102ND GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2021 and 2022
HB4642

 

Introduced 1/21/2022, by Rep. Robyn Gabel

 

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
 
5 ILCS 140/2  from Ch. 116, par. 202
5 ILCS 140/7  from Ch. 116, par. 207

    Amends the Freedom of Information Act. Exempts from disclosure as private information all patient-related information that may be contained in any record held by a public hospital system outside of a medical records information system that alone or compiled, or under circumstances in which the patient information combined with other information could allow for patient identification, and also in compliance with State and federal medical privacy laws and regulations.


LRB102 24261 HEP 33492 b

 

 

A BILL FOR

 

HB4642LRB102 24261 HEP 33492 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 2 and 7 as follows:
 
6    (5 ILCS 140/2)  (from Ch. 116, par. 202)
7    Sec. 2. Definitions. As used in this Act:
8    (a) "Public body" means all legislative, executive,
9administrative, or advisory bodies of the State, state
10universities and colleges, counties, townships, cities,
11villages, incorporated towns, school districts and all other
12municipal corporations, boards, bureaus, committees, or
13commissions of this State, any subsidiary bodies of any of the
14foregoing including but not limited to committees and
15subcommittees thereof, and a School Finance Authority created
16under Article 1E of the School Code. "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, or a regional youth advisory board or
20the Statewide Youth Advisory Board established under the
21Department of Children and Family Services Statewide Youth
22Advisory Board Act.
23    (b) "Person" means any individual, corporation,

 

 

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1partnership, firm, organization or association, acting
2individually or as a group.
3    (c) "Public records" means all records, reports, forms,
4writings, letters, memoranda, books, papers, maps,
5photographs, microfilms, cards, tapes, recordings, electronic
6data processing records, electronic communications, recorded
7information and all other documentary materials pertaining to
8the transaction of public business, regardless of physical
9form or characteristics, having been prepared by or for, or
10having been or being used by, received by, in the possession
11of, or under the control of any public body.
12    (c-5) "Private information" means unique identifiers,
13including a person's social security number, driver's license
14number, employee identification number, biometric identifiers,
15personal financial information, passwords or other access
16codes, medical records (including electronic medical records
17and the information contained within or extracted from an
18electronic medical records system, including patient
19information that alone or compiled, or under circumstances in
20which the patient information combined with other information
21could allow for patient identification, in compliance with
22State and federal medical privacy laws and regulations,
23including, but not limited to, the Health Insurance
24Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) and its
25regulations, 45 CFR Parts 160 and 164), home or personal
26telephone numbers, and personal email addresses. Private

 

 

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1information also includes home address and personal license
2plates, except as otherwise provided by law or when compiled
3without possibility of attribution to any person.
4    (c-10) "Commercial purpose" means the use of any part of a
5public record or records, or information derived from public
6records, in any form for sale, resale, or solicitation or
7advertisement for sales or services. For purposes of this
8definition, requests made by news media and non-profit,
9scientific, or academic organizations shall not be considered
10to be made for a "commercial purpose" when the principal
11purpose of the request is (i) to access and disseminate
12information concerning news and current or passing events,
13(ii) for articles of opinion or features of interest to the
14public, or (iii) for the purpose of academic, scientific, or
15public research or education.
16    (d) "Copying" means the reproduction of any public record
17by means of any photographic, electronic, mechanical or other
18process, device or means now known or hereafter developed and
19available to the public body.
20    (e) "Head of the public body" means the president, mayor,
21chairman, presiding officer, director, superintendent,
22manager, supervisor or individual otherwise holding primary
23executive and administrative authority for the public body, or
24such person's duly authorized designee.
25    (f) "News media" means a newspaper or other periodical
26issued at regular intervals whether in print or electronic

 

 

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1format, a news service whether in print or electronic format,
2a radio station, a television station, a television network, a
3community antenna television service, or a person or
4corporation engaged in making news reels or other motion
5picture news for public showing.
6    (g) "Recurrent requester", as used in Section 3.2 of this
7Act, means a person that, in the 12 months immediately
8preceding the request, has submitted to the same public body
9(i) a minimum of 50 requests for records, (ii) a minimum of 15
10requests for records within a 30-day period, or (iii) a
11minimum of 7 requests for records within a 7-day period. For
12purposes of this definition, requests made by news media and
13non-profit, scientific, or academic organizations shall not be
14considered in calculating the number of requests made in the
15time periods in this definition when the principal purpose of
16the requests is (i) to access and disseminate information
17concerning news and current or passing events, (ii) for
18articles of opinion or features of interest to the public, or
19(iii) for the purpose of academic, scientific, or public
20research or education.
21    For the purposes of this subsection (g), "request" means a
22written document (or oral request, if the public body chooses
23to honor oral requests) that is submitted to a public body via
24personal delivery, mail, telefax, electronic mail, or other
25means available to the public body and that identifies the
26particular public record the requester seeks. One request may

 

 

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

 

 

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1    (i) "Severance agreement" means a mutual agreement between
2any public body and its employee for the employee's
3resignation in exchange for payment by the public body.
4(Source: P.A. 98-806, eff. 1-1-15; 98-1129, eff. 12-3-14;
599-78, eff. 7-20-15; 99-478, eff. 6-1-16.)
 
6    (5 ILCS 140/7)  (from Ch. 116, par. 207)
7    Sec. 7. Exemptions.
8    (1) When a request is made to inspect or copy a public
9record that contains information that is exempt from
10disclosure under this Section, but also contains information
11that is not exempt from disclosure, the public body may elect
12to redact the information that is exempt. The public body
13shall make the remaining information available for inspection
14and copying. Subject to this requirement, the following shall
15be exempt from inspection and copying:
16        (a) Information specifically prohibited from
17    disclosure by federal or State law or rules and
18    regulations implementing federal or State law.
19        (b) Private information, unless disclosure is required
20    by another provision of this Act, a State or federal law or
21    a court order.
22        (b-5) Files, documents, and other data or databases
23    maintained by one or more law enforcement agencies and
24    specifically designed to provide information to one or
25    more law enforcement agencies regarding the physical or

 

 

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1    mental status of one or more individual subjects.
2        (c) Personal information contained within public
3    records, the disclosure of which would constitute a
4    clearly unwarranted invasion of personal privacy, unless
5    the disclosure is consented to in writing by the
6    individual subjects of the information. "Unwarranted
7    invasion of personal privacy" means the disclosure of
8    information that is highly personal or objectionable to a
9    reasonable person and in which the subject's right to
10    privacy outweighs any legitimate public interest in
11    obtaining the information. The disclosure of information
12    that bears on the public duties of public employees and
13    officials shall not be considered an invasion of personal
14    privacy.
15        (d) Records in the possession of any public body
16    created in the course of administrative enforcement
17    proceedings, and any law enforcement or correctional
18    agency for law enforcement purposes, but only to the
19    extent that disclosure would:
20            (i) interfere with pending or actually and
21        reasonably contemplated law enforcement proceedings
22        conducted by any law enforcement or correctional
23        agency that is the recipient of the request;
24            (ii) interfere with active administrative
25        enforcement proceedings conducted by the public body
26        that is the recipient of the request;

 

 

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1            (iii) create a substantial likelihood that a
2        person will be deprived of a fair trial or an impartial
3        hearing;
4            (iv) unavoidably disclose the identity of a
5        confidential source, confidential information
6        furnished only by the confidential source, or persons
7        who file complaints with or provide information to
8        administrative, investigative, law enforcement, or
9        penal agencies; except that the identities of
10        witnesses to traffic accidents, traffic accident
11        reports, and rescue reports shall be provided by
12        agencies of local government, except when disclosure
13        would interfere with an active criminal investigation
14        conducted by the agency that is the recipient of the
15        request;
16            (v) disclose unique or specialized investigative
17        techniques other than those generally used and known
18        or disclose internal documents of correctional
19        agencies related to detection, observation or
20        investigation of incidents of crime or misconduct, and
21        disclosure would result in demonstrable harm to the
22        agency or public body that is the recipient of the
23        request;
24            (vi) endanger the life or physical safety of law
25        enforcement personnel or any other person; or
26            (vii) obstruct an ongoing criminal investigation

 

 

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1        by the agency that is the recipient of the request.
2        (d-5) A law enforcement record created for law
3    enforcement purposes and contained in a shared electronic
4    record management system if the law enforcement agency
5    that is the recipient of the request did not create the
6    record, did not participate in or have a role in any of the
7    events which are the subject of the record, and only has
8    access to the record through the shared electronic record
9    management system.
10        (d-6) Records contained in the Officer Professional
11    Conduct Database under Section 9.2 9.4 of the Illinois
12    Police Training Act, except to the extent authorized under
13    that Section. This includes the documents supplied to the
14    Illinois Law Enforcement Training Standards Board from the
15    Illinois State Police and Illinois State Police Merit
16    Board.
17        (e) Records that relate to or affect the security of
18    correctional institutions and detention facilities.
19        (e-5) Records requested by persons committed to the
20    Department of Corrections, Department of Human Services
21    Division of Mental Health, or a county jail if those
22    materials are available in the library of the correctional
23    institution or facility or jail where the inmate is
24    confined.
25        (e-6) Records requested by persons committed to the
26    Department of Corrections, Department of Human Services

 

 

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1    Division of Mental Health, or a county jail if those
2    materials include records from staff members' personnel
3    files, staff rosters, or other staffing assignment
4    information.
5        (e-7) Records requested by persons committed to the
6    Department of Corrections or Department of Human Services
7    Division of Mental Health if those materials are available
8    through an administrative request to the Department of
9    Corrections or Department of Human Services Division of
10    Mental Health.
11        (e-8) Records requested by a person committed to the
12    Department of Corrections, Department of Human Services
13    Division of Mental Health, or a county jail, the
14    disclosure of which would result in the risk of harm to any
15    person or the risk of an escape from a jail or correctional
16    institution or facility.
17        (e-9) Records requested by a person in a county jail
18    or committed to the Department of Corrections or
19    Department of Human Services Division of Mental Health,
20    containing personal information pertaining to the person's
21    victim or the victim's family, including, but not limited
22    to, a victim's home address, home telephone number, work
23    or school address, work telephone number, social security
24    number, or any other identifying information, except as
25    may be relevant to a requester's current or potential case
26    or claim.

 

 

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1        (e-10) Law enforcement records of other persons
2    requested by a person committed to the Department of
3    Corrections, Department of Human Services Division of
4    Mental Health, or a county jail, including, but not
5    limited to, arrest and booking records, mug shots, and
6    crime scene photographs, except as these records may be
7    relevant to the requester's current or potential case or
8    claim.
9        (f) Preliminary drafts, notes, recommendations,
10    memoranda and other records in which opinions are
11    expressed, or policies or actions are formulated, except
12    that a specific record or relevant portion of a record
13    shall not be exempt when the record is publicly cited and
14    identified by the head of the public body. The exemption
15    provided in this paragraph (f) extends to all those
16    records of officers and agencies of the General Assembly
17    that pertain to the preparation of legislative documents.
18        (g) Trade secrets and commercial or financial
19    information obtained from a person or business where the
20    trade secrets or commercial or financial information are
21    furnished under a claim that they are proprietary,
22    privileged, or confidential, and that disclosure of the
23    trade secrets or commercial or financial information would
24    cause competitive harm to the person or business, and only
25    insofar as the claim directly applies to the records
26    requested.

 

 

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1        The information included under this exemption includes
2    all trade secrets and commercial or financial information
3    obtained by a public body, including a public pension
4    fund, from a private equity fund or a privately held
5    company within the investment portfolio of a private
6    equity fund as a result of either investing or evaluating
7    a potential investment of public funds in a private equity
8    fund. The exemption contained in this item does not apply
9    to the aggregate financial performance information of a
10    private equity fund, nor to the identity of the fund's
11    managers or general partners. The exemption contained in
12    this item does not apply to the identity of a privately
13    held company within the investment portfolio of a private
14    equity fund, unless the disclosure of the identity of a
15    privately held company may cause competitive harm.
16        Nothing contained in this paragraph (g) shall be
17    construed to prevent a person or business from consenting
18    to disclosure.
19        (h) Proposals and bids for any contract, grant, or
20    agreement, including information which if it were
21    disclosed would frustrate procurement or give an advantage
22    to any person proposing to enter into a contractor
23    agreement with the body, until an award or final selection
24    is made. Information prepared by or for the body in
25    preparation of a bid solicitation shall be exempt until an
26    award or final selection is made.

 

 

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1        (i) Valuable formulae, computer geographic systems,
2    designs, drawings and research data obtained or produced
3    by any public body when disclosure could reasonably be
4    expected to produce private gain or public loss. The
5    exemption for "computer geographic systems" provided in
6    this paragraph (i) does not extend to requests made by
7    news media as defined in Section 2 of this Act when the
8    requested information is not otherwise exempt and the only
9    purpose of the request is to access and disseminate
10    information regarding the health, safety, welfare, or
11    legal rights of the general public.
12        (j) The following information pertaining to
13    educational matters:
14            (i) test questions, scoring keys and other
15        examination data used to administer an academic
16        examination;
17            (ii) information received by a primary or
18        secondary school, college, or university under its
19        procedures for the evaluation of faculty members by
20        their academic peers;
21            (iii) information concerning a school or
22        university's adjudication of student disciplinary
23        cases, but only to the extent that disclosure would
24        unavoidably reveal the identity of the student; and
25            (iv) course materials or research materials used
26        by faculty members.

 

 

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1        (k) Architects' plans, engineers' technical
2    submissions, and other construction related technical
3    documents for projects not constructed or developed in
4    whole or in part with public funds and the same for
5    projects constructed or developed with public funds,
6    including, but not limited to, power generating and
7    distribution stations and other transmission and
8    distribution facilities, water treatment facilities,
9    airport facilities, sport stadiums, convention centers,
10    and all government owned, operated, or occupied buildings,
11    but only to the extent that disclosure would compromise
12    security.
13        (l) Minutes of meetings of public bodies closed to the
14    public as provided in the Open Meetings Act until the
15    public body makes the minutes available to the public
16    under Section 2.06 of the Open Meetings Act.
17        (m) Communications between a public body and an
18    attorney or auditor representing the public body that
19    would not be subject to discovery in litigation, and
20    materials prepared or compiled by or for a public body in
21    anticipation of a criminal, civil, or administrative
22    proceeding upon the request of an attorney advising the
23    public body, and materials prepared or compiled with
24    respect to internal audits of public bodies.
25        (n) Records relating to a public body's adjudication
26    of employee grievances or disciplinary cases; however,

 

 

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1    this exemption shall not extend to the final outcome of
2    cases in which discipline is imposed.
3        (o) Administrative or technical information associated
4    with automated data processing operations, including, but
5    not limited to, software, operating protocols, computer
6    program abstracts, file layouts, source listings, object
7    modules, load modules, user guides, documentation
8    pertaining to all logical and physical design of
9    computerized systems, employee manuals, and any other
10    information that, if disclosed, would jeopardize the
11    security of the system or its data or the security of
12    materials exempt under this Section.
13        (p) Records relating to collective negotiating matters
14    between public bodies and their employees or
15    representatives, except that any final contract or
16    agreement shall be subject to inspection and copying.
17        (q) Test questions, scoring keys, and other
18    examination data used to determine the qualifications of
19    an applicant for a license or employment.
20        (r) The records, documents, and information relating
21    to real estate purchase negotiations until those
22    negotiations have been completed or otherwise terminated.
23    With regard to a parcel involved in a pending or actually
24    and reasonably contemplated eminent domain proceeding
25    under the Eminent Domain Act, records, documents, and
26    information relating to that parcel shall be exempt except

 

 

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1    as may be allowed under discovery rules adopted by the
2    Illinois Supreme Court. The records, documents, and
3    information relating to a real estate sale shall be exempt
4    until a sale is consummated.
5        (s) Any and all proprietary information and records
6    related to the operation of an intergovernmental risk
7    management association or self-insurance pool or jointly
8    self-administered health and accident cooperative or pool.
9    Insurance or self insurance (including any
10    intergovernmental risk management association or self
11    insurance pool) claims, loss or risk management
12    information, records, data, advice or communications.
13        (t) Information contained in or related to
14    examination, operating, or condition reports prepared by,
15    on behalf of, or for the use of a public body responsible
16    for the regulation or supervision of financial
17    institutions, insurance companies, or pharmacy benefit
18    managers, unless disclosure is otherwise required by State
19    law.
20        (u) Information that would disclose or might lead to
21    the disclosure of secret or confidential information,
22    codes, algorithms, programs, or private keys intended to
23    be used to create electronic signatures under the Uniform
24    Electronic Transactions Act.
25        (v) Vulnerability assessments, security measures, and
26    response policies or plans that are designed to identify,

 

 

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1    prevent, or respond to potential attacks upon a
2    community's population or systems, facilities, or
3    installations, the destruction or contamination of which
4    would constitute a clear and present danger to the health
5    or safety of the community, but only to the extent that
6    disclosure could reasonably be expected to jeopardize the
7    effectiveness of the measures or the safety of the
8    personnel who implement them or the public. Information
9    exempt under this item may include such things as details
10    pertaining to the mobilization or deployment of personnel
11    or equipment, to the operation of communication systems or
12    protocols, or to tactical operations.
13        (w) (Blank).
14        (x) Maps and other records regarding the location or
15    security of generation, transmission, distribution,
16    storage, gathering, treatment, or switching facilities
17    owned by a utility, by a power generator, or by the
18    Illinois Power Agency.
19        (y) Information contained in or related to proposals,
20    bids, or negotiations related to electric power
21    procurement under Section 1-75 of the Illinois Power
22    Agency Act and Section 16-111.5 of the Public Utilities
23    Act that is determined to be confidential and proprietary
24    by the Illinois Power Agency or by the Illinois Commerce
25    Commission.
26        (z) Information about students exempted from

 

 

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1    disclosure under Sections 10-20.38 or 34-18.29 of the
2    School Code, and information about undergraduate students
3    enrolled at an institution of higher education exempted
4    from disclosure under Section 25 of the Illinois Credit
5    Card Marketing Act of 2009.
6        (aa) Information the disclosure of which is exempted
7    under the Viatical Settlements Act of 2009.
8        (bb) Records and information provided to a mortality
9    review team and records maintained by a mortality review
10    team appointed under the Department of Juvenile Justice
11    Mortality Review Team Act.
12        (cc) Information regarding interments, entombments, or
13    inurnments of human remains that are submitted to the
14    Cemetery Oversight Database under the Cemetery Care Act or
15    the Cemetery Oversight Act, whichever is applicable.
16        (dd) Correspondence and records (i) that may not be
17    disclosed under Section 11-9 of the Illinois Public Aid
18    Code or (ii) that pertain to appeals under Section 11-8 of
19    the Illinois Public Aid Code.
20        (ee) The names, addresses, or other personal
21    information of persons who are minors and are also
22    participants and registrants in programs of park
23    districts, forest preserve districts, conservation
24    districts, recreation agencies, and special recreation
25    associations.
26        (ff) The names, addresses, or other personal

 

 

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1    information of participants and registrants in programs of
2    park districts, forest preserve districts, conservation
3    districts, recreation agencies, and special recreation
4    associations where such programs are targeted primarily to
5    minors.
6        (gg) Confidential information described in Section
7    1-100 of the Illinois Independent Tax Tribunal Act of
8    2012.
9        (hh) The report submitted to the State Board of
10    Education by the School Security and Standards Task Force
11    under item (8) of subsection (d) of Section 2-3.160 of the
12    School Code and any information contained in that report.
13        (ii) Records requested by persons committed to or
14    detained by the Department of Human Services under the
15    Sexually Violent Persons Commitment Act or committed to
16    the Department of Corrections under the Sexually Dangerous
17    Persons Act if those materials: (i) are available in the
18    library of the facility where the individual is confined;
19    (ii) include records from staff members' personnel files,
20    staff rosters, or other staffing assignment information;
21    or (iii) are available through an administrative request
22    to the Department of Human Services or the Department of
23    Corrections.
24        (jj) Confidential information described in Section
25    5-535 of the Civil Administrative Code of Illinois.
26        (kk) The public body's credit card numbers, debit card

 

 

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1    numbers, bank account numbers, Federal Employer
2    Identification Number, security code numbers, passwords,
3    and similar account information, the disclosure of which
4    could result in identity theft or impression or defrauding
5    of a governmental entity or a person.
6        (ll) Records concerning the work of the threat
7    assessment team of a school district.
8        (mm) All patient-related information that may be
9    contained in any record held by a public hospital system
10    outside of a medical records information system that alone
11    or compiled, or under circumstances in which the patient
12    information combined with other information could allow
13    for patient identification, and also in compliance with
14    State and federal medical privacy laws and regulations,
15    including, but not limited to, the Health Insurance
16    Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) and its
17    regulations, 45 CFR Parts 160 and 164.
18    (1.5) Any information exempt from disclosure under the
19Judicial Privacy Act shall be redacted from public records
20prior to disclosure under this Act.
21    (2) A public record that is not in the possession of a
22public body but is in the possession of a party with whom the
23agency has contracted to perform a governmental function on
24behalf of the public body, and that directly relates to the
25governmental function and is not otherwise exempt under this
26Act, shall be considered a public record of the public body,

 

 

HB4642- 21 -LRB102 24261 HEP 33492 b

1for purposes of this Act.
2    (3) This Section does not authorize withholding of
3information or limit the availability of records to the
4public, except as stated in this Section or otherwise provided
5in this Act.
6(Source: P.A. 101-434, eff. 1-1-20; 101-452, eff. 1-1-20;
7101-455, eff. 8-23-19; 101-652, eff. 1-1-22; 102-38, eff.
86-25-21; 102-558, eff. 8-20-21; revised 11-22-21.)