Illinois General Assembly - Full Text of HB0248
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Full Text of HB0248  99th General Assembly

HB0248eng 99TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

  
  
  

 


 
HB0248 EngrossedLRB099 04859 JLK 24888 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 Open Meetings Act is amended by changing
5Section 3 as follows:
 
6    (5 ILCS 120/3)  (from Ch. 102, par. 43)
7    Sec. 3. (a) Where the provisions of this Act are not
8complied with, or where there is probable cause to believe that
9the provisions of this Act will not be complied with, any
10person, including the State's Attorney of the county in which
11such noncompliance may occur, may bring a civil action in the
12circuit court for the judicial circuit in which the alleged
13noncompliance has occurred or is about to occur, or in which
14the affected public body has its principal office, prior to or
15within 60 days of the meeting alleged to be in violation of
16this Act or, if facts concerning the meeting are not discovered
17within the 60-day period, within 60 days of the discovery of a
18violation by the State's Attorney.
19    Records that are obtained by a State's Attorney from a
20public body for purposes of reviewing whether the public body
21has complied with this Act may not be disclosed to the public.
22Those records, while in the possession of the State's Attorney,
23are exempt from disclosure under the Freedom of Information

 

 

HB0248 Engrossed- 2 -LRB099 04859 JLK 24888 b

1Act.
2    (b) In deciding such a case the court may examine in camera
3any portion of the minutes of a meeting at which a violation of
4the Act is alleged to have occurred, and may take such
5additional evidence as it deems necessary.
6    (c) The court, having due regard for orderly administration
7and the public interest, as well as for the interests of the
8parties, may grant such relief as it deems appropriate,
9including granting a relief by mandamus requiring that a
10meeting be open to the public, granting an injunction against
11future violations of this Act, ordering the public body to make
12available to the public such portion of the minutes of a
13meeting as is not authorized to be kept confidential under this
14Act, or declaring null and void any final action taken at a
15closed meeting in violation of this Act, or declaring null and
16void a final action taken at an open meeting in violation of
17this Act, but only if a civil action alleging the violation is
18commenced within 60 days of that meeting and the alleged
19violation is directly and substantially related to that final
20action.
21    (d) The court may assess against any party, except a
22State's Attorney, reasonable attorney's fees and other
23litigation costs reasonably incurred by any other party who
24substantially prevails in any action brought in accordance with
25this Section, provided that costs may be assessed against any
26private party or parties bringing an action pursuant to this

 

 

HB0248 Engrossed- 3 -LRB099 04859 JLK 24888 b

1Section only upon the court's determination that the action is
2malicious or frivolous in nature.
3(Source: P.A. 96-542, eff. 1-1-10.)
 
4    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
5becoming law.