Illinois General Assembly - GOVERNMENT - GENERAL PROVISIONS

(5 ILCS 347/1)

Sec. 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the Public Official Safety and Privacy Act.

(Source: P.A. 104-443, eff. 1-1-26.)

(5 ILCS 347/5)

Sec. 5. Purpose. The purpose of this Act is to improve the safety and security of Illinois public officials to ensure they are able to administer their public duties without fear of personal reprisal from individuals affected by the decisions they make in the course of carrying out their public functions.

This Act is not intended to restrain a public official from independently making public his or her own personal information. Additionally, no governmental agency, person, business, or association has any obligation under this Act to protect the privacy of a public official's personal information until the public official makes a written request that his or her personal information not be publicly posted.

Nothing in this Act shall be construed to impair free access to decisions and opinions expressed by public officials in the course of carrying out their public functions.

(Source: P.A. 104-443, eff. 1-1-26.)

(5 ILCS 347/10)

Sec. 10. Definitions. As used in this Act:

"Constitutional officers" means the officers established by Section 1 of Article V of the Illinois Constitution.

"Governmental agency" includes all agencies, authorities, boards, commissions, departments, institutions, offices, and any other bodies politic and corporate of the State created by the constitution or statute, whether in the executive, judicial, or legislative branch; all units and corporate outgrowths created by executive order of the Governor or any constitutional officer, by the Supreme Court, or by resolution of the General Assembly; or agencies, authorities, boards, commissions, departments, institutions, offices, and any other bodies politic and corporate of a unit of local government, or school district.

"Home address" includes a public official's permanent residence and any secondary residences affirmatively identified by the public official, but does not include a public official's work address.

"Immediate family" includes a public official's spouse, child, or parent or any individual who is a blood relative of the public official or the public official's spouse and who lives in the same residence as the public official.

"Personal information" means a home address, home telephone number, mobile telephone number, pager number, personal email address, social security number, federal tax identification number, checking and savings account numbers, credit card numbers, marital status, and identity of children under the age of 18.

"Public official" includes:

(1) members or former members of the Illinois General Assembly;

(2) constitutional officers or former constitutional officers;

(3) elected or appointed State's Attorneys;

(4) appointed Public Defenders; and

(5) county clerks and members of a Board of Election Commissioners whose responsibilities include administering and overseeing elections.

"Publicly available content" means any written, printed, or electronic document or record that provides information or that serves as a document or record that provides information or that serves as a document or record maintained, controlled, or in the possession of a governmental agency that may be obtained by any person or entity, from the Internet, from the governmental agency upon request either free of charge or for a fee, or in response to a request under the Freedom of Information Act.

"Publicly post" or "publicly display" means to communicate to another or otherwise make available to the public.

"Written request" means written notice signed by a public official or a representative of the public official's office or the public official's employer requesting a governmental agency, person, business, or association to refrain from posting or displaying publicly available content that includes the official's personal information.

(Source: P.A. 104-443, eff. 1-1-26.)

(5 ILCS 347/15)

Sec. 15. Publicly posting or displaying a public official's personal information by governmental agencies.

(a) Governmental agencies shall not publicly post or display publicly available content that includes a public official's personal information, provided that the governmental agency has received a written request in accordance with Section 25 of this Act that it refrain from disclosing the public official's personal information. After a governmental agency has received a written request, that agency shall remove the public official's personal information from publicly available content within 5 business days. After the governmental agency has removed the public official's personal information from publicly available content, the agency shall not publicly post or display the information, and the public official's personal information shall be exempt from the Freedom of Information Act unless the governmental agency has received consent from the public official to make the personal information available to the public.

(b) If a governmental agency fails to comply with a written request to refrain from disclosing personal information, the public official may bring an action seeking injunctive or declaratory relief in any court.

(Source: P.A. 104-443, eff. 1-1-26.)

(5 ILCS 347/20)

Sec. 20. Publicly posting a public official's personal information on the Internet by persons, businesses, and associations.

(a) Prohibited Conduct.

(1) All persons, businesses, and associations shall refrain from publicly posting or displaying on the Internet publicly available content that includes a public official's personal information, provided that the public official has made a written request to the person, business, or association that it refrain from disclosing the personal information.

(2) No person, business, or association shall solicit, sell, or trade on the Internet a public official's personal information with the intent to pose an imminent and serious threat to the health and safety of the public official or the public official's immediate family.

(3) This subsection includes, but is not limited to, Internet phone directories, Internet search engines, Internet data aggregators, and Internet service providers.

(b) Required Conduct.

(1) After a person, business, or association has received a written request from a public official to protect the privacy of the public official's personal information, that person, business, or association shall have 72 hours to remove the personal information from the Internet.

(2) After a person, business, or association has received a written request from a public official, that person, business, or association shall ensure that the public official's personal information is not made available on any website or subsidiary website controlled by that person, business, or association.

(3) After receiving a public official's written request, no person, business, or association shall transfer the public official's personal information to any other person, business, or association through any medium.

(c) Redress. A public official whose personal information is made public as a result of a violation of this Act may bring an action seeking injunctive or declaratory relief in any court. If the court grants injunctive or declaratory relief, the person, business, or association responsible for the violation shall be required to pay the public official's costs and reasonable attorney's fees.

(Source: P.A. 104-443, eff. 1-1-26.)

(5 ILCS 347/25)

Sec. 25. Procedure for completing a written request.

(a) No governmental agency, person, business, or association shall be found to have violated any provision of this Act if the public official fails to submit a written request calling for the protection of the public official's personal information.

(b) A written request shall be valid if:

(1) The public official sends a written request directly to a governmental agency, person, business, or association; or

(2) The public official sends a written request to the Secretary of State in accordance with the policy and procedures adopted, by rule, by the Secretary of State for public officials to file written requests under this Act. In each quarter of a calendar year, the Secretary of State shall provide a list of all public officials who have submitted a written request under this paragraph to the appropriate officer with ultimate supervisory authority for a governmental agency. The officer shall promptly provide a copy of the list to any and all governmental agencies under his or her supervision. Receipt of the written request list compiled by the Secretary of State by a governmental agency shall constitute a written request to that governmental agency for the purposes of this Act. In each quarter of a calendar year, the Secretary of State shall provide a list of all public officials who have submitted a written request under this paragraph to the registered agent, president, manager, or otherwise highest ranking corporate officer with ultimate supervisory authority for a business or association. The person to which the list is provided shall promptly provide a copy of the list to any and all employees under his or her supervision who are responsible for compliance with this Act. Receipt of the written request list compiled by the Secretary of State by a business or association shall constitute a written request to that business or association for the purposes of this Act.

(c) A representative from the public official's office or the public official's employer may submit a written request on the public official's behalf, provided that the public official gives written consent to the representative and provided that the representative agrees to furnish a copy of that consent when a written request is made. The representative shall submit the written request as provided in subsection (b) of this Section.

(d) A public official's written request shall specify what personal information shall be maintained private. If a public official wishes to identify a secondary residence as a home address as that term is defined in this Act, the designation shall be made in the written request. A public official shall disclose the identity of the public official's immediate family and indicate that the personal information of these family members shall also be excluded to the extent that it could reasonably be expected to reveal the personal information of the public official.

(e) A public official's written request is valid until the public official provides the governmental agency, person, business, or association with written permission to release the private information. A public official's written request expires on death.

(f) A written request made under paragraph (2) of subsection (b) shall be in a form substantially similar to the form for judicial requests for the removal of personal information pursuant to the Judicial Privacy Act.

(Source: P.A. 104-443, eff. 1-1-26.)

(5 ILCS 347/30)

Sec. 30. Unlawful publication of personal information. It is unlawful for any person to knowingly publicly post on the Internet the personal information of a public official or of the public official's immediate family if the person knows or reasonably should know that publicly posting the personal information poses an imminent and serious threat to the health and safety of the public official or the public official's immediate family and if the violation is a proximate cause of bodily injury or death of the public official or a member of the public official's immediate family. A person who violates this Section is guilty of a Class 3 felony.

(Source: P.A. 104-443, eff. 1-1-26.)

(5 ILCS 347/35)

Sec. 35. Exceptions for employees of governmental agencies. Provided that the employee of a governmental agency has complied with the conditions set forth in Sections 20 and 25 of this Act, it is not a violation of Section 30 if an employee of a governmental agency publishes personal information, in good faith, on the website of the governmental agency in the ordinary course of carrying out public functions.

(Source: P.A. 104-443, eff. 1-1-26.)

(5 ILCS 347/40)

Sec. 40. Construction.

(a) This Act and any rules adopted to implement this Act shall be construed broadly to favor the protection of the personal information of public officials.

(b) Nothing in this Act is intended to limit the remedies available under any other law, including the Civil Liability for Doxing Act.

(Source: P.A. 104-443, eff. 1-1-26.)

(5 ILCS 347/900)

Sec. 900. (Amendatory provisions; text omitted).

(Source: P.A. 104-443, eff. 1-1-26; text omitted.)

(5 ILCS 347/905)

Sec. 905. (Amendatory provisions; text omitted).

(Source: P.A. 104-443, eff. 1-1-26; text omitted.)

(5 ILCS 347/910)

Sec. 910. (Amendatory provisions; text omitted).

(Source: P.A. 104-443, eff. 1-1-26; text omitted.)

(5 ILCS 347/915)

Sec. 915. (Amendatory provisions; text omitted).

(Source: P.A. 104-443, eff. 1-1-26; text omitted.)

(5 ILCS 347/995)

Sec. 995. No acceleration or delay. Where this Act makes changes in a statute that is represented in this Act by text that is not yet or no longer in effect (for example, a Section represented by multiple versions), the use of that text does not accelerate or delay the taking effect of (i) the changes made by this Act or (ii) provisions derived from any other Public Act.

(Source: P.A. 104-443, eff. 1-1-26.)

(5 ILCS 347/997)

Sec. 997. Severability. The provisions of this Act are severable under Section 1.31 of the Statute on Statutes.

(Source: P.A. 104-443, eff. 1-1-26.)

(5 ILCS 347/999)

Sec. 999. Effective date. This Act takes effect January 1, 2026.

(Source: P.A. 104-443, eff. 1-1-26.)