101ST GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2019 and 2020
HB2124

 

Introduced , by Rep. Emanuel Chris Welch

 

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
 
5 ILCS 120/2  from Ch. 102, par. 42

    Amends the Open Meetings Act. Provides that a public body may hold a closed meeting to consider the appointment, employment, compensation, discipline, performance, or dismissal of specific employees, specific independent contractors, or specific volunteers (currently, only specific employees) of the public body or legal counsel for the public body, including hearing testimony on a complaint lodged against an employee, independent contractor, or volunteer of the public body or against legal counsel for the public body to determine its validity. Effective immediately.


LRB101 07307 RJF 52347 b

 

 

A BILL FOR

 

HB2124LRB101 07307 RJF 52347 b

1    AN ACT concerning government.
 
2    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3represented in the General Assembly:
 
4    Section 5. The Open Meetings Act is amended by changing
5Section 2 as follows:
 
6    (5 ILCS 120/2)  (from Ch. 102, par. 42)
7    Sec. 2. Open meetings.
8    (a) Openness required. All meetings of public bodies shall
9be open to the public unless excepted in subsection (c) and
10closed in accordance with Section 2a.
11    (b) Construction of exceptions. The exceptions contained
12in subsection (c) are in derogation of the requirement that
13public bodies meet in the open, and therefore, the exceptions
14are to be strictly construed, extending only to subjects
15clearly within their scope. The exceptions authorize but do not
16require the holding of a closed meeting to discuss a subject
17included within an enumerated exception.
18    (c) Exceptions. A public body may hold closed meetings to
19consider the following subjects:
20        (1) The appointment, employment, compensation,
21    discipline, performance, or dismissal of specific
22    employees, specific independent contractors, or specific
23    volunteers of the public body or legal counsel for the

 

 

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1    public body, including hearing testimony on a complaint
2    lodged against an employee, independent contractor, or
3    volunteer of the public body or against legal counsel for
4    the public body to determine its validity. However, a
5    meeting to consider an increase in compensation to a
6    specific employee of a public body that is subject to the
7    Local Government Wage Increase Transparency Act may not be
8    closed and shall be open to the public and posted and held
9    in accordance with this Act.
10        (2) Collective negotiating matters between the public
11    body and its employees or their representatives, or
12    deliberations concerning salary schedules for one or more
13    classes of employees.
14        (3) The selection of a person to fill a public office,
15    as defined in this Act, including a vacancy in a public
16    office, when the public body is given power to appoint
17    under law or ordinance, or the discipline, performance or
18    removal of the occupant of a public office, when the public
19    body is given power to remove the occupant under law or
20    ordinance.
21        (4) Evidence or testimony presented in open hearing, or
22    in closed hearing where specifically authorized by law, to
23    a quasi-adjudicative body, as defined in this Act, provided
24    that the body prepares and makes available for public
25    inspection a written decision setting forth its
26    determinative reasoning.

 

 

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1        (5) The purchase or lease of real property for the use
2    of the public body, including meetings held for the purpose
3    of discussing whether a particular parcel should be
4    acquired.
5        (6) The setting of a price for sale or lease of
6    property owned by the public body.
7        (7) The sale or purchase of securities, investments, or
8    investment contracts. This exception shall not apply to the
9    investment of assets or income of funds deposited into the
10    Illinois Prepaid Tuition Trust Fund.
11        (8) Security procedures, school building safety and
12    security, and the use of personnel and equipment to respond
13    to an actual, a threatened, or a reasonably potential
14    danger to the safety of employees, students, staff, the
15    public, or public property.
16        (9) Student disciplinary cases.
17        (10) The placement of individual students in special
18    education programs and other matters relating to
19    individual students.
20        (11) Litigation, when an action against, affecting or
21    on behalf of the particular public body has been filed and
22    is pending before a court or administrative tribunal, or
23    when the public body finds that an action is probable or
24    imminent, in which case the basis for the finding shall be
25    recorded and entered into the minutes of the closed
26    meeting.

 

 

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1        (12) The establishment of reserves or settlement of
2    claims as provided in the Local Governmental and
3    Governmental Employees Tort Immunity Act, if otherwise the
4    disposition of a claim or potential claim might be
5    prejudiced, or the review or discussion of claims, loss or
6    risk management information, records, data, advice or
7    communications from or with respect to any insurer of the
8    public body or any intergovernmental risk management
9    association or self insurance pool of which the public body
10    is a member.
11        (13) Conciliation of complaints of discrimination in
12    the sale or rental of housing, when closed meetings are
13    authorized by the law or ordinance prescribing fair housing
14    practices and creating a commission or administrative
15    agency for their enforcement.
16        (14) Informant sources, the hiring or assignment of
17    undercover personnel or equipment, or ongoing, prior or
18    future criminal investigations, when discussed by a public
19    body with criminal investigatory responsibilities.
20        (15) Professional ethics or performance when
21    considered by an advisory body appointed to advise a
22    licensing or regulatory agency on matters germane to the
23    advisory body's field of competence.
24        (16) Self evaluation, practices and procedures or
25    professional ethics, when meeting with a representative of
26    a statewide association of which the public body is a

 

 

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1    member.
2        (17) The recruitment, credentialing, discipline or
3    formal peer review of physicians or other health care
4    professionals, or for the discussion of matters protected
5    under the federal Patient Safety and Quality Improvement
6    Act of 2005, and the regulations promulgated thereunder,
7    including 42 C.F.R. Part 3 (73 FR 70732), or the federal
8    Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of
9    1996, and the regulations promulgated thereunder,
10    including 45 C.F.R. Parts 160, 162, and 164, by a hospital,
11    or other institution providing medical care, that is
12    operated by the public body.
13        (18) Deliberations for decisions of the Prisoner
14    Review Board.
15        (19) Review or discussion of applications received
16    under the Experimental Organ Transplantation Procedures
17    Act.
18        (20) The classification and discussion of matters
19    classified as confidential or continued confidential by
20    the State Government Suggestion Award Board.
21        (21) Discussion of minutes of meetings lawfully closed
22    under this Act, whether for purposes of approval by the
23    body of the minutes or semi-annual review of the minutes as
24    mandated by Section 2.06.
25        (22) Deliberations for decisions of the State
26    Emergency Medical Services Disciplinary Review Board.

 

 

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1        (23) The operation by a municipality of a municipal
2    utility or the operation of a municipal power agency or
3    municipal natural gas agency when the discussion involves
4    (i) contracts relating to the purchase, sale, or delivery
5    of electricity or natural gas or (ii) the results or
6    conclusions of load forecast studies.
7        (24) Meetings of a residential health care facility
8    resident sexual assault and death review team or the
9    Executive Council under the Abuse Prevention Review Team
10    Act.
11        (25) Meetings of an independent team of experts under
12    Brian's Law.
13        (26) Meetings of a mortality review team appointed
14    under the Department of Juvenile Justice Mortality Review
15    Team Act.
16        (27) (Blank).
17        (28) Correspondence and records (i) that may not be
18    disclosed under Section 11-9 of the Illinois Public Aid
19    Code or (ii) that pertain to appeals under Section 11-8 of
20    the Illinois Public Aid Code.
21        (29) Meetings between internal or external auditors
22    and governmental audit committees, finance committees, and
23    their equivalents, when the discussion involves internal
24    control weaknesses, identification of potential fraud risk
25    areas, known or suspected frauds, and fraud interviews
26    conducted in accordance with generally accepted auditing

 

 

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1    standards of the United States of America.
2        (30) Those meetings or portions of meetings of a
3    fatality review team or the Illinois Fatality Review Team
4    Advisory Council during which a review of the death of an
5    eligible adult in which abuse or neglect is suspected,
6    alleged, or substantiated is conducted pursuant to Section
7    15 of the Adult Protective Services Act.
8        (31) Meetings and deliberations for decisions of the
9    Concealed Carry Licensing Review Board under the Firearm
10    Concealed Carry Act.
11        (32) Meetings between the Regional Transportation
12    Authority Board and its Service Boards when the discussion
13    involves review by the Regional Transportation Authority
14    Board of employment contracts under Section 28d of the
15    Metropolitan Transit Authority Act and Sections 3A.18 and
16    3B.26 of the Regional Transportation Authority Act.
17        (33) Those meetings or portions of meetings of the
18    advisory committee and peer review subcommittee created
19    under Section 320 of the Illinois Controlled Substances Act
20    during which specific controlled substance prescriber,
21    dispenser, or patient information is discussed.
22        (34) Meetings of the Tax Increment Financing Reform
23    Task Force under Section 2505-800 of the Department of
24    Revenue Law of the Civil Administrative Code of Illinois.
25        (35) Meetings of the group established to discuss
26    Medicaid capitation rates under Section 5-30.8 of the

 

 

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1    Illinois Public Aid Code.
2    (d) Definitions. For purposes of this Section:
3    "Employee" means a person employed by a public body whose
4relationship with the public body constitutes an
5employer-employee relationship under the usual common law
6rules, and who is not an independent contractor.
7    "Public office" means a position created by or under the
8Constitution or laws of this State, the occupant of which is
9charged with the exercise of some portion of the sovereign
10power of this State. The term "public office" shall include
11members of the public body, but it shall not include
12organizational positions filled by members thereof, whether
13established by law or by a public body itself, that exist to
14assist the body in the conduct of its business.
15    "Quasi-adjudicative body" means an administrative body
16charged by law or ordinance with the responsibility to conduct
17hearings, receive evidence or testimony and make
18determinations based thereon, but does not include local
19electoral boards when such bodies are considering petition
20challenges.
21    (e) Final action. No final action may be taken at a closed
22meeting. Final action shall be preceded by a public recital of
23the nature of the matter being considered and other information
24that will inform the public of the business being conducted.
25(Source: P.A. 99-78, eff. 7-20-15; 99-235, eff. 1-1-16; 99-480,
26eff. 9-9-15; 99-642, eff. 7-28-16; 99-646, eff. 7-28-16;

 

 

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199-687, eff. 1-1-17; 100-201, eff. 8-18-17; 100-465, eff.
28-31-17; 100-646, eff. 7-27-18.)
 
3    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
4becoming law.