102ND GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2021 and 2022
HB5121

 

Introduced 1/27/2022, by Rep. Deanne M. Mazzochi

 

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

    Amends the Freedom of Information Act. Provides that "voluminous request" does not include: a request made by a current member of the General Assembly to a State agency, particularly when the member seeks to engage in oversight over the State agency or requires information in connection with the preparation of legislation by the member of the General Assembly; or a request made by a current member of the General Assembly who is seeking information of interest to that member's constituents.


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A BILL FOR

 

HB5121LRB102 25079 HEP 34339 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 Section 2 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, home or personal telephone numbers,
17and personal email addresses. Private information also
18includes home address and personal license plates, except as
19otherwise provided by law or when compiled without possibility
20of attribution to any person.
21    (c-10) "Commercial purpose" means the use of any part of a
22public record or records, or information derived from public
23records, in any form for sale, resale, or solicitation or
24advertisement for sales or services. For purposes of this
25definition, requests made by news media and non-profit,
26scientific, or academic organizations shall not be considered

 

 

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

 

 

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1requests for records within a 30-day period, or (iii) a
2minimum of 7 requests for records within a 7-day period. For
3purposes of this definition, requests made by news media and
4non-profit, scientific, or academic organizations shall not be
5considered in calculating the number of requests made in the
6time periods in this definition when the principal purpose of
7the requests is (i) to access and disseminate information
8concerning news and current or passing events, (ii) for
9articles of opinion or features of interest to the public, or
10(iii) for the purpose of academic, scientific, or public
11research or education.
12    For the purposes of this subsection (g), "request" means a
13written document (or oral request, if the public body chooses
14to honor oral requests) that is submitted to a public body via
15personal delivery, mail, telefax, electronic mail, or other
16means available to the public body and that identifies the
17particular public record the requester seeks. One request may
18identify multiple records to be inspected or copied.
19    (h) "Voluminous request" means a request that: (i)
20includes more than 5 individual requests for more than 5
21different categories of records or a combination of individual
22requests that total requests for more than 5 different
23categories of records in a period of 20 business days; or (ii)
24requires the compilation of more than 500 letter or
25legal-sized pages of public records unless a single requested
26record exceeds 500 pages. "Single requested record" may

 

 

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1include, but is not limited to, one report, form, e-mail,
2letter, memorandum, book, map, microfilm, tape, or recording.
3    "Voluminous request" does not include a request made by
4news media and non-profit, scientific, or academic
5organizations if the principal purpose of the request is: (1)
6to access and disseminate information concerning news and
7current or passing events; (2) for articles of opinion or
8features of interest to the public; or (3) for the purpose of
9academic, scientific, or public research or education.
10    "Voluminous request" also does not include: a request made
11by a current member of the General Assembly to a State agency,
12particularly when the member seeks to engage in oversight over
13the State agency or requires information in connection with
14the preparation of legislation by the member of the General
15Assembly; or a request made by a current member of the General
16Assembly who is seeking information of interest to that
17member's constituents.
18    For the purposes of this subsection (h), "request" means a
19written document, or oral request, if the public body chooses
20to honor oral requests, that is submitted to a public body via
21personal delivery, mail, telefax, electronic mail, or other
22means available to the public body and that identifies the
23particular public record or records the requester seeks. One
24request may identify multiple individual records to be
25inspected or copied.
26    (i) "Severance agreement" means a mutual agreement between

 

 

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1any public body and its employee for the employee's
2resignation in exchange for payment by the public body.
3(Source: P.A. 98-806, eff. 1-1-15; 98-1129, eff. 12-3-14;
499-78, eff. 7-20-15; 99-478, eff. 6-1-16.)