a public body denied or delayed access to a public record on improper or unreasonable grounds or for the sole purpose of delaying access without good cause.


LRB096 11325 JAM 21767 b

FISCAL NOTE ACT MAY APPLY

 

 

A BILL FOR

 

HB3683 LRB096 11325 JAM 21767 b

1     AN ACT concerning government.
 
2     Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3 represented in the General Assembly:
 
4     Section 5. The Freedom of Information Act is amended by
5 changing Sections 3 and 11 as follows:
 
6     (5 ILCS 140/3)  (from Ch. 116, par. 203)
7     Sec. 3. (a) Each public body shall make available to any
8 person for inspection or copying all public records, except as
9 otherwise provided in Section 7 of this Act. Notwithstanding
10 any other law, a public body may not grant to any person or
11 entity, whether by contract, license, or otherwise, the
12 exclusive right to access and disseminate any public record as
13 defined in this Act.
14     (b) Subject to the fee provisions of Section 6 of this Act,
15 each public body shall promptly provide, to any person who
16 submits a written request, a copy of any public record required
17 to be disclosed by subsection (a) of this Section and shall
18 certify such copy if so requested.
19     (c) Each public body shall, promptly, either comply with or
20 deny a written request for public records within 7 working days
21 after its receipt. Denial shall be by letter as provided in
22 Section 9 of this Act. Failure to respond to a written request
23 within 7 working days after its receipt shall be considered a

 

 

HB3683 - 2 - LRB096 11325 JAM 21767 b

1 denial of the request. The public body may be subject to
2 sanctions pursuant to Section 11(j) of this Act if the court
3 determines that the denial was improper and unreasonable or was
4 invoked for the sole purpose of delaying, without good cause,
5 access to the public record.
6     (d) The time limits prescribed in paragraph (c) of this
7 Section may be extended in each case for not more than 7
8 additional working days for any of the following reasons:
9         (i) the requested records are stored in whole or in
10     part at other locations than the office having charge of
11     the requested records;
12         (ii) the request requires the collection of a
13     substantial number of specified records;
14         (iii) the request is couched in categorical terms and
15     requires an extensive search for the records responsive to
16     it;
17         (iv) the requested records have not been located in the
18     course of routine search and additional efforts are being
19     made to locate them;
20         (v) the requested records require examination and
21     evaluation by personnel having the necessary competence
22     and discretion to determine if they are exempt from
23     disclosure under Section 7 of this Act or should be
24     revealed only with appropriate deletions;
25         (vi) the request for records cannot be complied with by
26     the public body within the time limits prescribed by

 

 

HB3683 - 3 - LRB096 11325 JAM 21767 b

1     paragraph (c) of this Section without unduly burdening or
2     interfering with the operations of the public body;
3         (vii) there is a need for consultation, which shall be
4     conducted with all practicable speed, with another public
5     body or among two or more components of a public body
6     having a substantial interest in the determination or in
7     the subject matter of the request.
8     (e) When additional time is required for any of the above
9 reasons, the public body shall notify by letter the person
10 making the written request within the time limits specified by
11 paragraph (c) of this Section of the reasons for the delay and
12 the date by which the records will be made available or denial
13 will be forthcoming. In no instance, may the delay in
14 processing last longer than 7 working days. A failure to render
15 a decision within 7 working days shall be considered a denial
16 of the request. The public body may be subject to sanctions
17 pursuant to Section 11(j) of this Act if the court determines
18 that the denial was improper and unreasonable or was invoked
19 for the sole purpose of delaying, without good cause, access to
20 the public record.
21     (f) Requests calling for all records falling within a
22 category shall be complied with unless compliance with the
23 request would be unduly burdensome for the complying public
24 body and there is no way to narrow the request and the burden
25 on the public body outweighs the public interest in the
26 information. Before invoking this exemption, the public body

 

 

HB3683 - 4 - LRB096 11325 JAM 21767 b

1 shall extend to the person making the request an opportunity to
2 confer with it in an attempt to reduce the request to
3 manageable proportions. If any body responds to a categorical
4 request by stating that compliance would unduly burden its
5 operation and the conditions described above are met, it shall
6 do so in writing, specifying the reasons why it would be unduly
7 burdensome and the extent to which compliance will so burden
8 the operations of the public body. Such a response shall be
9 treated as a denial of the request for information. Repeated
10 requests for the same public records by the same person shall
11 be deemed unduly burdensome under this provision.
12     (g) Each public body may promulgate rules and regulations
13 in conformity with the provisions of this Section pertaining to
14 the availability of records and procedures to be followed,
15 including:
16         (i) the times and places where such records will be
17     made available, and
18         (ii) the persons from whom such records may be
19     obtained.
20 (Source: P.A. 90-206, eff. 7-25-97.)
 
21     (5 ILCS 140/11)  (from Ch. 116, par. 211)
22     Sec. 11. (a) Any person denied access to inspect or copy
23 any public record by the head of a public body may file suit
24 for injunctive or declaratory relief.
25     (b) Where the denial is from the head of a public body of

 

 

HB3683 - 5 - LRB096 11325 JAM 21767 b

1 the State, suit may be filed in the circuit court for the
2 county where the public body has its principal office or where
3 the person denied access resides.
4     (c) Where the denial is from the head of a municipality or
5 other public body, except as provided in subsection (b) of this
6 Section, suit may be filed in the circuit court for the county
7 where the public body is located.
8     (d) The circuit court shall have the jurisdiction to enjoin
9 the public body from withholding public records and to order
10 the production of any public records improperly withheld from
11 the person seeking access. If the public body can show that
12 exceptional circumstances exist, and that the body is
13 exercising due diligence in responding to the request, the
14 court may retain jurisdiction and allow the agency additional
15 time to complete its review of the records.
16     (e) On motion of the plaintiff, prior to or after in camera
17 inspection, the court shall order the public body to provide an
18 index of the records to which access has been denied. The index
19 shall include the following:
20         (i) A description of the nature or contents of each
21     document withheld, or each deletion from a released
22     document, provided, however, that the public body shall not
23     be required to disclose the information which it asserts is
24     exempt; and
25         (ii) A statement of the exemption or exemptions claimed
26     for each such deletion or withheld document.

 

 

HB3683 - 6 - LRB096 11325 JAM 21767 b

1     (f) In any action considered by the court, the court shall
2 consider the matter de novo, and shall conduct such in camera
3 examination of the requested records as it finds appropriate to
4 determine if such records or any part thereof may be withheld
5 under any provision of this Act. The burden shall be on the
6 public body to establish that its refusal to permit public
7 inspection or copying is in accordance with the provisions of
8 this Act.
9     (g) In the event of noncompliance with an order of the
10 court to disclose, the court may enforce its order against any
11 public official or employee so ordered or primarily responsible
12 for such noncompliance through the court's contempt powers.
13     (h) Except as to causes the court considers to be of
14 greater importance, proceedings arising under this Section
15 shall take precedence on the docket over all other causes and
16 be assigned for hearing and trial at the earliest practicable
17 date and expedited in every way.
18     (i) If a person seeking the right to inspect or receive a
19 copy of a public record substantially prevails in a proceeding
20 under this Section, the court may award such person reasonable
21 attorneys' fees and costs. If, however, the court finds that
22 the fundamental purpose of the request was to further the
23 commercial interests of the requestor, the court may award
24 reasonable attorneys' fees and costs if the court finds that
25 the record or records in question were of clearly significant
26 interest to the general public and that the public body lacked

 

 

HB3683 - 7 - LRB096 11325 JAM 21767 b

1 any reasonable basis in law for withholding the record.
2     (j) If the court determines that the grounds for delay or
3 denial of access to a public record pursuant to Section 3(c) or
4 3(e) of this Act were improper and unreasonable or were invoked
5 for the sole purpose of delay without good cause, the court may
6 award to the person reasonable attorneys' fees and costs and
7 may assess a fine not to exceed $1,000.
8 (Source: P.A. 93-466, eff. 1-1-04.)