Rep. Dwight Kay

Filed: 3/19/2015

 

 


 

 


 
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1
AMENDMENT TO HOUSE BILL 248

2    AMENDMENT NO. ______. Amend House Bill 248 by replacing
3everything after the enacting clause with the following:
 
4    "Section 5. The Open Meetings Act is amended by changing
5Section 3 as follows:
 
6    (5 ILCS 120/3)  (from Ch. 102, par. 43)
7    Sec. 3. (a) Where the provisions of this Act are not
8complied with, or where there is probable cause to believe that
9the provisions of this Act will not be complied with, any
10person, including the State's Attorney of the county in which
11such noncompliance may occur, may bring a civil action in the
12circuit court for the judicial circuit in which the alleged
13noncompliance has occurred or is about to occur, or in which
14the affected public body has its principal office, prior to or
15within 60 days of the meeting alleged to be in violation of
16this Act or, if facts concerning the meeting are not discovered

 

 

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1within the 60-day period, within 60 days of the discovery of a
2violation by the State's Attorney.
3    Records that are obtained by a State's Attorney from a
4public body for purposes of reviewing whether the public body
5has complied with this Act may not be disclosed to the public.
6Those records, while in the possession of the State's Attorney,
7are exempt from disclosure under the Freedom of Information
8Act.
9    (b) In deciding such a case the court may examine in camera
10any portion of the minutes of a meeting at which a violation of
11the Act is alleged to have occurred, and may take such
12additional evidence as it deems necessary.
13    (c) The court, having due regard for orderly administration
14and the public interest, as well as for the interests of the
15parties, may grant such relief as it deems appropriate,
16including granting a relief by mandamus requiring that a
17meeting be open to the public, granting an injunction against
18future violations of this Act, ordering the public body to make
19available to the public such portion of the minutes of a
20meeting as is not authorized to be kept confidential under this
21Act, or declaring null and void any final action taken at a
22closed meeting in violation of this Act, or declaring null and
23void a final action taken at an open meeting in violation of
24this Act, but only if a civil action alleging the violation is
25commenced within 60 days of that meeting and the alleged
26violation is directly and substantially related to that final

 

 

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1action.
2    (d) The court may assess against any party, except a
3State's Attorney, reasonable attorney's fees and other
4litigation costs reasonably incurred by any other party who
5substantially prevails in any action brought in accordance with
6this Section, provided that costs may be assessed against any
7private party or parties bringing an action pursuant to this
8Section only upon the court's determination that the action is
9malicious or frivolous in nature.
10(Source: P.A. 96-542, eff. 1-1-10.)
 
11    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
12becoming law.".