HB2747 EngrossedLRB098 10557 JDS 40802 b

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

 

 

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

 

 

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1        (i) the requested records are stored in whole or in
2    part at other locations than the office having charge of
3    the requested records;
4        (ii) the request requires the collection of a
5    substantial number of specified records;
6        (iii) the request is couched in categorical terms and
7    requires an extensive search for the records responsive to
8    it;
9        (iv) the requested records have not been located in the
10    course of routine search and additional efforts are being
11    made to locate them;
12        (v) the requested records require examination and
13    evaluation by personnel having the necessary competence
14    and discretion to determine if they are exempt from
15    disclosure under Section 7 of this Act or should be
16    revealed only with appropriate deletions;
17        (vi) the request for records cannot be complied with by
18    the public body within the time limits prescribed by
19    paragraph (c) of this Section without unduly burdening or
20    interfering with the operations of the public body;
21        (vii) there is a need for consultation, which shall be
22    conducted with all practicable speed, with another public
23    body or among two or more components of a public body
24    having a substantial interest in the determination or in
25    the subject matter of the request.
26    The person making a request and the public body may agree

 

 

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1in writing to extend the time for compliance for a period to be
2determined by the parties. If the requester and the public body
3agree to extend the period for compliance, a failure by the
4public body to comply with any previous deadlines shall not be
5treated as a denial of the request for the records.
6    (f) When additional time is required for any of the above
7reasons, the public body shall, within 5 business days after
8receipt of the request, notify the person making the request of
9the reasons for the extension and the date by which the
10response will be forthcoming. Failure to respond within the
11time permitted for extension shall be considered a denial of
12the request. A public body that fails to respond to a request
13within the time permitted for extension but thereafter provides
14the requester with copies of the requested public records may
15not impose a fee for those copies. A public body that requests
16an extension and subsequently fails to respond to the request
17may not treat the request as unduly burdensome under subsection
18(g).
19    (g) Requests calling for all records falling within a
20category shall be complied with unless compliance with the
21request would be unduly burdensome for the complying public
22body and there is no way to narrow the request and the burden
23on the public body outweighs the public interest in the
24information. Before invoking this exemption, the public body
25shall extend to the person making the request an opportunity to
26confer with it in an attempt to reduce the request to

 

 

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1manageable proportions. If any body responds to a categorical
2request by stating that compliance would unduly burden its
3operation and the conditions described above are met, it shall
4do so in writing, specifying the reasons why it would be unduly
5burdensome and the extent to which compliance will so burden
6the operations of the public body. Such a response shall be
7treated as a denial of the request for information.
8    Repeated requests from the same person for the same records
9that are unchanged or identical to records previously provided
10or properly denied under this Act shall be deemed unduly
11burdensome under this provision.
12    (h) Each public body may promulgate rules and regulations
13in conformity with the provisions of this Section pertaining to
14the availability of records and procedures to be followed,
15including:
16        (i) the times and places where such records will be
17    made available, and
18        (ii) the persons from whom such records may be
19    obtained.
20    (i) The time periods for compliance or denial of a request
21to inspect or copy records set out in this Section shall not
22apply to requests for records made for a commercial purpose.
23Such requests shall be subject to the provisions of Section 3.1
24of this Act.
25(Source: P.A. 96-542, eff. 1-1-10.)
 

 

 

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1    (5 ILCS 140/4)  (from Ch. 116, par. 204)
2    Sec. 4. Information concerning public body. Each public
3body shall prominently display at each of its administrative or
4regional offices, make available for inspection and copying,
5and send through the mail if requested, each of the following:
6        (a) A brief description of itself, which will include,
7    but not be limited to, a short summary of its purpose, a
8    block diagram giving its functional subdivisions, the
9    total amount of its operating budget, the number and
10    location of all of its separate offices, the approximate
11    number of full and part-time employees, and the
12    identification and membership of any board, commission,
13    committee, or council which operates in an advisory
14    capacity relative to the operation of the public body, or
15    which exercises control over its policies or procedures, or
16    to which the public body is required to report and be
17    answerable for its operations; and
18        (b) A brief description of the methods whereby the
19    public may request information and public records, a
20    directory designating the Freedom of Information officer
21    or officers, the mailing address and an electronic mail
22    address where requests for public records should be
23    directed, and any fees allowable under Section 6 of this
24    Act.
25    A public body that maintains a website shall also post this
26information on its website.

 

 

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1(Source: P.A. 96-542, eff. 1-1-10; 96-1000, eff. 7-2-10.)