102ND GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2021 and 2022
HB2818

 

Introduced 2/19/2021, by Rep. Brad Halbrook

 

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
 
5 ILCS 120/1.02  from Ch. 102, par. 41.02
5 ILCS 140/2  from Ch. 116, par. 202

    Amends the Open Meetings Act and the Freedom of Information Act. Modifies the term "public body" under the respective Acts to include all other units of government, including, but not limited to, township road districts of this State, and any combination of public body entities formed under an intergovernmental agreement that includes provisions for a governing body of the agency created by the agreement.


LRB102 14536 RJF 19889 b

 

 

A BILL FOR

 

HB2818LRB102 14536 RJF 19889 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 1.02 as follows:
 
6    (5 ILCS 120/1.02)  (from Ch. 102, par. 41.02)
7    Sec. 1.02. For the purposes of this Act:
8    "Meeting" means any gathering, whether in person or by
9video or audio conference, telephone call, electronic means
10(such as, without limitation, electronic mail, electronic
11chat, and instant messaging), or other means of
12contemporaneous interactive communication, of a majority of a
13quorum of the members of a public body held for the purpose of
14discussing public business or, for a 5-member public body, a
15quorum of the members of a public body held for the purpose of
16discussing public business.
17    Accordingly, for a 5-member public body, 3 members of the
18body constitute a quorum and the affirmative vote of 3 members
19is necessary to adopt any motion, resolution, or ordinance,
20unless a greater number is otherwise required.
21    "Public body" includes all legislative, executive,
22administrative or advisory bodies of the State, counties,
23townships, cities, villages, incorporated towns, school

 

 

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1districts and all other municipal corporations, boards,
2bureaus, committees, or commissions, or any other units of
3government, including, but not limited to, township road
4districts, of this State, and any subsidiary bodies of any of
5the foregoing including but not limited to committees and
6subcommittees which are supported in whole or in part by tax
7revenue, or which expend tax revenue, except the General
8Assembly and committees or commissions thereof, and any
9combination of the above entities formed under an
10intergovernmental agreement that includes provisions for a
11governing body of the agency created by the agreement. "Public
12body" includes tourism boards and convention or civic center
13boards located in counties that are contiguous to the
14Mississippi River with populations of more than 250,000 but
15less than 300,000. "Public body" includes the Health
16Facilities and Services Review Board. "Public body" does not
17include a child death review team or the Illinois Child Death
18Review Teams Executive Council established under the Child
19Death Review Team Act, an ethics commission acting under the
20State Officials and Employees Ethics Act, a regional youth
21advisory board or the Statewide Youth Advisory Board
22established under the Department of Children and Family
23Services Statewide Youth Advisory Board Act, or the Illinois
24Independent Tax Tribunal.
25(Source: P.A. 97-1129, eff. 8-28-12; 98-806, eff. 1-1-15.)
 

 

 

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1    Section 10. The Freedom of Information Act is amended by
2changing Section 2 as follows:
 
3    (5 ILCS 140/2)  (from Ch. 116, par. 202)
4    Sec. 2. Definitions. As used in this Act:
5    (a) "Public body" means all legislative, executive,
6administrative, or advisory bodies of the State, state
7universities and colleges, counties, townships, cities,
8villages, incorporated towns, school districts and all other
9municipal corporations, boards, bureaus, committees, or
10commissions, or any other units of government, including, but
11not limited to, township road districts, of this State, any
12subsidiary bodies of any of the foregoing including but not
13limited to committees and subcommittees thereof, and a School
14Finance Authority created under Article 1E of the School Code,
15and any combination of the above entities formed under an
16intergovernmental agreement that includes provisions for a
17governing body of the agency created by the agreement. "Public
18body" does not include a child death review team or the
19Illinois Child Death Review Teams Executive Council
20established under the Child Death Review Team Act, or a
21regional youth advisory board or the Statewide Youth Advisory
22Board established under the Department of Children and Family
23Services Statewide Youth Advisory Board Act.
24    (b) "Person" means any individual, corporation,
25partnership, firm, organization or association, acting

 

 

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1individually or as a group.
2    (c) "Public records" means all records, reports, forms,
3writings, letters, memoranda, books, papers, maps,
4photographs, microfilms, cards, tapes, recordings, electronic
5data processing records, electronic communications, recorded
6information and all other documentary materials pertaining to
7the transaction of public business, regardless of physical
8form or characteristics, having been prepared by or for, or
9having been or being used by, received by, in the possession
10of, or under the control of any public body.
11    (c-5) "Private information" means unique identifiers,
12including a person's social security number, driver's license
13number, employee identification number, biometric identifiers,
14personal financial information, passwords or other access
15codes, medical records, home or personal telephone numbers,
16and personal email addresses. Private information also
17includes home address and personal license plates, except as
18otherwise provided by law or when compiled without possibility
19of attribution to any person.
20    (c-10) "Commercial purpose" means the use of any part of a
21public record or records, or information derived from public
22records, in any form for sale, resale, or solicitation or
23advertisement for sales or services. For purposes of this
24definition, requests made by news media and non-profit,
25scientific, or academic organizations shall not be considered
26to be made for a "commercial purpose" when the principal

 

 

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1purpose of the request is (i) to access and disseminate
2information concerning news and current or passing events,
3(ii) for articles of opinion or features of interest to the
4public, or (iii) for the purpose of academic, scientific, or
5public research or education.
6    (d) "Copying" means the reproduction of any public record
7by means of any photographic, electronic, mechanical or other
8process, device or means now known or hereafter developed and
9available to the public body.
10    (e) "Head of the public body" means the president, mayor,
11chairman, presiding officer, director, superintendent,
12manager, supervisor or individual otherwise holding primary
13executive and administrative authority for the public body, or
14such person's duly authorized designee.
15    (f) "News media" means a newspaper or other periodical
16issued at regular intervals whether in print or electronic
17format, a news service whether in print or electronic format,
18a radio station, a television station, a television network, a
19community antenna television service, or a person or
20corporation engaged in making news reels or other motion
21picture news for public showing.
22    (g) "Recurrent requester", as used in Section 3.2 of this
23Act, means a person that, in the 12 months immediately
24preceding the request, has submitted to the same public body
25(i) a minimum of 50 requests for records, (ii) a minimum of 15
26requests for records within a 30-day period, or (iii) a

 

 

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1minimum of 7 requests for records within a 7-day period. For
2purposes of this definition, requests made by news media and
3non-profit, scientific, or academic organizations shall not be
4considered in calculating the number of requests made in the
5time periods in this definition when the principal purpose of
6the requests is (i) to access and disseminate information
7concerning news and current or passing events, (ii) for
8articles of opinion or features of interest to the public, or
9(iii) for the purpose of academic, scientific, or public
10research or education.
11    For the purposes of this subsection (g), "request" means a
12written document (or oral request, if the public body chooses
13to honor oral requests) that is submitted to a public body via
14personal delivery, mail, telefax, electronic mail, or other
15means available to the public body and that identifies the
16particular public record the requester seeks. One request may
17identify multiple records to be inspected or copied.
18    (h) "Voluminous request" means a request that: (i)
19includes more than 5 individual requests for more than 5
20different categories of records or a combination of individual
21requests that total requests for more than 5 different
22categories of records in a period of 20 business days; or (ii)
23requires the compilation of more than 500 letter or
24legal-sized pages of public records unless a single requested
25record exceeds 500 pages. "Single requested record" may
26include, but is not limited to, one report, form, e-mail,

 

 

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1letter, memorandum, book, map, microfilm, tape, or recording.
2    "Voluminous request" does not include a request made by
3news media and non-profit, scientific, or academic
4organizations if the principal purpose of the request is: (1)
5to access and disseminate information concerning news and
6current or passing events; (2) for articles of opinion or
7features of interest to the public; or (3) for the purpose of
8academic, scientific, or public research or education.
9    For the purposes of this subsection (h), "request" means a
10written document, or oral request, if the public body chooses
11to honor oral requests, that is submitted to a public body via
12personal delivery, mail, telefax, electronic mail, or other
13means available to the public body and that identifies the
14particular public record or records the requester seeks. One
15request may identify multiple individual records to be
16inspected or copied.
17    (i) "Severance agreement" means a mutual agreement between
18any public body and its employee for the employee's
19resignation in exchange for payment by the public body.
20(Source: P.A. 98-806, eff. 1-1-15; 98-1129, eff. 12-3-14;
2199-78, eff. 7-20-15; 99-478, eff. 6-1-16.)