Illinois General Assembly - Full Text of Public Act 098-1129
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Public Act 098-1129


 

Public Act 1129 98TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY



 


 
Public Act 098-1129
 
HB3796 EnrolledLRB098 15774 OMW 50806 b

    AN ACT concerning government.
 
    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
 
    Section 5. The Freedom of Information Act is amended by
changing Sections 2, 3, 6, and 9.5 and by adding Sections 3.6
and 8.5 as follows:
 
    (5 ILCS 140/2)  (from Ch. 116, par. 202)
    Sec. 2. Definitions. As used in this Act:
    (a) "Public body" means all legislative, executive,
administrative, or advisory bodies of the State, state
universities and colleges, counties, townships, cities,
villages, incorporated towns, school districts and all other
municipal corporations, boards, bureaus, committees, or
commissions of this State, any subsidiary bodies of any of the
foregoing including but not limited to committees and
subcommittees thereof, and a School Finance Authority created
under Article 1E of the School Code. "Public body" does not
include a child death review team or the Illinois Child Death
Review Teams Executive Council established under the Child
Death Review Team Act.
    (b) "Person" means any individual, corporation,
partnership, firm, organization or association, acting
individually or as a group.
    (c) "Public records" means all records, reports, forms,
writings, letters, memoranda, books, papers, maps,
photographs, microfilms, cards, tapes, recordings, electronic
data processing records, electronic communications, recorded
information and all other documentary materials pertaining to
the transaction of public business, regardless of physical form
or characteristics, having been prepared by or for, or having
been or being used by, received by, in the possession of, or
under the control of any public body.
    (c-5) "Private information" means unique identifiers,
including a person's social security number, driver's license
number, employee identification number, biometric identifiers,
personal financial information, passwords or other access
codes, medical records, home or personal telephone numbers, and
personal email addresses. Private information also includes
home address and personal license plates, except as otherwise
provided by law or when compiled without possibility of
attribution to any person.
    (c-10) "Commercial purpose" means the use of any part of a
public record or records, or information derived from public
records, in any form for sale, resale, or solicitation or
advertisement for sales or services. For purposes of this
definition, requests made by news media and non-profit,
scientific, or academic organizations shall not be considered
to be made for a "commercial purpose" when the principal
purpose of the request is (i) to access and disseminate
information concerning news and current or passing events, (ii)
for articles of opinion or features of interest to the public,
or (iii) for the purpose of academic, scientific, or public
research or education.
    (d) "Copying" means the reproduction of any public record
by means of any photographic, electronic, mechanical or other
process, device or means now known or hereafter developed and
available to the public body.
    (e) "Head of the public body" means the president, mayor,
chairman, presiding officer, director, superintendent,
manager, supervisor or individual otherwise holding primary
executive and administrative authority for the public body, or
such person's duly authorized designee.
    (f) "News media" means a newspaper or other periodical
issued at regular intervals whether in print or electronic
format, a news service whether in print or electronic format, a
radio station, a television station, a television network, a
community antenna television service, or a person or
corporation engaged in making news reels or other motion
picture news for public showing.
    (g) "Recurrent requester", as used in Section 3.2 of this
Act, means a person that, in the 12 months immediately
preceding the request, has submitted to the same public body
(i) a minimum of 50 requests for records, (ii) a minimum of 15
requests for records within a 30-day period, or (iii) a minimum
of 7 requests for records within a 7-day period. For purposes
of this definition, requests made by news media and non-profit,
scientific, or academic organizations shall not be considered
in calculating the number of requests made in the time periods
in this definition when the principal purpose of the requests
is (i) to access and disseminate information concerning news
and current or passing events, (ii) for articles of opinion or
features of interest to the public, or (iii) for the purpose of
academic, scientific, or public research or education.
    For the purposes of this subsection (g), "request" means a
written document (or oral request, if the public body chooses
to honor oral requests) that is submitted to a public body via
personal delivery, mail, telefax, electronic mail, or other
means available to the public body and that identifies the
particular public record the requester seeks. One request may
identify multiple records to be inspected or copied.
    (h) "Voluminous request" means a request that: (i) includes
more than 5 individual requests for more than 5 different
categories of records or a combination of individual requests
that total requests for more than 5 different categories of
records in a period of 20 business days; or (ii) requires the
compilation of more than 500 letter or legal-sized pages of
public records unless a single requested record exceeds 500
pages. "Single requested record" may include, but is not
limited to, one report, form, e-mail, letter, memorandum, book,
map, microfilm, tape, or recording.
    "Voluminous request" does not include a request made by
news media and non-profit, scientific, or academic
organizations if the principal purpose of the request is: (1)
to access and disseminate information concerning news and
current or passing events; (2) for articles of opinion or
features of interest to the public; or (3) for the purpose of
academic, scientific, or public research or education.
    For the purposes of this subsection (h), "request" means a
written document, or oral request, if the public body chooses
to honor oral requests, that is submitted to a public body via
personal delivery, mail, telefax, electronic mail, or other
means available to the public body and that identifies the
particular public record or records the requester seeks. One
request may identify multiple individual records to be
inspected or copied.
(Source: P.A. 96-261, eff. 1-1-10; 96-542, eff. 1-1-10;
96-1000, eff. 7-2-10; 97-579, eff. 8-26-11.)
 
    (5 ILCS 140/3)  (from Ch. 116, par. 203)
    Sec. 3. (a) Each public body shall make available to any
person for inspection or copying all public records, except as
otherwise provided in Sections Section 7 and 8.5 of this Act.
Notwithstanding any other law, a public body may not grant to
any person or entity, whether by contract, license, or
otherwise, the exclusive right to access and disseminate any
public record as defined in this Act.
    (b) Subject to the fee provisions of Section 6 of this Act,
each public body shall promptly provide, to any person who
submits a request, a copy of any public record required to be
disclosed by subsection (a) of this Section and shall certify
such copy if so requested.
    (c) Requests for inspection or copies shall be made in
writing and directed to the public body. Written requests may
be submitted to a public body via personal delivery, mail,
telefax, or other means available to the public body. A public
body may honor oral requests for inspection or copying. A
public body may not require that a request be submitted on a
standard form or require the requester to specify the purpose
for a request, except to determine whether the records are
requested for a commercial purpose or whether to grant a
request for a fee waiver. All requests for inspection and
copying received by a public body shall immediately be
forwarded to its Freedom of Information officer or designee.
    (d) Each public body shall, promptly, either comply with or
deny a request for public records within 5 business days after
its receipt of the request, unless the time for response is
properly extended under subsection (e) of this Section. Denial
shall be in writing as provided in Section 9 of this Act.
Failure to comply with a written request, extend the time for
response, or deny a request within 5 business days after its
receipt shall be considered a denial of the request. A public
body that fails to respond to a request within the requisite
periods in this Section but thereafter provides the requester
with copies of the requested public records may not impose a
fee for such copies. A public body that fails to respond to a
request received may not treat the request as unduly burdensome
under subsection (g).
    (e) The time for response under this Section may be
extended by the public body for not more than 5 business days
from the original due date for any of the following reasons:
        (i) the requested records are stored in whole or in
    part at other locations than the office having charge of
    the requested records;
        (ii) the request requires the collection of a
    substantial number of specified records;
        (iii) the request is couched in categorical terms and
    requires an extensive search for the records responsive to
    it;
        (iv) the requested records have not been located in the
    course of routine search and additional efforts are being
    made to locate them;
        (v) the requested records require examination and
    evaluation by personnel having the necessary competence
    and discretion to determine if they are exempt from
    disclosure under Section 7 of this Act or should be
    revealed only with appropriate deletions;
        (vi) the request for records cannot be complied with by
    the public body within the time limits prescribed by
    paragraph (c) of this Section without unduly burdening or
    interfering with the operations of the public body;
        (vii) there is a need for consultation, which shall be
    conducted with all practicable speed, with another public
    body or among two or more components of a public body
    having a substantial interest in the determination or in
    the subject matter of the request.
    The person making a request and the public body may agree
in writing to extend the time for compliance for a period to be
determined by the parties. If the requester and the public body
agree to extend the period for compliance, a failure by the
public body to comply with any previous deadlines shall not be
treated as a denial of the request for the records.
    (f) When additional time is required for any of the above
reasons, the public body shall, within 5 business days after
receipt of the request, notify the person making the request of
the reasons for the extension and the date by which the
response will be forthcoming. Failure to respond within the
time permitted for extension shall be considered a denial of
the request. A public body that fails to respond to a request
within the time permitted for extension but thereafter provides
the requester with copies of the requested public records may
not impose a fee for those copies. A public body that requests
an extension and subsequently fails to respond to the request
may not treat the request as unduly burdensome under subsection
(g).
    (g) Requests calling for all records falling within a
category shall be complied with unless compliance with the
request would be unduly burdensome for the complying public
body and there is no way to narrow the request and the burden
on the public body outweighs the public interest in the
information. Before invoking this exemption, the public body
shall extend to the person making the request an opportunity to
confer with it in an attempt to reduce the request to
manageable proportions. If any public body responds to a
categorical request by stating that compliance would unduly
burden its operation and the conditions described above are
met, it shall do so in writing, specifying the reasons why it
would be unduly burdensome and the extent to which compliance
will so burden the operations of the public body. Such a
response shall be treated as a denial of the request for
information.
    Repeated requests from the same person for the same records
that are unchanged or identical to records previously provided
or properly denied under this Act shall be deemed unduly
burdensome under this provision.
    (h) Each public body may promulgate rules and regulations
in conformity with the provisions of this Section pertaining to
the availability of records and procedures to be followed,
including:
        (i) the times and places where such records will be
    made available, and
        (ii) the persons from whom such records may be
    obtained.
    (i) The time periods for compliance or denial of a request
to inspect or copy records set out in this Section shall not
apply to requests for records made for a commercial purpose,
requests by a recurrent requester, or voluminous requests. Such
requests shall be subject to the provisions of Sections Section
3.1, 3.2, and 3.6 of this Act, as applicable.
(Source: P.A. 96-542, eff. 1-1-10.)
 
    (5 ILCS 140/3.6 new)
    Sec. 3.6. Voluminous requests.
    (a) Notwithstanding any provision of this Act to the
contrary, a public body shall respond to a voluminous request
within 5 business days after receipt. The response shall notify
the requester: (i) that the public body is treating the request
as a voluminous request; (ii) the reasons why the public body
is treating the request as a voluminous request; (iii) that the
requester must respond to the public body within 10 business
days after the public body's response was sent and specify
whether the requester would like to amend the request in such a
way that the public body will no longer treat the request as a
voluminous request; (iv) that if the requester does not respond
within 10 business days or if the request continues to be a
voluminous request following the requester's response, the
public body will respond to the request and assess any fees the
public body charges pursuant to Section 6 of this Act; (v) that
the public body has 5 business days after receipt of the
requester's response or 5 business days from the last day for
the requester to amend his or her request, whichever is sooner,
to respond to the request; (vi) that the public body may
request an additional 10 business days to comply with the
request; (vii) of the requester's right to review of the public
body's determination by the Public Access Counselor and provide
the address and phone number for the Public Access Counselor;
and (viii) that if the requester fails to accept or collect the
responsive records, the public body may still charge the
requester for its response pursuant to Section 6 of this Act
and the requester's failure to pay will be considered a debt
due and owing to the public body and may be collected in
accordance with applicable law.
    (b) A public body shall provide a person making a
voluminous request 10 business days from the date the public
body's response pursuant to subsection (a) of this Section is
sent to amend the request in such a way that the public body
will no longer treat the request as a voluminous request.
    (c) If a request continues to be a voluminous request
following the requester's response under subsection (b) of this
Section or the requester fails to respond, the public body
shall respond within the earlier of 5 business days after it
receives the response from the requester or 5 business days
after the final day for the requester to respond to the public
body's notification under this subsection. The response shall:
(i) provide an estimate of the fees to be charged, which the
public body may require the person to pay in full before
copying the requested documents; (ii) deny the request pursuant
to one or more of the exemptions set out in this Act; (iii)
notify the requester that the request is unduly burdensome and
extend an opportunity to the requester to attempt to reduce the
request to manageable proportions; or (iv) provide the records
requested.
    (d) The time for response by the public body under
subsection (c) of this Section may be extended by the public
body for not more than 10 business days from the final day for
the requester to respond to the public body's notification
under subsection (c) of this Section for any of the reasons
provided in subsection (e) of Section 3 of this Act.
    The person making a request and the public body may agree
in writing to extend the time for compliance for a period to be
determined by the parties. If the requester and the public body
agree to extend the period for compliance, a failure by the
public body to comply with any previous deadlines shall not be
treated as a denial of the request for the records.
    (e) If a requester does not pay a fee charged pursuant to
Section 6 of this Act for a voluminous request, the debt shall
be considered a debt due and owing to the public body and may
be collected in accordance with applicable law. This fee may be
charged by the public body even if the requester fails to
accept or collect records the public body has prepared in
response to a voluminous request.
 
    (5 ILCS 140/6)  (from Ch. 116, par. 206)
    Sec. 6. Authority to charge fees.
    (a) When a person requests a copy of a record maintained in
an electronic format, the public body shall furnish it in the
electronic format specified by the requester, if feasible. If
it is not feasible to furnish the public records in the
specified electronic format, then the public body shall furnish
it in the format in which it is maintained by the public body,
or in paper format at the option of the requester. A public
body may charge the requester for the actual cost of purchasing
the recording medium, whether disc, diskette, tape, or other
medium. If a request is not a request for a commercial purpose
or a voluminous request, a A public body may not charge the
requester for the costs of any search for and review of the
records or other personnel costs associated with reproducing
the records, except for commercial requests as provided in
subsection (f) of this Section. Except to the extent that the
General Assembly expressly provides, statutory fees applicable
to copies of public records when furnished in a paper format
shall not be applicable to those records when furnished in an
electronic format.
    (a-5) If a voluminous request is for electronic records and
those records are not in a portable document format (PDF), the
public body may charge up to $20 for not more than 2 megabytes
of data, up to $40 for more than 2 but not more than 4 megabytes
of data, and up to $100 for more than 4 megabytes of data. If a
voluminous request is for electronic records and those records
are in a portable document format, the public body may charge
up to $20 for not more than 80 megabytes of data, up to $40 for
more than 80 megabytes but not more than 160 megabytes of data,
and up to $100 for more than 160 megabytes of data. If the
responsive electronic records are in both a portable document
format and not in a portable document format, the public body
may separate the fees and charge the requester under both fee
scales.
    If a public body imposes a fee pursuant to this subsection
(a-5), it must provide the requester with an accounting of all
fees, costs, and personnel hours in connection with the request
for public records.
    (b) Except when a fee is otherwise fixed by statute, each
public body may charge fees reasonably calculated to reimburse
its actual cost for reproducing and certifying public records
and for the use, by any person, of the equipment of the public
body to copy records. No fees shall be charged for the first 50
pages of black and white, letter or legal sized copies
requested by a requester. The fee for black and white, letter
or legal sized copies shall not exceed 15 cents per page. If a
public body provides copies in color or in a size other than
letter or legal, the public body may not charge more than its
actual cost for reproducing the records. In calculating its
actual cost for reproducing records or for the use of the
equipment of the public body to reproduce records, a public
body shall not include the costs of any search for and review
of the records or other personnel costs associated with
reproducing the records, except for commercial requests as
provided in subsection (f) of this Section. Such fees shall be
imposed according to a standard scale of fees, established and
made public by the body imposing them. The cost for certifying
a record shall not exceed $1.
    (c) Documents shall be furnished without charge or at a
reduced charge, as determined by the public body, if the person
requesting the documents states the specific purpose for the
request and indicates that a waiver or reduction of the fee is
in the public interest. Waiver or reduction of the fee is in
the public interest if the principal purpose of the request is
to access and disseminate information regarding the health,
safety and welfare or the legal rights of the general public
and is not for the principal purpose of personal or commercial
benefit. For purposes of this subsection, "commercial benefit"
shall not apply to requests made by news media when the
principal purpose of the request is to access and disseminate
information regarding the health, safety, and welfare or the
legal rights of the general public. In setting the amount of
the waiver or reduction, the public body may take into
consideration the amount of materials requested and the cost of
copying them.
    (d) The imposition of a fee not consistent with subsections
(6)(a) and (b) of this Act constitutes a denial of access to
public records for the purposes of judicial review.
    (e) The fee for each abstract of a driver's record shall be
as provided in Section 6-118 of "The Illinois Vehicle Code",
approved September 29, 1969, as amended, whether furnished as a
paper copy or as an electronic copy.
    (f) A public body may charge up to $10 for each hour spent
by personnel in searching for and retrieving a requested record
or examining the record for necessary redactions. No fees shall
be charged for the first 8 hours spent by personnel in
searching for or retrieving a requested record. A public body
may charge the actual cost of retrieving and transporting
public records from an off-site storage facility when the
public records are maintained by a third-party storage company
under contract with the public body. If a public body imposes a
fee pursuant to this subsection (f), it must provide the
requester with an accounting of all fees, costs, and personnel
hours in connection with the request for public records. The
provisions of this subsection (f) apply only to commercial
requests.
(Source: P.A. 96-542, eff. 1-1-10; 96-1000, eff. 7-2-10;
97-579, eff. 8-26-11.)
 
    (5 ILCS 140/8.5 new)
    Sec. 8.5. Records maintained online.
    (a) Notwithstanding any provision of this Act to the
contrary, a public body is not required to copy a public record
that is published on the public body's website. The public body
shall notify the requester that the public record is available
online and direct the requester to the website where the record
can be reasonably accessed.
    (b) If the person requesting the public record is unable to
reasonably access the record online after being directed to the
website pursuant to subsection (a) of this Section, the
requester may re-submit his or her request for the record
stating his or her inability to reasonably access the record
online, and the public body shall make the requested record
available for inspection or copying as provided in Section 3 of
this Act.
 
    (5 ILCS 140/9.5)
    Sec. 9.5. Public Access Counselor; opinions.
    (a) A person whose request to inspect or copy a public
record is denied by a public body, except the General Assembly
and committees, commissions, and agencies thereof, may file a
request for review with the Public Access Counselor established
in the Office of the Attorney General not later than 60 days
after the date of the final denial. The request for review must
be in writing, signed by the requester, and include (i) a copy
of the request for access to records and (ii) any responses
from the public body.
    (b) A person whose request to inspect or copy a public
record is made for a commercial purpose as defined in
subsection (c-10) of Section 2 of this Act may not file a
request for review with the Public Access Counselor. A person
whose request to inspect or copy a public record was treated by
the public body as a request for a commercial purpose under
Section 3.1 of this Act may file a request for review with the
Public Access Counselor for the limited purpose of reviewing
whether the public body properly determined that the request
was made for a commercial purpose.
    (b-5) A person whose request to inspect or copy a public
record was treated by a public body, except the General
Assembly and committees, commissions, and agencies thereof, as
a voluminous request under Section 3.6 of this Act may file a
request for review with the Public Access Counselor for the
purpose of reviewing whether the public body properly
determined that the request was a voluminous request.
    (c) Upon receipt of a request for review, the Public Access
Counselor shall determine whether further action is warranted.
If the Public Access Counselor determines that the alleged
violation is unfounded, he or she shall so advise the requester
and the public body and no further action shall be undertaken.
In all other cases, the Public Access Counselor shall forward a
copy of the request for review to the public body within 7
business days after receipt and shall specify the records or
other documents that the public body shall furnish to
facilitate the review. Within 7 business days after receipt of
the request for review, the public body shall provide copies of
records requested and shall otherwise fully cooperate with the
Public Access Counselor. If a public body fails to furnish
specified records pursuant to this Section, or if otherwise
necessary, the Attorney General may issue a subpoena to any
person or public body having knowledge of or records pertaining
to a request for review of a denial of access to records under
the Act. To the extent that records or documents produced by a
public body contain information that is claimed to be exempt
from disclosure under Section 7 of this Act, the Public Access
Counselor shall not further disclose that information.
    (d) Within 7 business days after it receives a copy of a
request for review and request for production of records from
the Public Access Counselor, the public body may, but is not
required to, answer the allegations of the request for review.
The answer may take the form of a letter, brief, or memorandum.
The Public Access Counselor shall forward a copy of the answer
to the person submitting the request for review, with any
alleged confidential information to which the request pertains
redacted from the copy. The requester may, but is not required
to, respond in writing to the answer within 7 business days and
shall provide a copy of the response to the public body.
    (e) In addition to the request for review, and the answer
and the response thereto, if any, a requester or a public body
may furnish affidavits or records concerning any matter germane
to the review.
    (f) Unless the Public Access Counselor extends the time by
no more than 30 business days by sending written notice to the
requester and the public body that includes a statement of the
reasons for the extension in the notice, or decides to address
the matter without the issuance of a binding opinion, the
Attorney General shall examine the issues and the records,
shall make findings of fact and conclusions of law, and shall
issue to the requester and the public body an opinion in
response to the request for review within 60 days after its
receipt. The opinion shall be binding upon both the requester
and the public body, subject to administrative review under
Section 11.5.
    In responding to any request under this Section 9.5, the
Attorney General may exercise his or her discretion and choose
to resolve a request for review by mediation or by a means
other than the issuance of a binding opinion. The decision not
to issue a binding opinion shall not be reviewable.
    Upon receipt of a binding opinion concluding that a
violation of this Act has occurred, the public body shall
either take necessary action immediately to comply with the
directive of the opinion or shall initiate administrative
review under Section 11.5. If the opinion concludes that no
violation of the Act has occurred, the requester may initiate
administrative review under Section 11.5.
    A public body that discloses records in accordance with an
opinion of the Attorney General is immune from all liabilities
by reason thereof and shall not be liable for penalties under
this Act.
    (g) If the requester files suit under Section 11 with
respect to the same denial that is the subject of a pending
request for review, the requester shall notify the Public
Access Counselor, and the Public Access Counselor shall take no
further action with respect to the request for review and shall
so notify the public body.
    (h) The Attorney General may also issue advisory opinions
to public bodies regarding compliance with this Act. A review
may be initiated upon receipt of a written request from the
head of the public body or its attorney, which shall contain
sufficient accurate facts from which a determination can be
made. The Public Access Counselor may request additional
information from the public body in order to assist in the
review. A public body that relies in good faith on an advisory
opinion of the Attorney General in responding to a request is
not liable for penalties under this Act, so long as the facts
upon which the opinion is based have been fully and fairly
disclosed to the Public Access Counselor.
(Source: P.A. 96-542, eff. 1-1-10; 97-579, eff. 8-26-11.)
 
    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
becoming law.

Effective Date: 12/3/2014