Full Text of SB0189 96th General Assembly
SB0189enr 96TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
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| AN ACT concerning government.
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| Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
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| represented in the General Assembly:
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| Section 5. The Open Meetings Act is amended by changing | 5 |
| Section 3 and adding Sections 1.05, 3.5, and 7.5 as follows: | 6 |
| (5 ILCS 120/1.05 new)
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| Sec. 1.05. Training. Every public body shall designate | 8 |
| employees, officers, or members to receive training on | 9 |
| compliance with this Act. Each public body shall submit a list | 10 |
| of designated employees, officers, or members to the Public | 11 |
| Access Counselor. Within 6 months after the effective date of | 12 |
| this amendatory Act of the 96th General Assembly, the | 13 |
| designated employees, officers, and members must successfully | 14 |
| complete an electronic training curriculum, developed and | 15 |
| administered by the Public Access Counselor, and thereafter | 16 |
| must successfully complete an annual training program. | 17 |
| Thereafter, whenever a public body designates an additional | 18 |
| employee, officer, or member to receive this training, that | 19 |
| person must successfully complete the electronic training | 20 |
| curriculum within 30 days after that designation.
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| (5 ILCS 120/3) (from Ch. 102, par. 43)
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| Sec. 3.
(a) Where the provisions of this Act are not |
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| complied with, or
where there is probable cause to believe that | 2 |
| the provisions of this Act
will not be complied with, any | 3 |
| person, including the State's Attorney
of the county in which | 4 |
| such noncompliance
may occur, may bring a civil action in the | 5 |
| circuit court for the judicial
circuit in which the alleged | 6 |
| noncompliance has occurred or is about to occur,
or in which | 7 |
| the affected public body has its principal office, prior to
or | 8 |
| within 60 days of the meeting alleged to be in
violation of | 9 |
| this Act or, if facts concerning the meeting are not discovered
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| within the 60-day period,
within 60 days of the discovery of a | 11 |
| violation by the State's
Attorney.
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| Records that are obtained by a State's Attorney from a | 13 |
| public body for purposes of reviewing whether the public body | 14 |
| has complied with this Act may not be disclosed to the public. | 15 |
| Those records, while in the possession of the State's Attorney, | 16 |
| are exempt from disclosure under the Freedom of Information | 17 |
| Act. | 18 |
| (b) In deciding such a case the court may examine in camera | 19 |
| any portion
of the minutes of a meeting at which a violation of | 20 |
| the Act is alleged to
have occurred, and may take such | 21 |
| additional evidence as it deems necessary.
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| (c) The court, having due regard for orderly administration | 23 |
| and the public
interest, as well as for the interests of the | 24 |
| parties, may grant such
relief as it deems appropriate, | 25 |
| including granting a relief
by mandamus requiring that a | 26 |
| meeting be open
to the public, granting an injunction against |
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| future violations of this
Act, ordering the public body to make | 2 |
| available to the public such portion
of the minutes of a | 3 |
| meeting as is not
authorized to be kept confidential under this | 4 |
| Act, or declaring null and
void any final action taken at a | 5 |
| closed meeting in violation of this Act.
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| (d) The court may assess against any party, except a | 7 |
| State's Attorney,
reasonable attorney's fees and other | 8 |
| litigation costs reasonably incurred
by any other party who | 9 |
| substantially prevails in any action brought in
accordance with | 10 |
| this Section, provided that costs may be assessed against
any | 11 |
| private party or parties bringing an action pursuant to this | 12 |
| Section
only upon the court's determination that the action is | 13 |
| malicious or frivolous
in nature.
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| (Source: P.A. 88-621, eff. 1-1-95.)
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| (5 ILCS 120/3.5 new)
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| Sec. 3.5. Public Access Counselor; opinions. | 17 |
| (a) A person who believes that a violation of this Act by a | 18 |
| public body has occurred may file a request for review with the | 19 |
| Public Access Counselor established in the Office of the | 20 |
| Attorney General not later than 60 days after the alleged | 21 |
| violation. The request for review must be in writing, must be | 22 |
| signed by the requester, and must include a summary of the | 23 |
| facts supporting the allegation. | 24 |
| (b) Upon receipt of a request for review, the Public Access | 25 |
| Counselor shall determine whether further action is warranted. |
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| If the Public Access Counselor determines from the request for | 2 |
| review that the alleged violation is unfounded, he or she shall | 3 |
| so advise the requester and the public body and no further | 4 |
| action shall be undertaken. In all other cases, the Public | 5 |
| Access Counselor shall forward a copy of the request for review | 6 |
| to the public body within 7 working days. The Public Access | 7 |
| Counselor shall specify the records or other documents that the | 8 |
| public body shall furnish to facilitate the review. Within 7 | 9 |
| working days after receipt of the request for review, the | 10 |
| public body shall provide copies of the records requested and | 11 |
| shall otherwise fully cooperate with the Public Access | 12 |
| Counselor. If a public body fails to furnish specified records | 13 |
| pursuant to this Section, or if otherwise necessary, the | 14 |
| Attorney General may issue a subpoena to any person or public | 15 |
| body having knowledge of or records pertaining to an alleged | 16 |
| violation of this Act. For purposes of conducting a thorough | 17 |
| review, the Public Access Counselor has the same right to | 18 |
| examine a verbatim recording of a meeting closed to the public | 19 |
| or the minutes of a closed meeting as does a court in a civil | 20 |
| action brought to enforce this Act. | 21 |
| (c) Within 7 working days after it receives a copy of a | 22 |
| request for review and request for production of records from | 23 |
| the Public Access Counselor, the public body may, but is not | 24 |
| required to, answer the allegations of the request for review. | 25 |
| The answer may take the form of a letter, brief, or memorandum. | 26 |
| Upon request, the public body may also furnish the Public |
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| Access Counselor with a redacted copy of the answer excluding | 2 |
| specific references to any matters at issue. The Public Access | 3 |
| Counselor shall forward a copy of the answer or redacted | 4 |
| answer, if furnished, to the person submitting the request for | 5 |
| review. The requester may, but is not required to, respond in | 6 |
| writing to the answer within 7 working days and shall provide a | 7 |
| copy of the response to the public body. | 8 |
| (d) In addition to the request for review, and the answer | 9 |
| and the response thereto, if any, a requester or a public body | 10 |
| may furnish affidavits and records concerning any matter | 11 |
| germane to the review. | 12 |
| (e) Unless the Public Access Counselor extends the time by | 13 |
| no more than 21 business days by sending written notice to the | 14 |
| requester and public body that includes a statement of the | 15 |
| reasons for the extension in the notice, or decides to address | 16 |
| the matter without the issuance of a binding opinion, the | 17 |
| Attorney General shall examine the issues and the records, | 18 |
| shall make findings of fact and conclusions of law, and shall | 19 |
| issue to the requester and the public body an opinion within 60 | 20 |
| days after initiating review. The opinion shall be binding upon | 21 |
| both the requester and the public body, subject to | 22 |
| administrative review under Section 7.5 of this Act. | 23 |
| In responding to any written request under this Section | 24 |
| 3.5, the Attorney General may exercise his or her discretion | 25 |
| and choose to resolve a request for review by mediation or by a | 26 |
| means other than the issuance of a binding opinion. The |
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| decision not to issue a binding opinion shall not be | 2 |
| reviewable. | 3 |
| Upon receipt of a binding opinion concluding that a | 4 |
| violation of this Act has occurred, the public body shall | 5 |
| either take necessary action as soon as practical to comply | 6 |
| with the directive of the opinion or shall initiate | 7 |
| administrative review under Section 7.5. If the opinion | 8 |
| concludes that no violation of the Act has occurred, the | 9 |
| requester may initiate administrative review under Section | 10 |
| 7.5. | 11 |
| (f) If the requester files suit under Section 3 with | 12 |
| respect to the same alleged violation that is the subject of a | 13 |
| pending request for review, the requester shall notify the | 14 |
| Public Access Counselor, and the Public Access Counselor shall | 15 |
| take no further action with respect to the request for review | 16 |
| and shall so notify the public body. | 17 |
| (g) Records that are obtained by the Public Access | 18 |
| Counselor from a public body for purposes of addressing a | 19 |
| request for review under this Section 3.5 may not be disclosed | 20 |
| to the public, including the requester, by the Public Access | 21 |
| Counselor. Those records, while in the possession of the Public | 22 |
| Access Counselor, shall be exempt from disclosure by the Public | 23 |
| Access Counselor under the Freedom of Information Act. | 24 |
| (h) The Attorney General may also issue advisory opinions | 25 |
| to public bodies regarding compliance with this Act. A review | 26 |
| may be initiated upon receipt of a written request from the |
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| head of the public body or its attorney. The request must | 2 |
| contain sufficient accurate facts from which a determination | 3 |
| can be made. The Public Access Counselor may request additional | 4 |
| information from the public body in order to facilitate the | 5 |
| review. A public body that relies in good faith on an advisory | 6 |
| opinion of the Attorney General in complying with the | 7 |
| requirements of this Act is not liable for penalties under this | 8 |
| Act, so long as the facts upon which the opinion is based have | 9 |
| been fully and fairly disclosed to the Public Access Counselor. | 10 |
| (5 ILCS 120/7.5 new)
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| Sec. 7.5. Administrative review. A binding opinion issued | 12 |
| by the Attorney General shall be considered a final decision of | 13 |
| an administrative agency, for purposes of administrative | 14 |
| review under the Administrative Review Law (735 ILCS 5/Art. | 15 |
| III). An action for administrative review of a binding opinion | 16 |
| of the Attorney General shall be commenced in Cook or Sangamon | 17 |
| County. An advisory opinion issued to a public body shall not | 18 |
| be considered a final decision of the Attorney General for | 19 |
| purposes of this Section. | 20 |
| Section 10. The Freedom of Information Act is amended by | 21 |
| changing Sections 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 9, and 11 and by adding | 22 |
| Sections 1.2, 2.5, 2.10, 2.15, 2.20, 3.1, 3.3, 3.5, 7.5, 9.5, | 23 |
| and 11.5 as follows:
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| (5 ILCS 140/1) (from Ch. 116, par. 201)
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| Sec. 1.
Pursuant to the fundamental philosophy of the | 3 |
| American constitutional
form of government, it is declared to | 4 |
| be the public policy of the State of
Illinois that all persons | 5 |
| are entitled to full and complete information
regarding the | 6 |
| affairs of government and the official acts and policies of
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| those who represent them as public officials and public | 8 |
| employees consistent
with the terms of this Act. Such access is | 9 |
| necessary to enable the people
to fulfill their duties of | 10 |
| discussing public issues fully and freely, making
informed | 11 |
| political judgments and monitoring government to ensure that it
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| is being conducted in the public interest.
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| The General Assembly hereby declares that it is the public | 14 |
| policy of the State of Illinois that access by all persons to | 15 |
| public records promotes the transparency and accountability of | 16 |
| public bodies at all levels of government. It is a fundamental | 17 |
| obligation of government to operate openly and provide public | 18 |
| records as expediently and efficiently as possible in | 19 |
| compliance with this Act. | 20 |
| This Act is not intended to cause an unwarranted invasion | 21 |
| of personal be used to violate individual privacy, nor
to allow | 22 |
| the requests of for the purpose of furthering a commercial | 23 |
| enterprise to unduly burden public resources , or to disrupt the
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| duly-undertaken work of any public body independent of the | 25 |
| fulfillment of
any of the fore-mentioned rights of the people | 26 |
| to access to information.
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| This Act is not intended to create an obligation on the | 2 |
| part of any public
body to maintain or prepare any public | 3 |
| record which was not maintained or
prepared by such public body | 4 |
| at the time when this Act becomes effective,
except as | 5 |
| otherwise required by applicable local, State or federal law.
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| Restraints These restraints on access to information , to | 7 |
| the extent permitted by this Act, are access should be seen as | 8 |
| limited exceptions
to the principle general rule that the | 9 |
| people of this State have a right to full disclosure of | 10 |
| information relating to know the decisions,
policies, | 11 |
| procedures, rules, standards, and other aspects of government
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| activity that affect the conduct of government and the lives of | 13 |
| any or all
of the people. The provisions of this Act shall be | 14 |
| construed in accordance with this principle to this end . This | 15 |
| Act shall be construed to require disclosure of requested | 16 |
| information as expediently and efficiently as possible and | 17 |
| adherence to the deadlines established in this Act.
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| The General Assembly recognizes that this Act imposes | 19 |
| fiscal obligations on public bodies to provide adequate staff | 20 |
| and equipment to comply with its requirements. The General | 21 |
| Assembly declares that providing records in compliance with the | 22 |
| requirements of this Act is a primary duty of public bodies to | 23 |
| the people of this State, and this Act should be construed to | 24 |
| this end, fiscal obligations notwithstanding. | 25 |
| The General Assembly further recognizes that technology | 26 |
| may advance at a rate that outpaces its ability to address |
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| those advances legislatively. To the extent that this Act may | 2 |
| not expressly apply to those technological advances, this Act | 3 |
| should nonetheless be interpreted to further the declared | 4 |
| policy of this Act that public records shall be made available | 5 |
| upon request except when denial of access furthers the public | 6 |
| policy underlying a specific exemption. | 7 |
| This Act shall be the exclusive State statute on freedom of | 8 |
| information,
except to the extent that other State statutes | 9 |
| might create additional restrictions
on disclosure of | 10 |
| information or other laws in Illinois might create additional
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| obligations for disclosure of information to the public.
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| (Source: P.A. 83-1013.)
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| (5 ILCS 140/1.2 new) | 14 |
| Sec. 1.2. Presumption. All records in the custody or | 15 |
| possession of a public body are presumed to be open to | 16 |
| inspection or copying. Any public body that asserts that a | 17 |
| record is exempt from disclosure has the burden of proving by | 18 |
| clear and convincing evidence that it is exempt.
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| (5 ILCS 140/2) (from Ch. 116, par. 202)
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| Sec. 2. Definitions. As used in this Act:
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| (a) "Public body" means all any legislative,
executive, | 22 |
| administrative, or advisory bodies of the State, state | 23 |
| universities
and colleges, counties, townships, cities, | 24 |
| villages, incorporated towns,
school districts and all other |
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| municipal corporations,
boards, bureaus, committees, or | 2 |
| commissions of this State, any
subsidiary
bodies of any of the | 3 |
| foregoing including but not limited to committees and
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| subcommittees thereof which are supported in whole or in part | 5 |
| by tax revenue, or
which expend tax revenue , and a School | 6 |
| Finance Authority created under
Article 1E of the School Code.
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| "Public body" does not include a child death review team
or the | 8 |
| Illinois Child Death Review Teams
Executive Council
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| established under
the Child Death Review Team Act.
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| (b) "Person" means any individual, corporation, | 11 |
| partnership, firm,
organization
or association, acting | 12 |
| individually or as a group.
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| (c) "Public records" means all records, reports, forms, | 14 |
| writings, letters,
memoranda, books, papers, maps, | 15 |
| photographs, microfilms, cards, tapes,
recordings,
electronic | 16 |
| data processing records, electronic communications, recorded | 17 |
| information and all other
documentary
materials pertaining to | 18 |
| the transaction of public business , regardless of physical form | 19 |
| or characteristics, having been
prepared by or for , or having | 20 |
| been or being used by , received by , in the possession of, | 21 |
| possessed or under the
control
of
any public body. | 22 |
| (c-5) "Private information" means unique identifiers, | 23 |
| including a person's social security number, driver's license | 24 |
| number, employee identification number, biometric identifiers, | 25 |
| personal financial information, passwords or other access | 26 |
| codes, medical records, home or personal telephone numbers, and |
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| personal email addresses. Private information also includes | 2 |
| home address and personal license plates, except as otherwise | 3 |
| provided by law or when compiled without possibility of | 4 |
| attribution to any person. | 5 |
| (c-10) "Commercial purpose" means the use of any part of a | 6 |
| public record or records, or information derived from public | 7 |
| records, in any form for sale, resale, or solicitation or | 8 |
| advertisement for sales or services. For purposes of this | 9 |
| definition, requests made by news media and non-profit, | 10 |
| scientific, or academic organizations shall not be considered | 11 |
| to be made for a "commercial purpose" when the principal | 12 |
| purpose of the request is (i) to access and disseminate | 13 |
| information concerning news and current or passing events, (ii) | 14 |
| for articles of opinion or features of interest to the public, | 15 |
| or (iii) for the purpose of academic, scientific, or public | 16 |
| research or education. "Public records" includes, but is | 17 |
| expressly not limited
to: (i) administrative manuals, | 18 |
| procedural rules, and instructions to staff,
unless exempted by | 19 |
| Section 7(p) of this Act; (ii) final opinions and orders
made | 20 |
| in the adjudication of cases, except an educational | 21 |
| institution's
adjudication of
student or employee grievance or | 22 |
| disciplinary cases; (iii) substantive rules;
(iv) statements | 23 |
| and
interpretations of policy which have been adopted by a | 24 |
| public body; (v)
final planning policies, recommendations, and | 25 |
| decisions; (vi) factual reports,
inspection reports, and | 26 |
| studies whether prepared by or for the public body;
(vii) all |
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| information in any account, voucher, or contract dealing with
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| the receipt or expenditure of public or other funds of public | 3 |
| bodies; (viii)
the names, salaries, titles, and dates of | 4 |
| employment of all employees and
officers of public bodies; (ix) | 5 |
| materials containing opinions concerning
the rights of the | 6 |
| state, the public, a subdivision of state or a local
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| government,
or of any private persons; (x) the name of every | 8 |
| official and the final
records of voting in all proceedings of | 9 |
| public bodies; (xi) applications
for any contract, permit, | 10 |
| grant, or agreement except as exempted from
disclosure
by | 11 |
| subsection (g) of Section 7 of this Act; (xii) each report, | 12 |
| document,
study, or publication prepared by independent | 13 |
| consultants or other independent
contractors for the public | 14 |
| body; (xiii) all other information required by
law to be made | 15 |
| available for public inspection or copying;
(xiv) information | 16 |
| relating to any grant or contract made by or between a
public | 17 |
| body and another public body or private organization; (xv)
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| waiver documents filed with the State Superintendent of | 19 |
| Education or the
president of the University of Illinois under | 20 |
| Section 30-12.5 of the School
Code, concerning nominees for
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| General Assembly scholarships under
Sections 30-9, 30-10, and | 22 |
| 30-11 of the School Code; (xvi)
complaints,
results of | 23 |
| complaints, and Department of Children and Family Services | 24 |
| staff
findings of licensing violations at day care facilities, | 25 |
| provided that personal
and identifying information is not | 26 |
| released; and (xvii) records, reports,
forms, writings, |
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| letters, memoranda, books, papers, and other documentary
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| information, regardless of physical form or characteristics, | 3 |
| having been
prepared, or having been or being used, received, | 4 |
| possessed, or under the
control of the Illinois Sports | 5 |
| Facilities Authority dealing with the receipt or
expenditure of | 6 |
| public funds or other funds of the Authority in connection with
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| the reconstruction, renovation, remodeling, extension, or | 8 |
| improvement of all or
substantially all of an existing | 9 |
| "facility" as that term is defined in the
Illinois Sports | 10 |
| Facilities Authority Act.
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| (d) "Copying" means the reproduction of any public record | 12 |
| by means of any
photographic, electronic, mechanical or other | 13 |
| process, device or means now known or hereafter developed and | 14 |
| available to the public body .
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| (e) "Head of the public body" means the president, mayor, | 16 |
| chairman,
presiding
officer, director, superintendent, | 17 |
| manager, supervisor or individual otherwise
holding primary | 18 |
| executive and administrative authority for the public
body, or | 19 |
| such person's duly authorized designee.
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| (f) "News media" means a newspaper or other periodical | 21 |
| issued at regular
intervals whether in print or electronic | 22 |
| format, a news service whether
in print or electronic format, a | 23 |
| radio
station, a television station, a television network, a | 24 |
| community
antenna television service, or a person or | 25 |
| corporation engaged in making news
reels or other motion | 26 |
| picture news for public showing.
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| (Source: P.A. 91-935, eff. 6-1-01; 92-335, eff. 8-10-01; | 2 |
| 92-468, eff.
8-22-01; 92-547, eff. 6-13-02; 92-651, eff. | 3 |
| 7-11-02.)
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| (5 ILCS 140/2.5 new)
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| Sec. 2.5. Records of funds. All records relating to the | 6 |
| obligation, receipt, and use of public funds of the State, | 7 |
| units of local government, and school districts are public | 8 |
| records subject to inspection and copying by the public. | 9 |
| (5 ILCS 140/2.10 new)
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| Sec. 2.10. Payrolls. Certified payroll records submitted | 11 |
| to a public body under Section 5(a)(2) of the Prevailing Wage | 12 |
| Act are public records subject to inspection and copying in | 13 |
| accordance with the provisions of this Act; except that | 14 |
| contractors' employees' addresses, telephone numbers, and | 15 |
| social security numbers must be redacted by the public body | 16 |
| prior to disclosure. | 17 |
| (5 ILCS 140/2.15 new)
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| Sec. 2.15. Arrest reports and criminal history records. | 19 |
| (a) Arrest reports. The following chronologically | 20 |
| maintained arrest and criminal history information maintained | 21 |
| by State or local criminal justice agencies shall be furnished | 22 |
| as soon as practical, but in no event later than 72 hours after | 23 |
| the arrest, notwithstanding the time limits otherwise provided |
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| for in Section 3 of this Act: (i) information that identifies | 2 |
| the individual, including the name, age, address, and | 3 |
| photograph, when and if available; (ii) information detailing | 4 |
| any charges relating to the arrest; (iii) the time and location | 5 |
| of the arrest; (iv) the name of the investigating or arresting | 6 |
| law enforcement agency; (v) if the individual is incarcerated, | 7 |
| the amount of any bail or bond; and (vi) if the individual is | 8 |
| incarcerated, the time and date that the individual was | 9 |
| received into, discharged from, or transferred from the | 10 |
| arresting agency's custody. | 11 |
| (b) Criminal history records. The following documents | 12 |
| maintained by a public body pertaining to
criminal history | 13 |
| record information are public records subject to inspection and | 14 |
| copying by the
public pursuant to this Act: (i) court records | 15 |
| that are public; (ii) records that are otherwise
available | 16 |
| under State or local law; and (iii) records in which the | 17 |
| requesting party is the individual
identified, except as | 18 |
| provided under Section 7(1)(d)(vi). | 19 |
| (c) Information described in items (iii) through (vi) of | 20 |
| subsection (a) may be withheld if it is
determined that | 21 |
| disclosure would: (i) interfere with pending or actually and | 22 |
| reasonably contemplated law enforcement proceedings conducted | 23 |
| by any law enforcement agency; (ii) endanger the life or | 24 |
| physical safety of law enforcement or correctional personnel or | 25 |
| any other person; or (iii) compromise the security of any | 26 |
| correctional facility. |
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| (d) The provisions of this Section do not supersede the | 2 |
| confidentiality provisions for arrest records of the Juvenile | 3 |
| Court Act of 1987. | 4 |
| (5 ILCS 140/2.20 new)
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| Sec. 2.20. Settlement agreements. All settlement | 6 |
| agreements entered into by or on behalf of a public body are | 7 |
| public records subject to inspection and copying by the public, | 8 |
| provided that information exempt from disclosure under Section | 9 |
| 7 of this Act may be redacted.
| 10 |
| (5 ILCS 140/3) (from Ch. 116, par. 203)
| 11 |
| Sec. 3.
(a) Each public body shall make available to any | 12 |
| person for
inspection or copying all public records, except as | 13 |
| otherwise provided in
Section 7 of this Act.
Notwithstanding | 14 |
| any other law, a public body may not grant to any person
or | 15 |
| entity, whether by contract, license, or otherwise, the | 16 |
| exclusive right to
access and disseminate any public record as | 17 |
| defined in this Act.
| 18 |
| (b) Subject to the fee provisions of Section 6 of this Act, | 19 |
| each public
body shall promptly provide, to any person who | 20 |
| submits a written request,
a copy of any public record required | 21 |
| to be disclosed
by subsection (a) of this Section and shall | 22 |
| certify such copy if so requested.
| 23 |
| (c) Requests for inspection or copies shall be made in | 24 |
| writing and directed to the public body. Written requests may |
|
|
|
SB0189 Enrolled |
- 18 - |
LRB096 07744 JAM 17845 b |
|
| 1 |
| be submitted to a public body via personal delivery, mail, | 2 |
| telefax, or other means available to the public body. A public | 3 |
| body may honor oral requests for inspection or copying. A | 4 |
| public body may not require that a request be submitted on a | 5 |
| standard form or require the requester to specify the purpose | 6 |
| for a request, except to determine whether the records are | 7 |
| requested for a commercial purpose or whether to grant a | 8 |
| request for a fee waiver. All requests for inspection and | 9 |
| copying received by a public body shall immediately be | 10 |
| forwarded to its Freedom of Information officer or designee. | 11 |
| (d) (c) Each public body shall, promptly, either comply | 12 |
| with or deny a written
request for public records within 5 | 13 |
| business 7 working days after its receipt of the request, | 14 |
| unless the time for response is properly extended under | 15 |
| subsection (e) of this Section . Denial
shall be in writing by | 16 |
| letter as provided in Section 9 of this Act. Failure to comply | 17 |
| with respond to
a written request , extend the time for | 18 |
| response, or deny a request within 5 business days 7 working | 19 |
| days after its receipt shall be considered a
denial of the | 20 |
| request. A public body that fails to respond to a request | 21 |
| within the requisite periods in this Section but thereafter | 22 |
| provides the requester with copies of the requested public | 23 |
| records may not impose a fee for such copies. A public body | 24 |
| that fails to respond to a request received may not treat the | 25 |
| request as unduly burdensome under subsection (g).
| 26 |
| (e) (d) The time for response under limits prescribed in |
|
|
|
SB0189 Enrolled |
- 19 - |
LRB096 07744 JAM 17845 b |
|
| 1 |
| paragraph (c) of this Section may be
extended by the public | 2 |
| body in each case for not more than 5 business 7 additional | 3 |
| working days from the original due date for any
of the | 4 |
| following reasons:
| 5 |
| (i) the requested records are stored in whole or in | 6 |
| part at other
locations
than the office having charge of | 7 |
| the requested records;
| 8 |
| (ii) the request requires the collection of a | 9 |
| substantial number of
specified records;
| 10 |
| (iii) the request is couched in categorical terms and | 11 |
| requires an
extensive
search for the records responsive to | 12 |
| it;
| 13 |
| (iv) the requested records have not been located in the | 14 |
| course of routine
search and additional efforts are being | 15 |
| made to locate them;
| 16 |
| (v) the requested records require examination and | 17 |
| evaluation by personnel
having the necessary competence | 18 |
| and discretion to determine if they are
exempt from | 19 |
| disclosure under Section 7 of this Act or should be | 20 |
| revealed
only with appropriate deletions;
| 21 |
| (vi) the request for records cannot be complied with by | 22 |
| the public body
within the time limits prescribed by | 23 |
| paragraph (c) of this Section without
unduly burdening or | 24 |
| interfering with the operations of the public body;
| 25 |
| (vii) there is a need for consultation, which shall be | 26 |
| conducted with all
practicable speed, with another public |
|
|
|
SB0189 Enrolled |
- 20 - |
LRB096 07744 JAM 17845 b |
|
| 1 |
| body or among two or more components
of a public body | 2 |
| having a substantial interest in the determination or in
| 3 |
| the subject matter of the request.
| 4 |
| The person making a request and the public body may agree | 5 |
| in writing to extend the time for compliance for a period to be | 6 |
| determined by the parties. If the requester and the public body | 7 |
| agree to extend the period for compliance, a failure by the | 8 |
| public body to comply with any previous deadlines shall not be | 9 |
| treated as a denial of the request for the records. | 10 |
| (f) (e) When additional time is required for any of the | 11 |
| above reasons, the
public body shall , within 5 business days | 12 |
| after receipt of the request, notify by letter the person | 13 |
| making the written request within
the time limits specified by | 14 |
| paragraph (c) of this Section of the reasons
for the extension | 15 |
| delay and the date by which the response records will be made | 16 |
| available or
denial will be forthcoming. Failure to respond | 17 |
| within the time permitted for extension shall be considered a | 18 |
| denial of the request. A public body that fails to respond to a | 19 |
| request within the time permitted for extension but thereafter | 20 |
| provides the requester with copies of the requested public | 21 |
| records may not impose a fee for those copies. A public body | 22 |
| that requests an extension and subsequently fails to respond to | 23 |
| the request may not treat the request as unduly burdensome | 24 |
| under subsection (g). In no instance, may the delay in | 25 |
| processing
last longer than 7 working days. A failure to render | 26 |
| a decision within
7 working days shall be considered a denial |
|
|
|
SB0189 Enrolled |
- 21 - |
LRB096 07744 JAM 17845 b |
|
| 1 |
| of the request.
| 2 |
| (g) (f) Requests calling for all records falling within a | 3 |
| category shall be
complied with unless compliance with the | 4 |
| request would be unduly burdensome
for the complying public | 5 |
| body and there is no way to narrow the request and the
burden | 6 |
| on the public body outweighs the public interest in the | 7 |
| information.
Before invoking this exemption, the public body | 8 |
| shall extend to the person
making the request an opportunity to | 9 |
| confer with it in an attempt to reduce
the request to | 10 |
| manageable proportions. If any body responds to a categorical
| 11 |
| request by stating that compliance would unduly burden its | 12 |
| operation and
the conditions described above are met, it shall | 13 |
| do so in writing, specifying
the reasons why it would be unduly | 14 |
| burdensome and the extent to which compliance
will so burden | 15 |
| the operations of the public body. Such a response shall
be | 16 |
| treated as a denial of the
request for information. | 17 |
| Repeated requests from the same person for the same records | 18 |
| that are unchanged or identical to records previously provided | 19 |
| or properly denied under this Act for the same public records | 20 |
| by
the same person shall be deemed unduly burdensome under this | 21 |
| provision.
| 22 |
| (h) (g) Each public body may promulgate rules and | 23 |
| regulations in conformity
with the provisions of this Section | 24 |
| pertaining to the availability of records
and procedures to be | 25 |
| followed, including:
| 26 |
| (i) the times and places where such records will be |
|
|
|
SB0189 Enrolled |
- 22 - |
LRB096 07744 JAM 17845 b |
|
| 1 |
| made available, and
| 2 |
| (ii) the persons from whom such records may be | 3 |
| obtained.
| 4 |
| (i) The time periods for compliance or denial of a request | 5 |
| to inspect or copy records set out in this Section shall not | 6 |
| apply to requests for records made for a commercial purpose. | 7 |
| Such requests shall be subject to the provisions of Section 3.1 | 8 |
| of this Act. | 9 |
| (Source: P.A. 90-206, eff. 7-25-97.)
| 10 |
| (5 ILCS 140/3.1 new)
| 11 |
| Sec. 3.1. Requests for commercial purposes. | 12 |
| (a) A public body shall respond to a request for records to | 13 |
| be used for a commercial purpose within 21 working days after | 14 |
| receipt. The response shall (i) provide to the requester an | 15 |
| estimate of the time required by the public body to provide the | 16 |
| records requested and an estimate of the fees to be charged, | 17 |
| which the public body may require the person to pay in full | 18 |
| before copying the requested documents, (ii) deny the request | 19 |
| pursuant to one or more of the exemptions set out in this Act, | 20 |
| (iii) notify the requester that the request is unduly | 21 |
| burdensome and extend an opportunity to the requester to | 22 |
| attempt to reduce the request to manageable proportions, or | 23 |
| (iv) provide the records requested. | 24 |
| (b) Unless the records are exempt from disclosure, a public | 25 |
| body shall comply with a request within a reasonable period |
|
|
|
SB0189 Enrolled |
- 23 - |
LRB096 07744 JAM 17845 b |
|
| 1 |
| considering the size and complexity of the request, and giving | 2 |
| priority to records requested for non-commercial purposes. | 3 |
| (c) It is a violation of this Act for a person to knowingly | 4 |
| obtain a public record for a commercial purpose without | 5 |
| disclosing that it is for a commercial purpose, if requested to | 6 |
| do so by the public body. | 7 |
| (5 ILCS 140/3.3 new)
| 8 |
| Sec. 3.3. This Act is not intended to compel public bodies | 9 |
| to interpret or advise requesters as to the meaning or | 10 |
| significance of the public records. | 11 |
| (5 ILCS 140/3.5 new) | 12 |
| Sec. 3.5. Freedom of Information officers. | 13 |
| (a) Each public body shall designate one or more officials | 14 |
| or employees to act as its Freedom of Information officer or | 15 |
| officers. Except in instances when records are furnished | 16 |
| immediately, Freedom of Information officers, or their | 17 |
| designees, shall receive requests submitted to the public body | 18 |
| under this Act, ensure that the public body responds to | 19 |
| requests in a timely fashion, and issue responses under this | 20 |
| Act. Freedom of Information officers shall develop a list of | 21 |
| documents or categories of records that the public body shall | 22 |
| immediately disclose upon request. | 23 |
| Upon receiving a request for a public record, the Freedom | 24 |
| of Information officer shall: |
|
|
|
SB0189 Enrolled |
- 24 - |
LRB096 07744 JAM 17845 b |
|
| 1 |
| (1) note the date the public body receives the written | 2 |
| request; | 3 |
| (2) compute the day on which the period for response | 4 |
| will expire and make a notation of that date on the written | 5 |
| request; | 6 |
| (3) maintain an electronic or paper copy of a written | 7 |
| request, including all documents submitted with the | 8 |
| request until the request has been complied with or denied; | 9 |
| and | 10 |
| (4) create a file for the retention of the original | 11 |
| request, a copy of the response, a record of written | 12 |
| communications with the requester, and a copy of other | 13 |
| communications. | 14 |
| (b) All Freedom of Information officers shall, within 6 | 15 |
| months after the effective date of this amendatory Act of the | 16 |
| 96th General Assembly, successfully complete an electronic | 17 |
| training curriculum to be developed by the Public Access | 18 |
| Counselor and thereafter successfully complete an annual | 19 |
| training program. Thereafter, whenever a new Freedom of | 20 |
| Information officer is designated by a public body, that person | 21 |
| shall successfully complete the electronic training curriculum | 22 |
| within 30 days after assuming the position. Successful | 23 |
| completion of the required training curriculum within the | 24 |
| periods provided shall be a prerequisite to continue serving as | 25 |
| a Freedom of Information officer.
|
|
|
|
SB0189 Enrolled |
- 25 - |
LRB096 07744 JAM 17845 b |
|
| 1 |
| (5 ILCS 140/4) (from Ch. 116, par. 204)
| 2 |
| Sec. 4.
Each public body shall prominently display at each | 3 |
| of its administrative
or regional offices,
make available for | 4 |
| inspection and copying, and send through the mail if
requested, | 5 |
| each of the following:
| 6 |
| (a) A brief description of itself, which will include, but | 7 |
| not be limited
to, a short summary of its purpose, a block | 8 |
| diagram giving its functional
subdivisions, the total amount of | 9 |
| its operating budget, the number and location
of all of its | 10 |
| separate offices, the approximate number of full and part-time | 11 |
| employees,
and the identification and membership of any board, | 12 |
| commission, committee,
or council which operates in an advisory | 13 |
| capacity relative to the operation
of the public body, or which | 14 |
| exercises control over its policies or procedures,
or to which | 15 |
| the public body is required to report and be answerable for
its | 16 |
| operations; and
| 17 |
| (b) A brief description of the methods whereby the public | 18 |
| may request
information and public records, a directory | 19 |
| designating the Freedom of Information officer or officers, the | 20 |
| address where by titles and addresses
those employees to whom | 21 |
| requests for public records should be directed,
and any fees | 22 |
| allowable under Section 6 of this Act.
| 23 |
| (c) A public body that maintains a website shall also post | 24 |
| this information on its website. | 25 |
| (Source: P.A. 83-1013.)
|
|
|
|
SB0189 Enrolled |
- 26 - |
LRB096 07744 JAM 17845 b |
|
| 1 |
| (5 ILCS 140/6) (from Ch. 116, par. 206)
| 2 |
| Sec. 6. Authority to charge fees.
| 3 |
| (a) When a person requests a copy of a record maintained in | 4 |
| an electronic format, the public body shall furnish it in the | 5 |
| electronic format specified by the requester, if feasible. If | 6 |
| it is not feasible to furnish the public records in the | 7 |
| specified electronic format, then the public body shall furnish | 8 |
| it in the format in which it is maintained by the public body, | 9 |
| or in paper format at the option of the requester. A public | 10 |
| body may charge the requester for the actual cost of purchasing | 11 |
| the recording medium, whether disc, diskette, tape, or other | 12 |
| medium. A public body may not charge the requester for the | 13 |
| costs of any search for and review of the records or other | 14 |
| personnel costs associated with reproducing the records. | 15 |
| Except to the extent that the General Assembly expressly | 16 |
| provides, statutory fees applicable to copies of public records | 17 |
| when furnished in a paper format shall not be applicable to | 18 |
| those records when furnished in an electronic format. | 19 |
| (b) (a) Except when a fee is otherwise fixed by statute, | 20 |
| each Each public body may charge fees
reasonably
calculated to
| 21 |
| reimburse
its actual cost for reproducing and certifying public | 22 |
| records and for the
use, by any person, of the equipment of the | 23 |
| public body to copy records . No fees shall be charged for the | 24 |
| first 50 pages of black and white, letter or legal sized copies | 25 |
| requested by a requester. The fee for black and white, letter | 26 |
| or legal sized copies shall not exceed 15 cents per page. If a |
|
|
|
SB0189 Enrolled |
- 27 - |
LRB096 07744 JAM 17845 b |
|
| 1 |
| public body provides copies in color or in a size other than | 2 |
| letter or legal, the public body may not charge more than its | 3 |
| actual cost for reproducing the records .
In calculating its | 4 |
| actual cost for reproducing records or for the use of the | 5 |
| equipment of the public body to reproduce records, a public | 6 |
| body shall not include Such fees shall exclude the costs of any | 7 |
| search for and review of the records or other personnel costs | 8 |
| associated with reproducing the records record,
and shall not | 9 |
| exceed the actual cost of reproduction and certification,
| 10 |
| unless otherwise provided by State statute . Such fees shall be | 11 |
| imposed
according to a standard scale of fees, established and | 12 |
| made public by the
body imposing them. The cost for certifying | 13 |
| a record shall not exceed $1.
| 14 |
| (c) (b) Documents shall be furnished without charge or at a | 15 |
| reduced
charge, as determined by the public body, if the person | 16 |
| requesting the
documents states the specific purpose for the | 17 |
| request and indicates that a
waiver or reduction of the fee is | 18 |
| in the public interest. Waiver or
reduction of the fee is in | 19 |
| the public interest if the principal purpose of
the request is | 20 |
| to access and disseminate information regarding the health,
| 21 |
| safety and welfare or the legal rights of the general public | 22 |
| and is not for
the principal purpose of personal or commercial | 23 |
| benefit.
For purposes of this subsection, "commercial benefit" | 24 |
| shall not apply to
requests
made by news media when the | 25 |
| principal purpose of the request is to access and
disseminate | 26 |
| information regarding the health, safety, and welfare or the |
|
|
|
SB0189 Enrolled |
- 28 - |
LRB096 07744 JAM 17845 b |
|
| 1 |
| legal
rights of the general public.
In setting the
amount of | 2 |
| the waiver or reduction, the public body may take into
| 3 |
| consideration the amount of materials requested and the cost of | 4 |
| copying
them.
| 5 |
| (d) (c) The purposeful imposition of a fee not consistent | 6 |
| with subsections
(6)(a) and (b) of this Act constitutes shall | 7 |
| be considered a denial of access to public
records for the | 8 |
| purposes of judicial review.
| 9 |
| (d) The fee for each an abstract of a driver's record shall | 10 |
| be as provided
in Section 6-118 of "The Illinois Vehicle Code", | 11 |
| approved September 29,
1969, as amended , whether furnished as a | 12 |
| paper copy or as an electronic copy .
| 13 |
| (Source: P.A. 90-144, eff. 7-23-97.)
| 14 |
| (5 ILCS 140/7) (from Ch. 116, par. 207) | 15 |
| (Text of Section after amendment by P.A. 95-988 ) | 16 |
| Sec. 7. Exemptions.
| 17 |
| (1) When a request is made to inspect or copy a public | 18 |
| record that contains information that is exempt from disclosure | 19 |
| under this Section, but also contains information that is not | 20 |
| exempt from disclosure, the public body may elect to redact the | 21 |
| information that is exempt. The public body shall make the | 22 |
| remaining information available for inspection and copying. | 23 |
| Subject to this requirement, the The following shall be exempt | 24 |
| from inspection and copying:
| 25 |
| (a) Information specifically prohibited from |
|
|
|
SB0189 Enrolled |
- 29 - |
LRB096 07744 JAM 17845 b |
|
| 1 |
| disclosure by federal or
State law or rules and regulations | 2 |
| implementing adopted under federal or State law.
| 3 |
| (b) Private information, unless disclosure is required | 4 |
| by another provision of this Act, a State or federal law or | 5 |
| a court order. | 6 |
| (c) Personal information contained within public | 7 |
| records, the disclosure of which (b) Information that, if | 8 |
| disclosed, would constitute a clearly
unwarranted invasion | 9 |
| of personal privacy, unless the disclosure is
consented to | 10 |
| in writing by the individual subjects of the information. | 11 |
| "Unwarranted invasion of personal privacy" means the | 12 |
| disclosure of information that is highly personal or | 13 |
| objectionable to a reasonable person and in which the | 14 |
| subject's right to privacy outweighs any legitimate public | 15 |
| interest in obtaining the information. The
disclosure of | 16 |
| information that bears on the public duties of public
| 17 |
| employees and officials shall not be considered an invasion | 18 |
| of personal
privacy. Information exempted under this | 19 |
| subsection (b) shall include but
is not limited to:
| 20 |
| (i) files and personal information maintained with | 21 |
| respect to
clients, patients, residents, students or | 22 |
| other individuals receiving
social, medical, | 23 |
| educational, vocational, financial, supervisory or
| 24 |
| custodial care or services directly or indirectly from | 25 |
| federal agencies
or public bodies;
| 26 |
| (ii) personnel files and personal information |
|
|
|
SB0189 Enrolled |
- 30 - |
LRB096 07744 JAM 17845 b |
|
| 1 |
| maintained with
respect to employees, appointees or | 2 |
| elected officials of any public body or
applicants for | 3 |
| those positions;
| 4 |
| (iii) files and personal information maintained | 5 |
| with respect to any
applicant, registrant or licensee | 6 |
| by any public body cooperating with or
engaged in | 7 |
| professional or occupational registration, licensure | 8 |
| or discipline;
| 9 |
| (iv) information required of any taxpayer in | 10 |
| connection with the
assessment or collection of any tax | 11 |
| unless disclosure is otherwise required
by State | 12 |
| statute;
| 13 |
| (v) information revealing the identity of persons | 14 |
| who file complaints
with or provide information to | 15 |
| administrative, investigative, law enforcement
or | 16 |
| penal agencies; provided, however, that identification | 17 |
| of witnesses to
traffic accidents, traffic accident | 18 |
| reports, and rescue reports may be provided
by agencies | 19 |
| of local government, except in a case for which a | 20 |
| criminal
investigation is ongoing, without | 21 |
| constituting a clearly unwarranted per se
invasion of | 22 |
| personal privacy under this subsection;
| 23 |
| (vi) the names, addresses, or other personal | 24 |
| information of
participants and registrants in park | 25 |
| district, forest preserve district, and
conservation | 26 |
| district programs; and
|
|
|
|
SB0189 Enrolled |
- 31 - |
LRB096 07744 JAM 17845 b |
|
| 1 |
| (vii) the Notarial Record or other medium | 2 |
| containing the thumbprint or fingerprint required by | 3 |
| Section 3-102(c)(6) of the Illinois Notary Public Act. | 4 |
| (d) (c) Records in the possession of compiled by any | 5 |
| public body created in the course of for administrative | 6 |
| enforcement
proceedings , and any law enforcement or | 7 |
| correctional agency for
law enforcement purposes , or for | 8 |
| internal matters of a public body,
but only to the extent | 9 |
| that disclosure would:
| 10 |
| (i) interfere with pending or actually and | 11 |
| reasonably contemplated
law enforcement proceedings | 12 |
| conducted by any law enforcement or correctional
| 13 |
| agency that is the recipient of the request ;
| 14 |
| (ii) interfere with active pending administrative | 15 |
| enforcement proceedings
conducted by the any public | 16 |
| body that is the recipient of the request ;
| 17 |
| (iii) create a substantial likelihood that deprive | 18 |
| a person will be deprived of a fair trial or an | 19 |
| impartial hearing;
| 20 |
| (iv) unavoidably disclose the identity of a | 21 |
| confidential source, confidential information | 22 |
| furnished only by the confidential source, or persons | 23 |
| who file complaints with or provide information to | 24 |
| administrative, investigative, law enforcement, or | 25 |
| penal agencies; except that the identities of | 26 |
| witnesses to traffic accidents, traffic accident |
|
|
|
SB0189 Enrolled |
- 32 - |
LRB096 07744 JAM 17845 b |
|
| 1 |
| reports, and rescue reports shall be provided by | 2 |
| agencies of local government, except when disclosure | 3 |
| would interfere with an active criminal investigation | 4 |
| conducted by the agency that is the recipient of the | 5 |
| request a confidential source or
confidential | 6 |
| information furnished only by the confidential source ;
| 7 |
| (v) disclose unique or specialized investigative | 8 |
| techniques other than
those generally used and known or | 9 |
| disclose internal documents of
correctional agencies | 10 |
| related to detection, observation or investigation of
| 11 |
| incidents of crime or misconduct , and disclosure would | 12 |
| result in demonstrable harm to the agency or public | 13 |
| body that is the recipient of the request ;
| 14 |
| (vi) constitute an invasion of personal privacy | 15 |
| under subsection (b) of
this Section;
| 16 |
| (vi) (vii) endanger the life or physical safety of | 17 |
| law enforcement personnel
or any other person; or
| 18 |
| (vii) (viii) obstruct an ongoing criminal | 19 |
| investigation by the agency that is the recipient of | 20 |
| the request .
| 21 |
| (d) Criminal history record information maintained by | 22 |
| State or local
criminal justice agencies, except the | 23 |
| following which shall be open for
public inspection and | 24 |
| copying:
| 25 |
| (i) chronologically maintained arrest information, | 26 |
| such as traditional
arrest logs or blotters;
|
|
|
|
SB0189 Enrolled |
- 33 - |
LRB096 07744 JAM 17845 b |
|
| 1 |
| (ii) the name of a person in the custody of a law | 2 |
| enforcement agency and
the charges for which that | 3 |
| person is being held;
| 4 |
| (iii) court records that are public;
| 5 |
| (iv) records that are otherwise available under | 6 |
| State or local law; or
| 7 |
| (v) records in which the requesting party is the | 8 |
| individual
identified, except as provided under part | 9 |
| (vii) of
paragraph (c) of subsection (1) of this | 10 |
| Section.
| 11 |
| "Criminal history record information" means data | 12 |
| identifiable to an
individual and consisting of | 13 |
| descriptions or notations of arrests,
detentions, | 14 |
| indictments, informations, pre-trial proceedings, trials, | 15 |
| or
other formal events in the criminal justice system or | 16 |
| descriptions or
notations of criminal charges (including | 17 |
| criminal violations of local
municipal ordinances) and the | 18 |
| nature of any disposition arising therefrom,
including | 19 |
| sentencing, court or correctional supervision, | 20 |
| rehabilitation and
release. The term does not apply to | 21 |
| statistical records and reports in
which individuals are | 22 |
| not identified and from which
their identities are not | 23 |
| ascertainable, or to information that is for
criminal | 24 |
| investigative or intelligence purposes.
| 25 |
| (e) Records that relate to or affect the security of | 26 |
| correctional
institutions and detention facilities.
|
|
|
|
SB0189 Enrolled |
- 34 - |
LRB096 07744 JAM 17845 b |
|
| 1 |
| (f) Preliminary drafts, notes, recommendations, | 2 |
| memoranda and other
records in which opinions are | 3 |
| expressed, or policies or actions are
formulated, except | 4 |
| that a specific record or relevant portion of a
record | 5 |
| shall not be exempt when the record is publicly cited
and | 6 |
| identified by the head of the public body. The exemption | 7 |
| provided in
this paragraph (f) extends to all those records | 8 |
| of officers and agencies
of the General Assembly that | 9 |
| pertain to the preparation of legislative
documents.
| 10 |
| (g) Trade secrets and commercial or financial | 11 |
| information obtained from
a person or business where the | 12 |
| trade secrets or commercial or financial information are | 13 |
| furnished under a claim that they are
proprietary, | 14 |
| privileged or confidential, and that or where disclosure of | 15 |
| the trade
secrets or commercial or financial information | 16 |
| would may cause competitive harm to the person or business, | 17 |
| and only insofar as the claim directly applies to the | 18 |
| records requested. , including: | 19 |
| (i) All
information determined to be confidential | 20 |
| under Section 4002 of the
Technology Advancement and | 21 |
| Development Act. | 22 |
| (i) (ii) All trade secrets and commercial or | 23 |
| financial information obtained by a public body, | 24 |
| including a public pension fund, from a private equity | 25 |
| fund or a privately held company within the investment | 26 |
| portfolio of a private equity fund as a result of |
|
|
|
SB0189 Enrolled |
- 35 - |
LRB096 07744 JAM 17845 b |
|
| 1 |
| either investing or evaluating a potential investment | 2 |
| of public funds in a private equity fund. The exemption | 3 |
| contained in this item does not apply to the aggregate | 4 |
| financial performance information of a private equity | 5 |
| fund, nor to the identity of the fund's managers or | 6 |
| general partners. The exemption contained in this item | 7 |
| does not apply to the identity of a privately held | 8 |
| company within the investment portfolio of a private | 9 |
| equity fund, unless the disclosure of the identity of a | 10 |
| privately held company may cause competitive harm.
| 11 |
| Nothing contained in this
paragraph (g) shall be construed | 12 |
| to prevent a person or business from
consenting to disclosure.
| 13 |
| (h) Proposals and bids for any contract, grant, or | 14 |
| agreement, including
information which if it were | 15 |
| disclosed would frustrate procurement or give
an advantage | 16 |
| to any person proposing to enter into a contractor | 17 |
| agreement
with the body, until an award or final selection | 18 |
| is made. Information
prepared by or for the body in | 19 |
| preparation of a bid solicitation shall be
exempt until an | 20 |
| award or final selection is made.
| 21 |
| (i) Valuable formulae,
computer geographic systems,
| 22 |
| designs, drawings and research data obtained or
produced by | 23 |
| any public body when disclosure could reasonably be | 24 |
| expected to
produce private gain or public loss.
The | 25 |
| exemption for "computer geographic systems" provided in | 26 |
| this paragraph
(i) does not extend to requests made by news |
|
|
|
SB0189 Enrolled |
- 36 - |
LRB096 07744 JAM 17845 b |
|
| 1 |
| media as defined in Section 2 of
this Act when the | 2 |
| requested information is not otherwise exempt and the only
| 3 |
| purpose of the request is to access and disseminate | 4 |
| information regarding the
health, safety, welfare, or | 5 |
| legal rights of the general public.
| 6 |
| (j) The following information pertaining to | 7 |
| educational matters: | 8 |
| (i) test Test questions, scoring keys and other | 9 |
| examination data used to
administer an academic | 10 |
| examination ; or determined the qualifications of an
| 11 |
| applicant for a license or employment.
| 12 |
| (ii) information received by a primary or | 13 |
| secondary school, college, or university under its | 14 |
| procedures for the evaluation of faculty members by | 15 |
| their academic peers; | 16 |
| (iii) information concerning a school or | 17 |
| university's adjudication of student disciplinary | 18 |
| cases, but only to the extent that disclosure would | 19 |
| unavoidably reveal the identity of the student; and | 20 |
| (iv) course materials or research materials used | 21 |
| by faculty members. | 22 |
| (k) Architects' plans, engineers' technical | 23 |
| submissions, and
other
construction related technical | 24 |
| documents for
projects not constructed or developed in | 25 |
| whole or in part with public funds
and the same for | 26 |
| projects constructed or developed with public funds, |
|
|
|
SB0189 Enrolled |
- 37 - |
LRB096 07744 JAM 17845 b |
|
| 1 |
| including but not limited to power generating and | 2 |
| distribution stations and other transmission and | 3 |
| distribution facilities, water treatment facilities, | 4 |
| airport facilities, sport stadiums, convention centers, | 5 |
| and all government owned, operated, or occupied buildings, | 6 |
| but
only to the extent
that disclosure would compromise | 7 |
| security , including but not limited to water
treatment | 8 |
| facilities, airport facilities, sport stadiums, convention | 9 |
| centers,
and all government owned, operated, or occupied | 10 |
| buildings .
| 11 |
| (l) Library circulation and order records identifying | 12 |
| library users with
specific materials.
| 13 |
| (l) (m) Minutes of meetings of public bodies closed to | 14 |
| the
public as provided in the Open Meetings Act until the | 15 |
| public body
makes the minutes available to the public under | 16 |
| Section 2.06 of the Open
Meetings Act.
| 17 |
| (m) (n) Communications between a public body and an | 18 |
| attorney or auditor
representing the public body that would | 19 |
| not be subject to discovery in
litigation, and materials | 20 |
| prepared or compiled by or for a public body in
| 21 |
| anticipation of a criminal, civil or administrative | 22 |
| proceeding upon the
request of an attorney advising the | 23 |
| public body, and materials prepared or
compiled with | 24 |
| respect to internal audits of public bodies.
| 25 |
| (n) (o) Records relating to a public body's | 26 |
| adjudication of employee grievances or disciplinary cases; |
|
|
|
SB0189 Enrolled |
- 38 - |
LRB096 07744 JAM 17845 b |
|
| 1 |
| however, this exemption shall not extend to the final | 2 |
| outcome of cases in which discipline is imposed Information | 3 |
| received by a primary or secondary school, college or
| 4 |
| university under its procedures for the evaluation of | 5 |
| faculty members by
their academic peers .
| 6 |
| (o) (p) Administrative or technical information | 7 |
| associated with automated
data processing operations, | 8 |
| including but not limited to software,
operating | 9 |
| protocols, computer program abstracts, file layouts, | 10 |
| source
listings, object modules, load modules, user | 11 |
| guides, documentation
pertaining to all logical and | 12 |
| physical design of computerized systems,
employee manuals, | 13 |
| and any other information that, if disclosed, would
| 14 |
| jeopardize the security of the system or its data or the | 15 |
| security of
materials exempt under this Section.
| 16 |
| (p) (q) Records Documents or materials relating to | 17 |
| collective negotiating matters
between public bodies and | 18 |
| their employees or representatives, except that
any final | 19 |
| contract or agreement shall be subject to inspection and | 20 |
| copying.
| 21 |
| (q) (r) Test questions, scoring keys, and other | 22 |
| examination data used to determine the qualifications of an | 23 |
| applicant for a license or employment. Drafts, notes, | 24 |
| recommendations and memoranda pertaining to the
financing | 25 |
| and marketing transactions of the public body. The records | 26 |
| of
ownership, registration, transfer, and exchange of |
|
|
|
SB0189 Enrolled |
- 39 - |
LRB096 07744 JAM 17845 b |
|
| 1 |
| municipal debt
obligations, and of persons to whom payment | 2 |
| with respect to these obligations
is made.
| 3 |
| (r) (s) The records, documents and information | 4 |
| relating to real estate
purchase negotiations until those | 5 |
| negotiations have been completed or
otherwise terminated. | 6 |
| With regard to a parcel involved in a pending or
actually | 7 |
| and reasonably contemplated eminent domain proceeding | 8 |
| under the Eminent Domain Act, records, documents and
| 9 |
| information relating to that parcel shall be exempt except | 10 |
| as may be
allowed under discovery rules adopted by the | 11 |
| Illinois Supreme Court. The
records, documents and | 12 |
| information relating to a real estate sale shall be
exempt | 13 |
| until a sale is consummated.
| 14 |
| (s) (t) Any and all proprietary information and records | 15 |
| related to the
operation of an intergovernmental risk | 16 |
| management association or
self-insurance pool or jointly | 17 |
| self-administered health and accident
cooperative or pool.
| 18 |
| Insurance or self insurance (including any | 19 |
| intergovernmental risk management association or self | 20 |
| insurance pool) claims, loss or risk management | 21 |
| information, records, data, advice or communications.
| 22 |
| (u) Information concerning a university's adjudication | 23 |
| of student or
employee grievance or disciplinary cases, to | 24 |
| the extent that disclosure
would reveal the identity of the | 25 |
| student or employee and information
concerning any public | 26 |
| body's adjudication of student or employee grievances
or |
|
|
|
SB0189 Enrolled |
- 40 - |
LRB096 07744 JAM 17845 b |
|
| 1 |
| disciplinary cases, except for the final outcome of the | 2 |
| cases.
| 3 |
| (v) Course materials or research materials used by | 4 |
| faculty members.
| 5 |
| (w) Information related solely to the internal | 6 |
| personnel rules and
practices of a public body.
| 7 |
| (t) (x) Information contained in or related to | 8 |
| examination, operating, or
condition reports prepared by, | 9 |
| on behalf of, or for the use of a public
body responsible | 10 |
| for the regulation or supervision of financial
| 11 |
| institutions or insurance companies, unless disclosure is | 12 |
| otherwise
required by State law.
| 13 |
| (y) Information the disclosure of which is restricted | 14 |
| under Section
5-108 of the Public Utilities Act.
| 15 |
| (z) Manuals or instruction to staff that relate to | 16 |
| establishment or
collection of liability for any State tax | 17 |
| or that relate to investigations
by a public body to | 18 |
| determine violation of any criminal law.
| 19 |
| (aa) Applications, related documents, and medical | 20 |
| records received by
the Experimental Organ Transplantation | 21 |
| Procedures Board and any and all
documents or other records | 22 |
| prepared by the Experimental Organ
Transplantation | 23 |
| Procedures Board or its staff relating to applications
it | 24 |
| has received.
| 25 |
| (bb) Insurance or self insurance (including any | 26 |
| intergovernmental risk
management association or self |
|
|
|
SB0189 Enrolled |
- 41 - |
LRB096 07744 JAM 17845 b |
|
| 1 |
| insurance pool) claims, loss or risk
management | 2 |
| information, records, data, advice or communications.
| 3 |
| (cc) Information and records held by the Department of | 4 |
| Public Health and
its authorized representatives relating | 5 |
| to known or suspected cases of
sexually transmissible | 6 |
| disease or any information the disclosure of which
is | 7 |
| restricted under the Illinois Sexually Transmissible | 8 |
| Disease Control Act.
| 9 |
| (dd) Information the disclosure of which is exempted | 10 |
| under Section 30
of the Radon Industry Licensing Act.
| 11 |
| (ee) Firm performance evaluations under Section 55 of | 12 |
| the
Architectural, Engineering, and Land Surveying | 13 |
| Qualifications Based
Selection Act.
| 14 |
| (ff) Security portions of system safety program plans, | 15 |
| investigation
reports, surveys, schedules, lists, data, or | 16 |
| information compiled, collected,
or prepared by or for the | 17 |
| Regional Transportation Authority under Section 2.11
of | 18 |
| the Regional Transportation Authority Act or the St. Clair | 19 |
| County Transit
District under the
Bi-State Transit Safety | 20 |
| Act.
| 21 |
| (gg) Information the disclosure of which is restricted | 22 |
| and
exempted under Section 50 of the Illinois Prepaid | 23 |
| Tuition Act.
| 24 |
| (hh) Information the disclosure of which is
exempted | 25 |
| under the State Officials and Employees Ethics Act.
| 26 |
| (u) (ii) Information Beginning July 1, 1999, |
|
|
|
SB0189 Enrolled |
- 42 - |
LRB096 07744 JAM 17845 b |
|
| 1 |
| information that would disclose
or might lead to the | 2 |
| disclosure of
secret or confidential information, codes, | 3 |
| algorithms, programs, or private
keys intended to be used | 4 |
| to create electronic or digital signatures under the
| 5 |
| Electronic Commerce Security Act.
| 6 |
| (jj) Information contained in a local emergency energy | 7 |
| plan submitted to
a municipality in accordance with a local | 8 |
| emergency energy plan ordinance that
is adopted under | 9 |
| Section 11-21.5-5 of the Illinois Municipal Code.
| 10 |
| (kk) Information and data concerning the distribution | 11 |
| of
surcharge moneys collected and remitted by wireless | 12 |
| carriers under the Wireless
Emergency Telephone Safety | 13 |
| Act.
| 14 |
| (v) (ll) Vulnerability assessments, security measures, | 15 |
| and response policies
or plans that are designed to | 16 |
| identify, prevent, or respond to potential
attacks upon a | 17 |
| community's population or systems, facilities, or | 18 |
| installations,
the destruction or contamination of which | 19 |
| would constitute a clear and present
danger to the health | 20 |
| or safety of the community, but only to the extent that
| 21 |
| disclosure could reasonably be expected to jeopardize the | 22 |
| effectiveness of the
measures or the safety of the | 23 |
| personnel who implement them or the public.
Information | 24 |
| exempt under this item may include such things as details
| 25 |
| pertaining to the mobilization or deployment of personnel | 26 |
| or equipment, to the
operation of communication systems or |
|
|
|
SB0189 Enrolled |
- 43 - |
LRB096 07744 JAM 17845 b |
|
| 1 |
| protocols, or to tactical operations.
| 2 |
| (x) (mm) Maps and other records regarding the location | 3 |
| or security of generation, transmission, distribution, | 4 |
| storage, gathering,
treatment, or switching facilities | 5 |
| owned by a utility , by a power generator, or by the | 6 |
| Illinois Power Agency.
| 7 |
| (nn) Law enforcement officer identification | 8 |
| information or
driver
identification
information compiled | 9 |
| by a law enforcement agency or the Department of
| 10 |
| Transportation
under Section 11-212 of the Illinois | 11 |
| Vehicle Code.
| 12 |
| (oo) Records and information provided to a residential
| 13 |
| health care
facility resident sexual assault
and death | 14 |
| review team or the Executive Council under the Abuse | 15 |
| Prevention Review Team Act.
| 16 |
| (pp) Information provided to the predatory lending | 17 |
| database created pursuant to Article 3 of the Residential | 18 |
| Real Property Disclosure Act, except to the extent | 19 |
| authorized under that Article.
| 20 |
| (qq) Defense budgets and petitions for certification | 21 |
| of compensation and expenses for court appointed trial | 22 |
| counsel as provided under Sections 10 and 15 of the Capital | 23 |
| Crimes Litigation Act. This subsection (qq) shall apply | 24 |
| until the conclusion of the trial of the case, even if the | 25 |
| prosecution chooses not to pursue the death penalty prior | 26 |
| to trial or sentencing.
|
|
|
|
SB0189 Enrolled |
- 44 - |
LRB096 07744 JAM 17845 b |
|
| 1 |
| (y) (rr) Information contained in or related to | 2 |
| proposals, bids, or negotiations related to electric power | 3 |
| procurement under Section 1-75 of the Illinois Power Agency | 4 |
| Act and Section 16-111.5 of the Public Utilities Act that | 5 |
| is determined to be confidential and proprietary by the | 6 |
| Illinois Power Agency or by the Illinois Commerce | 7 |
| Commission.
| 8 |
| (ss) Information that is prohibited from being | 9 |
| disclosed under Section 4 of the Illinois Health and | 10 |
| Hazardous Substances Registry Act. | 11 |
| (2) A public record that is not in the possession of a | 12 |
| public body but is in the possession of a party with whom the | 13 |
| agency has contracted to perform a governmental function on | 14 |
| behalf of the public body, and that directly relates to the | 15 |
| governmental function and is not otherwise exempt under this | 16 |
| Act, shall be considered a public record of the public body, | 17 |
| for purposes of this Act. | 18 |
| (3) (2) This Section does not authorize withholding of | 19 |
| information or limit the
availability of records to the public, | 20 |
| except as stated in this Section or
otherwise provided in this | 21 |
| Act.
| 22 |
| (Source: P.A. 94-280, eff. 1-1-06; 94-508, eff. 1-1-06; 94-664, | 23 |
| eff. 1-1-06; 94-931, eff. 6-26-06; 94-953, eff. 6-27-06; | 24 |
| 94-1055, eff. 1-1-07; 95-331, eff. 8-21-07; 95-481, eff. | 25 |
| 8-28-07; 95-941, eff. 8-29-08; 95-988, eff. 6-1-09; revised | 26 |
| 10-20-08.) |
|
|
|
SB0189 Enrolled |
- 45 - |
LRB096 07744 JAM 17845 b |
|
| 1 |
| (5 ILCS 140/7.5 new) | 2 |
| Sec. 7.5. Statutory Exemptions. To the extent provided for | 3 |
| by the statutes referenced below, the following shall be exempt | 4 |
| from inspection and copying: | 5 |
| (a) All information determined to be confidential under | 6 |
| Section 4002 of the Technology Advancement and Development Act. | 7 |
| (b) Library circulation and order records identifying | 8 |
| library users with specific materials under the Library Records | 9 |
| Confidentiality Act. | 10 |
| (c) Applications, related documents, and medical records | 11 |
| received by the Experimental Organ Transplantation Procedures | 12 |
| Board and any and all documents or other records prepared by | 13 |
| the Experimental Organ Transplantation Procedures Board or its | 14 |
| staff relating to applications it has received. | 15 |
| (d) Information and records held by the Department of | 16 |
| Public Health and its authorized representatives relating to | 17 |
| known or suspected cases of sexually transmissible disease or | 18 |
| any information the disclosure of which is restricted under the | 19 |
| Illinois Sexually Transmissible Disease Control Act. | 20 |
| (e) Information the disclosure of which is exempted under | 21 |
| Section 30 of the Radon Industry Licensing Act. | 22 |
| (f) Firm performance evaluations under Section 55 of the | 23 |
| Architectural, Engineering, and Land Surveying Qualifications | 24 |
| Based Selection Act. | 25 |
| (g) Information the disclosure of which is restricted and |
|
|
|
SB0189 Enrolled |
- 46 - |
LRB096 07744 JAM 17845 b |
|
| 1 |
| exempted under Section 50 of the Illinois Prepaid Tuition Act. | 2 |
| (h) Information the disclosure of which is exempted under | 3 |
| the State Officials and Employees Ethics Act, and records of | 4 |
| any lawfully created State or local inspector general's office | 5 |
| that would be exempt if created or obtained by an Executive | 6 |
| Inspector General's office under that Act. | 7 |
| (i) Information contained in a local emergency energy plan | 8 |
| submitted to a municipality in accordance with a local | 9 |
| emergency energy plan ordinance that is adopted under Section | 10 |
| 11-21.5-5 of the Illinois Municipal Code. | 11 |
| (j) Information and data concerning the distribution of | 12 |
| surcharge moneys collected and remitted by wireless carriers | 13 |
| under the Wireless Emergency Telephone Safety Act. | 14 |
| (k) Law enforcement officer identification information or | 15 |
| driver identification information compiled by a law | 16 |
| enforcement agency or the Department of Transportation under | 17 |
| Section 11-212 of the Illinois Vehicle Code. | 18 |
| (l) Records and information provided to a residential | 19 |
| health care facility resident sexual assault and death review | 20 |
| team or the Executive Council under the Abuse Prevention Review | 21 |
| Team Act. | 22 |
| (m) Information provided to the predatory lending database | 23 |
| created pursuant to Article 3 of the Residential Real Property | 24 |
| Disclosure Act, except to the extent authorized under that | 25 |
| Article. | 26 |
| (n) Defense budgets and petitions for certification of |
|
|
|
SB0189 Enrolled |
- 47 - |
LRB096 07744 JAM 17845 b |
|
| 1 |
| compensation and expenses for court appointed trial counsel as | 2 |
| provided under Sections 10 and 15 of the Capital Crimes | 3 |
| Litigation Act. This subsection (n) shall apply until the | 4 |
| conclusion of the trial of the case, even if the prosecution | 5 |
| chooses not to pursue the death penalty prior to trial or | 6 |
| sentencing. | 7 |
| (o) Information that is prohibited from being disclosed | 8 |
| under Section 4 of the Illinois Health and Hazardous Substances | 9 |
| Registry Act. | 10 |
| (p) Security portions of system safety program plans, | 11 |
| investigation reports, surveys, schedules, lists, data, or | 12 |
| information compiled, collected, or prepared by or for the | 13 |
| Regional Transportation Authority under Section 2.11 of the | 14 |
| Regional Transportation Authority Act or the St. Clair County | 15 |
| Transit District under the Bi-State Transit Safety Act. | 16 |
| (q) Information prohibited from being disclosed by the | 17 |
| Personnel Records Review Act. | 18 |
| (r) Information prohibited from being disclosed by the | 19 |
| Illinois School Student Records Act. | 20 |
| (s) Information the disclosure of which is restricted under | 21 |
| Section 5-108 of the Public Utilities Act.
| 22 |
| (5 ILCS 140/9) (from Ch. 116, par. 209)
| 23 |
| Sec. 9.
(a) Each public body or head of a public body | 24 |
| denying a request
for public records shall notify the requester | 25 |
| in writing by letter the person making the request
of the |
|
|
|
SB0189 Enrolled |
- 48 - |
LRB096 07744 JAM 17845 b |
|
| 1 |
| decision to deny the request such , the reasons for the denial, | 2 |
| including a detailed factual basis for the application of any | 3 |
| exemption claimed, and the names
and titles or positions
of | 4 |
| each person responsible for the denial. Each notice of denial | 5 |
| by a public
body shall also inform such person of the his right | 6 |
| to review by the Public Access Counselor and provide the | 7 |
| address and phone number for the Public Access Counselor appeal | 8 |
| to the head of
the public body . Each notice of denial of an | 9 |
| appeal by the head of a public
body shall inform such person of | 10 |
| his right to judicial review under
Section 11 of this Act.
| 11 |
| (b) When a request for public records is denied on the | 12 |
| grounds that the
records are exempt under Section 7 of this | 13 |
| Act, the notice of denial shall
specify the exemption claimed | 14 |
| to authorize the denial and the specific reasons for the | 15 |
| denial, including a detailed factual basis and a citation to | 16 |
| supporting legal authority .
Copies of
all notices of denial | 17 |
| shall be retained by each public body in a single
central | 18 |
| office file that is open to the public and indexed according to
| 19 |
| the type of exemption asserted and, to the extent feasible, | 20 |
| according to
the types of records requested.
| 21 |
| (c) Any person making a request for public records shall be | 22 |
| deemed to have exhausted his or her administrative remedies | 23 |
| with respect to that request if the public body fails to act | 24 |
| within the time periods provided in Section 3 of this Act. | 25 |
| (Source: P.A. 83-1013.)
|
|
|
|
SB0189 Enrolled |
- 49 - |
LRB096 07744 JAM 17845 b |
|
| 1 |
| (5 ILCS 140/9.5 new) | 2 |
| Sec. 9.5. Public Access Counselor; opinions. | 3 |
| (a) A person whose request to inspect or copy a public | 4 |
| record is denied by a public body, except the General Assembly | 5 |
| and committees, commissions, and agencies thereof, may file a | 6 |
| request for review with the Public Access Counselor established | 7 |
| in the Office of the Attorney General not later than 60 days | 8 |
| after the date of the final denial. The request for review must | 9 |
| be in writing, signed by the requester, and include (i) a copy | 10 |
| of the request for access to records and (ii) any responses | 11 |
| from the public body. | 12 |
| (b) A public body that receives a request for records, and | 13 |
| asserts that the records are exempt under subsection (1)(c) or | 14 |
| (1)(f) of Section 7 of this Act, shall, within the time periods | 15 |
| provided for responding to a request, provide written notice to | 16 |
| the requester and the Public Access Counselor of its intent to | 17 |
| deny the request in whole or in part. The notice shall include: | 18 |
| (i) a copy of the request for access to records; (ii) the | 19 |
| proposed response from the public body; and (iii) a detailed | 20 |
| summary of the public body's basis for asserting the exemption. | 21 |
| Upon receipt of a notice of intent to deny from a public body, | 22 |
| the Public Access Counselor shall determine whether further | 23 |
| inquiry is warranted. Within 5 working days after receipt of | 24 |
| the notice of intent to deny, the Public Access Counselor shall | 25 |
| notify the public body and the requester whether further | 26 |
| inquiry is warranted. If the Public Access Counselor determines |
|
|
|
SB0189 Enrolled |
- 50 - |
LRB096 07744 JAM 17845 b |
|
| 1 |
| that further inquiry is warranted, the procedures set out in | 2 |
| this Section regarding the review of denials, including the | 3 |
| production of documents, shall also be applicable to the | 4 |
| inquiry and resolution of a notice of intent to deny from a | 5 |
| public body. Times for response or compliance by the public | 6 |
| body under Section 3 of this Act shall be tolled until the | 7 |
| Public Access Counselor concludes his or her inquiry. | 8 |
| (c) Upon receipt of a request for review, the Public Access | 9 |
| Counselor shall determine whether further action is warranted. | 10 |
| If the Public Access Counselor determines that the alleged | 11 |
| violation is unfounded, he or she shall so advise the requester | 12 |
| and the public body and no further action shall be undertaken. | 13 |
| In all other cases, the Public Access Counselor shall forward a | 14 |
| copy of the request for review to the public body within 7 | 15 |
| working days after receipt and shall specify the records or | 16 |
| other documents that the public body shall furnish to | 17 |
| facilitate the review. Within 7 working days after receipt of | 18 |
| the request for review, the public body shall provide copies of | 19 |
| records requested and shall otherwise fully cooperate with the | 20 |
| Public Access Counselor. If a public body fails to furnish | 21 |
| specified records pursuant to this Section, or if otherwise | 22 |
| necessary, the Attorney General may issue a subpoena to any | 23 |
| person or public body having knowledge of or records pertaining | 24 |
| to a request for review of a denial of access to records under | 25 |
| the Act. To the extent that records or documents produced by a | 26 |
| public body contain information that is claimed to be exempt |
|
|
|
SB0189 Enrolled |
- 51 - |
LRB096 07744 JAM 17845 b |
|
| 1 |
| from disclosure under Section 7 of this Act, the Public Access | 2 |
| Counselor shall not further disclose that information. | 3 |
| (d) Within 7 working days after it receives a copy of a | 4 |
| request for review and request for production of records from | 5 |
| the Public Access Counselor, the public body may, but is not | 6 |
| required to, answer the allegations of the request for review. | 7 |
| The answer may take the form of a letter, brief, or memorandum. | 8 |
| The Public Access Counselor shall forward a copy of the answer | 9 |
| to the person submitting the request for review, with any | 10 |
| alleged confidential information to which the request pertains | 11 |
| redacted from the copy. The requester may, but is not required | 12 |
| to, respond in writing to the answer within 7 working days and | 13 |
| shall provide a copy of the response to the public body. | 14 |
| (e) In addition to the request for review, and the answer | 15 |
| and the response thereto, if any, a requester or a public body | 16 |
| may furnish affidavits or records concerning any matter germane | 17 |
| to the review. | 18 |
| (f) Unless the Public Access Counselor extends the time by | 19 |
| no more than 21 business days by sending written notice to the | 20 |
| requester and the public body that includes a statement of the | 21 |
| reasons for the extension in the notice, or decides to address | 22 |
| the matter without the issuance of a binding opinion, the | 23 |
| Attorney General shall examine the issues and the records, | 24 |
| shall make findings of fact and conclusions of law, and shall | 25 |
| issue to the requester and the public body an opinion in | 26 |
| response to the request for review within 60 days after its |
|
|
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| 1 |
| receipt. The opinion shall be binding upon both the requester | 2 |
| and the public body, subject to administrative review under | 3 |
| Section 11.5. | 4 |
| In responding to any request under this Section 9.5, the | 5 |
| Attorney General may exercise his or her discretion and choose | 6 |
| to resolve a request for review by mediation or by a means | 7 |
| other than the issuance of a binding opinion. The decision not | 8 |
| to issue a binding opinion shall not be reviewable. | 9 |
| Upon receipt of a binding opinion concluding that a | 10 |
| violation of this Act has occurred, the public body shall | 11 |
| either take necessary action immediately to comply with the | 12 |
| directive of the opinion or shall initiate administrative | 13 |
| review under Section 11.5. If the opinion concludes that no | 14 |
| violation of the Act has occurred, the requester may initiate | 15 |
| administrative review under Section 11.5. | 16 |
| A public body that discloses records in accordance with an | 17 |
| opinion of the Attorney General is immune from all liabilities | 18 |
| by reason thereof and shall not be liable for penalties under | 19 |
| this Act. | 20 |
| (g) If the requester files suit under Section 11 with | 21 |
| respect to the same denial that is the subject of a pending | 22 |
| request for review, the requester shall notify the Public | 23 |
| Access Counselor, and the Public Access Counselor shall take no | 24 |
| further action with respect to the request for review and shall | 25 |
| so notify the public body. | 26 |
| (h) The Attorney General may also issue advisory opinions |
|
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SB0189 Enrolled |
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| 1 |
| to public bodies regarding compliance with this Act. A review | 2 |
| may be initiated upon receipt of a written request from the | 3 |
| head of the public body or its attorney, which shall contain | 4 |
| sufficient accurate facts from which a determination can be | 5 |
| made. The Public Access Counselor may request additional | 6 |
| information from the public body in order to assist in the | 7 |
| review. A public body that relies in good faith on an advisory | 8 |
| opinion of the Attorney General in responding to a request is | 9 |
| not liable for penalties under this Act, so long as the facts | 10 |
| upon which the opinion is based have been fully and fairly | 11 |
| disclosed to the Public Access Counselor.
| 12 |
| (5 ILCS 140/11) (from Ch. 116, par. 211)
| 13 |
| Sec. 11.
(a) Any person denied access to inspect or copy | 14 |
| any public
record by the head of a public body
may file suit | 15 |
| for injunctive or
declaratory relief.
| 16 |
| (b) Where the denial is from the head of a public body of | 17 |
| the State, suit
may be filed in the circuit court for the | 18 |
| county where the public body has
its principal office or where | 19 |
| the person denied access resides.
| 20 |
| (c) Where the denial is from the head of a municipality or | 21 |
| other public
body, except as provided in subsection (b) of this | 22 |
| Section, suit may be filed
in the circuit court for the county | 23 |
| where the public body is located.
| 24 |
| (d) The circuit court shall have the jurisdiction to enjoin | 25 |
| the public
body from withholding public records and to order |
|
|
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SB0189 Enrolled |
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| 1 |
| the production of any
public records improperly withheld from | 2 |
| the person seeking access. If the
public body can show that | 3 |
| exceptional circumstances exist, and that the
body is | 4 |
| exercising due diligence in responding to the request, the | 5 |
| court
may retain jurisdiction and allow the agency additional | 6 |
| time to complete
its review of the records.
| 7 |
| (e) On motion of the plaintiff, prior to or after in camera
| 8 |
| inspection, the court shall order the public body
to provide an | 9 |
| index of the records to which access has been denied. The
index | 10 |
| shall include the following:
| 11 |
| (i) A description of the nature or contents of each | 12 |
| document
withheld, or each deletion from a released | 13 |
| document, provided, however,
that the public body shall not | 14 |
| be required to disclose the information
which it asserts is | 15 |
| exempt; and
| 16 |
| (ii) A statement of the exemption or exemptions claimed | 17 |
| for each such
deletion or withheld document.
| 18 |
| (f) In any action considered by the court, the court shall | 19 |
| consider the
matter de novo, and shall conduct such in camera | 20 |
| examination of the requested
records as it finds appropriate to | 21 |
| determine if such records or any part
thereof may be withheld | 22 |
| under any provision of this Act. The burden shall
be on the | 23 |
| public body to establish that its refusal to permit public | 24 |
| inspection
or copying is in accordance with the provisions of | 25 |
| this Act. Any public body that asserts that a record is exempt | 26 |
| from disclosure has the burden of proving that it is exempt by |
|
|
|
SB0189 Enrolled |
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| 1 |
| clear and convincing evidence.
| 2 |
| (g) In the event of noncompliance with an order of the | 3 |
| court to disclose,
the court may enforce its order against any | 4 |
| public official or employee
so ordered or primarily responsible | 5 |
| for such noncompliance through the court's
contempt powers.
| 6 |
| (h) Except as to causes the court considers to be of | 7 |
| greater importance,
proceedings arising under this Section | 8 |
| shall take precedence on the docket
over all other causes and | 9 |
| be assigned for hearing and trial at the earliest
practicable | 10 |
| date and expedited in every way.
| 11 |
| (i) If a person seeking the right to inspect or receive a | 12 |
| copy of a public
record substantially prevails in a
proceeding | 13 |
| under this Section, the court shall may award such
person | 14 |
| reasonable attorneys' fees and costs. In determining what | 15 |
| amount of attorney's fees is reasonable, the court shall | 16 |
| consider the degree to which the relief obtained relates to the | 17 |
| relief sought. The changes contained in this subsection apply | 18 |
| to an action filed on or after the effective date of this | 19 |
| amendatory Act of the 96th General Assembly. If, however, the | 20 |
| court finds
that the fundamental purpose of the request
was to | 21 |
| further the commercial interests of the requestor, the court | 22 |
| may award
reasonable attorneys' fees and costs if the court | 23 |
| finds that the
record or records in question were of clearly | 24 |
| significant interest to the
general public and that the public | 25 |
| body lacked any reasonable
basis in law for withholding the | 26 |
| record.
|
|
|
|
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|
| 1 |
| (j) If the court determines that a public body willfully | 2 |
| and intentionally failed to comply with this Act, or otherwise | 3 |
| acted in bad faith, the court shall also impose upon the public | 4 |
| body a civil penalty of not less that $2,500 nor more than | 5 |
| $5,000 for each occurrence. In assessing the civil penalty, the | 6 |
| court shall consider in aggravation or mitigation the budget of | 7 |
| the public body and whether the public body has previously been | 8 |
| assessed penalties for violations of this Act. The changes | 9 |
| contained in this subsection apply to an action filed on or | 10 |
| after the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 96th | 11 |
| General Assembly. | 12 |
| (Source: P.A. 93-466, eff. 1-1-04.)
| 13 |
| (5 ILCS 140/11.5 new)
| 14 |
| Sec. 11.5. Administrative review. A binding opinion issued | 15 |
| by the Attorney General shall be considered a final decision of | 16 |
| an administrative agency, for purposes of administrative | 17 |
| review under the Administrative Review Law (735 ILCS 5/Art. | 18 |
| III). An action for administrative review of a binding opinion | 19 |
| of the Attorney General shall be commenced in Cook or Sangamon | 20 |
| County. An advisory opinion issued to a public body shall not | 21 |
| be considered a final decision of the Attorney General for | 22 |
| purposes of this Section.
| 23 |
| (5 ILCS 140/7.1 rep.)
| 24 |
| (5 ILCS 140/8 rep.)
|
|
|
|
SB0189 Enrolled |
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|
| 1 |
| (5 ILCS 140/10 rep.)
| 2 |
| Section 15. The Freedom of Information Act is amended by | 3 |
| repealing Sections 7.1, 8, and 10.
| 4 |
| Section 20. The Attorney General Act is amended by changing | 5 |
| Section 4 and by adding Section 7 as follows:
| 6 |
| (15 ILCS 205/4) (from Ch. 14, par. 4)
| 7 |
| Sec. 4. The duties of the Attorney General shall be-- | 8 |
| First - To appear for and represent the people of the State | 9 |
| before the
supreme court in all cases in which the State or the | 10 |
| people of the State
are interested.
| 11 |
| Second - To institute and prosecute all actions and | 12 |
| proceedings in favor
of or for the use of the State, which may | 13 |
| be necessary in the execution of
the duties of any State | 14 |
| officer.
| 15 |
| Third - To defend all actions and proceedings against any | 16 |
| State officer,
in his official capacity, in any of the courts | 17 |
| of this State or the United
States.
| 18 |
| Fourth - To consult with and advise the several State's | 19 |
| Attorneys in
matters relating to the duties of their office; | 20 |
| and when, in his judgment,
the interest of the people of the | 21 |
| State requires it, he shall attend the
trial of any party | 22 |
| accused of crime, and assist in the prosecution. When
the | 23 |
| Attorney General has requested in writing that a State's | 24 |
| Attorney
initiate court proceedings to enforce any provisions |
|
|
|
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|
| 1 |
| of the Election Code
or to initiate a criminal prosecution with | 2 |
| respect to a violation of the
Election Code, and when the | 3 |
| State's Attorney has declined in writing to
initiate those | 4 |
| proceedings or prosecutions or when the State's Attorney
has | 5 |
| neither initiated the proceedings or prosecutions nor | 6 |
| responded in
writing to the Attorney General within 60 days of | 7 |
| the receipt of the request,
the Attorney General may, | 8 |
| concurrently with or independently of the State's
Attorney, | 9 |
| initiate such proceedings or prosecutions. The Attorney | 10 |
| General may investigate and prosecute any violation of the | 11 |
| Election Code at the request of the State Board of Elections or | 12 |
| a State's Attorney.
| 13 |
| Fifth - To investigate alleged violations of the statutes | 14 |
| which the
Attorney General has a duty to enforce and to conduct | 15 |
| other investigations
in connection with assisting in the | 16 |
| prosecution of a criminal offense at
the request of a State's | 17 |
| Attorney.
| 18 |
| Sixth - To consult with and advise the governor and other | 19 |
| State officers,
and give, when requested, written opinions upon | 20 |
| all legal or constitutional
questions relating to the duties of | 21 |
| such officers respectively.
| 22 |
| Seventh - To prepare, when necessary, proper drafts for | 23 |
| contracts and other
writings relating to subjects in which the | 24 |
| State is interested.
| 25 |
| Eighth - To give written opinions, when requested by either | 26 |
| branch of
the general assembly, or any committee thereof, upon |
|
|
|
SB0189 Enrolled |
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|
| 1 |
| constitutional or
legal questions.
| 2 |
| Ninth - To enforce the proper application of funds | 3 |
| appropriated to the
public institutions of the State, prosecute | 4 |
| breaches of trust in the
administration of such funds, and, | 5 |
| when necessary, prosecute corporations
for failure or refusal | 6 |
| to make the reports required by law.
| 7 |
| Tenth - To keep, a register of all cases prosecuted or | 8 |
| defended by him,
in behalf of the State or its officers, and of | 9 |
| all proceedings had in
relation thereto, and to deliver the | 10 |
| same to his successor in office.
| 11 |
| Eleventh - To keep on file in his office a copy of the | 12 |
| official opinions
issued by the Attorney General and deliver | 13 |
| same to his successor.
| 14 |
| Twelfth - To pay into the State treasury all moneys | 15 |
| received by him for
the use of the State.
| 16 |
| Thirteenth - To attend to and perform any other duty which | 17 |
| may, from time
to time, be required of him by law.
| 18 |
| Fourteenth - To attend, present evidence to and prosecute | 19 |
| indictments
returned by each Statewide Grand Jury.
| 20 |
| Fifteenth - To give written binding and advisory public | 21 |
| access opinions as provided in Section 7 of this Act. | 22 |
| (Source: P.A. 94-291, eff. 7-21-05; 95-699, eff. 11-9-07.)
| 23 |
| (15 ILCS 205/7 new) | 24 |
| Sec. 7. Public Access Counselor. | 25 |
| (a) The General Assembly finds that members of the public |
|
|
|
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|
| 1 |
| have encountered obstacles in obtaining copies of public | 2 |
| records from units of government, and that many of those | 3 |
| obstacles result from difficulties that both members of the | 4 |
| public and public bodies have had in interpreting and applying | 5 |
| the Freedom of Information Act. The General Assembly further | 6 |
| finds that members of the public have encountered difficulties | 7 |
| in resolving alleged violations of the Open Meetings Act. The | 8 |
| public's significant interest in access to public records and | 9 |
| in open meetings would be better served if there were a central | 10 |
| office available to provide advice and education with respect | 11 |
| to the interpretation and implementation of the Freedom of | 12 |
| Information Act and the Open Meetings Act. | 13 |
| (b) Therefore, there is created in the Office of the | 14 |
| Attorney General the Office of Public Access Counselor. The | 15 |
| Attorney General shall appoint a Public Access Counselor, who | 16 |
| shall be an attorney licensed to practice in Illinois. The | 17 |
| Public Access Counselor's Office shall be comprised of the | 18 |
| Public Access Counselor and such assistant attorneys general | 19 |
| and other staff as are deemed necessary by the Attorney | 20 |
| General. | 21 |
| (c) Through the Public Access Counselor, the Attorney | 22 |
| General shall have the power: | 23 |
| (1) to establish and administer a program to provide | 24 |
| free training for public officials and to educate the | 25 |
| public on the rights of the public and the responsibilities | 26 |
| of public bodies under the Freedom of Information Act and |
|
|
|
SB0189 Enrolled |
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|
| 1 |
| the Open Meetings Act; | 2 |
| (2) to prepare and distribute interpretive or | 3 |
| educational materials and programs; | 4 |
| (3) to resolve disputes involving a potential | 5 |
| violation of the Open Meetings Act or the Freedom of | 6 |
| Information Act in response to a request for review | 7 |
| initiated by an aggrieved party, as provided in those Acts, | 8 |
| by mediating or otherwise informally resolving the dispute | 9 |
| or by issuing a binding opinion; except that the Attorney | 10 |
| General may not issue an opinion concerning a specific | 11 |
| matter with respect to which a lawsuit has been filed under | 12 |
| Section 3 of the Open Meetings Act or Section 11 of the | 13 |
| Freedom of Information Act; | 14 |
| (4) to issue advisory opinions with respect to the Open | 15 |
| Meetings Act and the Freedom of Information Act either in | 16 |
| response to a request for review or otherwise; | 17 |
| (5) to respond to informal inquiries made by the public | 18 |
| and public bodies; | 19 |
| (6) to conduct research on compliance issues; | 20 |
| (7) to make recommendations to the General Assembly | 21 |
| concerning ways to improve access to public records and | 22 |
| public access to the processes of government; | 23 |
| (8) to develop and make available on the Attorney | 24 |
| General's website or by other means an electronic training | 25 |
| curriculum for Freedom of Information officers; | 26 |
| (9) to develop and make available on the Attorney |
|
|
|
SB0189 Enrolled |
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|
| 1 |
| General's website or by other means an electronic Open | 2 |
| Meetings Act training curriculum for employees, officers, | 3 |
| and members designated by public bodies; | 4 |
| (10) to prepare and distribute to public bodies model | 5 |
| policies for compliance with the Freedom of Information | 6 |
| Act; and | 7 |
| (11) to promulgate rules to implement these powers. | 8 |
| (d) To accomplish the objectives and to carry out the | 9 |
| duties prescribed by this Section, the Public Access Counselor, | 10 |
| in addition to other powers conferred upon him or her by this | 11 |
| Section, may request that subpoenas be issued by the Attorney | 12 |
| General in accordance with the provisions of Section 9.5 of the | 13 |
| Freedom of Information Act and Section 3.5 of the Open Meetings | 14 |
| Act. Service by the Attorney General of any subpoena upon any | 15 |
| person shall be made: | 16 |
| (i) personally by delivery of a duly executed | 17 |
| copy thereof to the person to be served, or in the | 18 |
| case of a public body, in the manner provided in | 19 |
| Section 2-211 of the Civil Practice Law; or | 20 |
| (ii) by mailing by certified mail a duly | 21 |
| executed copy thereof to the person to be served at | 22 |
| his or her last known abode or, in the case of a | 23 |
| public body, to its principal place of business. | 24 |
| (e) If any person or public body fails or refuses to obey | 25 |
| any subpoena issued pursuant to this Section, the Attorney | 26 |
| General may file a complaint in the circuit court to: |
|
|
|
SB0189 Enrolled |
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|
| 1 |
| (i) obtain compliance with the subpoena; | 2 |
| (ii) obtain injunctive relief to prevent a | 3 |
| violation of the Open Meetings Act or Freedom of | 4 |
| Information Act; and | 5 |
| (iii) obtain such other relief as may be | 6 |
| required. | 7 |
| (f) The Attorney General has the authority to file an | 8 |
| action in the circuit court of Cook or Sangamon County for | 9 |
| injunctive or other relief to compel compliance with a binding | 10 |
| opinion issued pursuant to Section 3.5 of the Open Meetings Act | 11 |
| or Section 9.5 of the Freedom of Information Act, to prevent a | 12 |
| violation of the Open Meetings Act or the Freedom of | 13 |
| Information Act, and for such other relief as may be required. | 14 |
| (g) The Attorney General shall post his or her binding | 15 |
| opinions issued pursuant to Section 3.5 of the Open Meetings | 16 |
| Act or Section 9.5 of the Freedom of Information Act and any | 17 |
| rules on the official website of the Office of the Attorney | 18 |
| General, with links to those opinions from the official home | 19 |
| page, and shall make them available for immediate inspection in | 20 |
| his or her office. | 21 |
| Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect January | 22 |
| 1, 2010. |
|