96TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2009 and 2010
HB5503

 

Introduced 2/5/2010, by Rep. Elizabeth Hernandez

 

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
 
5 ILCS 120/2   from Ch. 102, par. 42

    Amends the Open Meetings Act. Permits a closed meeting for an elder abuse fatality review team's review of a death in which abuse or neglect is alleged, suspected, or substantiated.


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A BILL FOR

 

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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 Open Meetings Act is amended by changing
5 Section 2 as follows:
 
6     (5 ILCS 120/2)  (from Ch. 102, par. 42)
7     Sec. 2. Open meetings.
8     (a) Openness required. All meetings of public bodies shall
9 be open to the public unless excepted in subsection (c) and
10 closed in accordance with Section 2a.
11     (b) Construction of exceptions. The exceptions contained
12 in subsection (c) are in derogation of the requirement that
13 public bodies meet in the open, and therefore, the exceptions
14 are to be strictly construed, extending only to subjects
15 clearly within their scope. The exceptions authorize but do not
16 require the holding of a closed meeting to discuss a subject
17 included within an enumerated exception.
18     (c) Exceptions. A public body may hold closed meetings to
19 consider the following subjects:
20         (1) The appointment, employment, compensation,
21     discipline, performance, or dismissal of specific
22     employees of the public body or legal counsel for the
23     public body, including hearing testimony on a complaint

 

 

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1     lodged against an employee of the public body or against
2     legal counsel for the public body to determine its
3     validity.
4         (2) Collective negotiating matters between the public
5     body and its employees or their representatives, or
6     deliberations concerning salary schedules for one or more
7     classes of employees.
8         (3) The selection of a person to fill a public office,
9     as defined in this Act, including a vacancy in a public
10     office, when the public body is given power to appoint
11     under law or ordinance, or the discipline, performance or
12     removal of the occupant of a public office, when the public
13     body is given power to remove the occupant under law or
14     ordinance.
15         (4) Evidence or testimony presented in open hearing, or
16     in closed hearing where specifically authorized by law, to
17     a quasi-adjudicative body, as defined in this Act, provided
18     that the body prepares and makes available for public
19     inspection a written decision setting forth its
20     determinative reasoning.
21         (5) The purchase or lease of real property for the use
22     of the public body, including meetings held for the purpose
23     of discussing whether a particular parcel should be
24     acquired.
25         (6) The setting of a price for sale or lease of
26     property owned by the public body.

 

 

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1         (7) The sale or purchase of securities, investments, or
2     investment contracts.
3         (8) Security procedures and the use of personnel and
4     equipment to respond to an actual, a threatened, or a
5     reasonably potential danger to the safety of employees,
6     students, staff, the public, or public property.
7         (9) Student disciplinary cases.
8         (10) The placement of individual students in special
9     education programs and other matters relating to
10     individual students.
11         (11) Litigation, when an action against, affecting or
12     on behalf of the particular public body has been filed and
13     is pending before a court or administrative tribunal, or
14     when the public body finds that an action is probable or
15     imminent, in which case the basis for the finding shall be
16     recorded and entered into the minutes of the closed
17     meeting.
18         (12) The establishment of reserves or settlement of
19     claims as provided in the Local Governmental and
20     Governmental Employees Tort Immunity Act, if otherwise the
21     disposition of a claim or potential claim might be
22     prejudiced, or the review or discussion of claims, loss or
23     risk management information, records, data, advice or
24     communications from or with respect to any insurer of the
25     public body or any intergovernmental risk management
26     association or self insurance pool of which the public body

 

 

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1     is a member.
2         (13) Conciliation of complaints of discrimination in
3     the sale or rental of housing, when closed meetings are
4     authorized by the law or ordinance prescribing fair housing
5     practices and creating a commission or administrative
6     agency for their enforcement.
7         (14) Informant sources, the hiring or assignment of
8     undercover personnel or equipment, or ongoing, prior or
9     future criminal investigations, when discussed by a public
10     body with criminal investigatory responsibilities.
11         (15) Professional ethics or performance when
12     considered by an advisory body appointed to advise a
13     licensing or regulatory agency on matters germane to the
14     advisory body's field of competence.
15         (16) Self evaluation, practices and procedures or
16     professional ethics, when meeting with a representative of
17     a statewide association of which the public body is a
18     member.
19         (17) The recruitment, credentialing, discipline or
20     formal peer review of physicians or other health care
21     professionals for a hospital, or other institution
22     providing medical care, that is operated by the public
23     body.
24         (18) Deliberations for decisions of the Prisoner
25     Review Board.
26         (19) Review or discussion of applications received

 

 

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1     under the Experimental Organ Transplantation Procedures
2     Act.
3         (20) The classification and discussion of matters
4     classified as confidential or continued confidential by
5     the State Government Suggestion Award Board.
6         (21) Discussion of minutes of meetings lawfully closed
7     under this Act, whether for purposes of approval by the
8     body of the minutes or semi-annual review of the minutes as
9     mandated by Section 2.06.
10         (22) Deliberations for decisions of the State
11     Emergency Medical Services Disciplinary Review Board.
12         (23) The operation by a municipality of a municipal
13     utility or the operation of a municipal power agency or
14     municipal natural gas agency when the discussion involves
15     (i) contracts relating to the purchase, sale, or delivery
16     of electricity or natural gas or (ii) the results or
17     conclusions of load forecast studies.
18         (24) Meetings of a residential health care facility
19     resident sexual assault and death review team or the
20     Executive Council under the Abuse Prevention Review Team
21     Act.
22         (25) A review conducted by an elder abuse fatality
23     review team, pursuant to Section 15 of the Elder Abuse and
24     Neglect Act, of the death of an elderly person in which the
25     abuse or neglect of the elderly person is alleged or
26     suspected or has been substantiated.

 

 

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1     (d) Definitions. For purposes of this Section:
2     "Employee" means a person employed by a public body whose
3 relationship with the public body constitutes an
4 employer-employee relationship under the usual common law
5 rules, and who is not an independent contractor.
6     "Public office" means a position created by or under the
7 Constitution or laws of this State, the occupant of which is
8 charged with the exercise of some portion of the sovereign
9 power of this State. The term "public office" shall include
10 members of the public body, but it shall not include
11 organizational positions filled by members thereof, whether
12 established by law or by a public body itself, that exist to
13 assist the body in the conduct of its business.
14     "Quasi-adjudicative body" means an administrative body
15 charged by law or ordinance with the responsibility to conduct
16 hearings, receive evidence or testimony and make
17 determinations based thereon, but does not include local
18 electoral boards when such bodies are considering petition
19 challenges.
20     (e) Final action. No final action may be taken at a closed
21 meeting. Final action shall be preceded by a public recital of
22 the nature of the matter being considered and other information
23 that will inform the public of the business being conducted.
24 (Source: P.A. 94-931, eff. 6-26-06; 95-185, eff. 1-1-08.)