Illinois General Assembly - Bill Status for SB3273

Amends the Freedom of Information Act. Changes the definition of "commercial purpose" to mean the purpose or intent to use (rather than "the use of") any part of a public record or records, or information derived from public records, in any form for sale, resale, or solicitation or advertisement for sales or services or to otherwise further a commercial, trade, or profit interest or enterprise, as those terms are commonly understood. Provides that a public body may make its records available through any publicly accessible electronic means and may respond to a request by notifying the requester that the record is available through its Internet website or other publicly accessible electronic means. Provides procedures in the event that the requester is unwilling or unable to access the record electronically. Provides that a public body is not required to respond to a request for records to be used for a commercial purpose and makes corresponding changes. Provides that a person who knowingly obtains a public record for a commercial purpose without disclosing that it is for a commercial purpose after being requested to do so by the public body is liable to the public body for a civil penalty equal to 3 times the cost of time, materials, equipment, and personnel expended by the public body in copying or producing the record and for any attorney's fees and other costs incurred by the public body in collecting the penalty. Exempts from disclosure under the Act records relating to all employee performance reviews and personnel evaluations and records and all complaints and investigatory material relating to a public body's adjudication of employee grievances or disciplinary cases. Exempts from disclosure records relating to litigation of a civil or criminal nature to which the public body is or may be a party or to which an officer or employee of the public, as a consequence of the person's office or employment, is or may be a party. Provides that the Attorney General must make available on the website of the Office of the Attorney General a copy of each binding opinion, each advisory opinion, and, for any instance in which the Attorney General resolves a request for review by mediation or by means other than the issuance of a binding opinion, each nonbinding opinion or other correspondence or document that constitutes the final decision by the Attorney General in resolving that request for review.

×