HB1855 - FOIA-JUDICIAL BRANCH
Amends the Freedom of Information Act. Provides that, for purposes of the Act, "public body" includes the judicial branch and components of the judicial branch of the State. Exempts records that pertain to the preparation of judicial opinions and orders. Excludes denials of requests of records from the judicial branch or components of the judicial branch from the jurisdiction of the Public Access Counselor.
HB2137 - LOCAL GOVERNMENT-TECH
The bill amends the Governmental Account Audit Act, the Counties Code, and the Illinois Municipal Code. Provides that if a governmental unit, county, or municipality maintains a website, the governmental unit, county, or municipality shall post on the website information describing where all audit or financial reports of the governmental unit, county, or municipality are accessible to the public, including a link to the Comptroller's website.
HB2421 - FOIA-CRIM JUSTICE AGENCY
Amends the Freedom of Information Act. Exempts from inspection and copying a law enforcement record created for law enforcement purposes and contained in a shared electronic record management system if the law enforcement agency or criminal justice agency (rather than only the law enforcement agency) that is the recipient of the request did not create the record, did not participate in or have a role in any of the events which are the subject of the record, and only has access to the record through the shared electronic record management system.
HB2582 - OPEN MEETINGS ACT
Amends the Open Meetings Act. Provides that for a 3-member body, 2 members of the body constitute a quorum, and the affirmative vote of 2 members is necessary to adopt any motion, resolution, or ordinance unless a greater number is otherwise provided. Provides that a Chicago Police District Council may hold a closed meeting involving public safety concerns to discuss (i) an ongoing, prior, or future law enforcement or official misconduct investigation or allegation thereof involving specific individuals or (ii) other topics that if discussed in an open meeting would pose an unreasonable risk to an ongoing criminal investigation or an unreasonable risk to the safety of specific individuals. Provides that an agenda for each regular meeting of a public body must be posted the principal office of the public body if such an office exists. Provides that if a public body has a website that is maintained by its full-time staff but does not have a principal office or single building where meetings are regularly held, that body is deemed to have complied with the requirement to post physical notice at the office or building of the meeting if the notice is timely posted on the public body's website. Excludes from the definition of "meeting" for a Chicago Police District Council a gathering of 2 members, except if gathered for a regularly scheduled meeting or otherwise gathered to adopt any motion, resolution, or ordinance. Provides a Chicago Police District Council may hold meetings by audio or video conference without the physical presence of the members under certain conditions except for required regularly scheduled meetings.
HB2882 - FOIA-RESPONSE PERIODS
Amends the Freedom of Information Act. Provides that each public body shall, promptly, either comply with or deny a request for public records within 15 business days (rather than 5 business days) after its receipt of the request, unless extended for an additional 10 business days (rather than 5 business days) for specified reasons. Provides that commercial requests must be responded to within 30 business days (rather than 21 working days).
HB2884 - FOIA-CLOSED MTG MINUTES
Amends the Freedom of Information Act. Provides that, if the denial of a request includes a request for minutes or a verbatim record of a meeting of the public body closed to the public as provided in the Open Meetings Act that have not been previously made available for public inspection, suit may be filed under a specified provision only after a 60-day period following (i) the receipt of the request by the public body or (ii) the issuance of a binding or non-binding opinion from the Public Access Counselor, whichever is later, to allow for review of the requested records as provided under the Open Meetings Act.
HB2888 - FOIA-FEES AND COSTS
Amends the Freedom of Information Act. In provisions regarding the authority to charge fees and the imposition of a fee for a voluminous request, removes requirements for an accounting of all personnel hours in connection with the request for public records.
HB2890 - OPEN MTGS-NOTICE OF CHANGES
Amends the Open Meetings Act. In provisions regarding notice of changes to regular meeting dates, deletes requirements for publication in a newspaper or, in certain cases, posting in at least 3 prominent places within the governmental unit. Adds a requirement that notice of changes to regular meeting dates shall also be posted on the website of the public body.
HB3032 - OPEN MEETINGS-ADVISORY BODY
Amends the Open Meetings Act. Provides that an advisory body may conduct an open or closed meeting by audio or video conference without the physical presence of a quorum of its members if certain conditions are met. Defines "advisory body" and "decision-making body". Makes technical changes.
HB3465 - CD CORR-ELECTRON MONITOR-FOIA
Amends the Freedom of Information Act. Provides that "public records" includes records of the names of persons on electronic monitoring and the number of times a person on electronic monitoring has violated the terms of electronic monitoring and includes court records of that information. Provides that notwithstanding any other provision of the Act to the contrary, the Act does not authorize withholding of information or limit the availability of records to the public that contain the names of persons on electronic monitoring and the number of times a person on electronic monitoring has violated the terms of electronic monitoring. Amends the Unified Code of Corrections. Provides that these records are public records and subject to disclosure, inspection, and copying under the Freedom of Information Act.
HB3515 - FOIA-COMMERCIAL PURPOSES
Amends the Freedom of Information Act. Provides that, for purposes of the Act, "commercial purpose" includes any use or purpose that furthers the commercial, trade, or profit interests of the requester or the person on whose behalf a request is made. Provides that, for purposes of the Act, "news media" does not include Internet sites, social media channels, or other sites or applications that post law enforcement videos in exchange for compensation based on the number of views. Provides that a public body may charge up to $40 for each hour spent by personnel in searching for, retrieving, reviewing, redacting, and reproducing audio and video records except for the first 8 hours spent by personnel in searching for or retrieving a requested record. Amends the Law Enforcement Officer-Worn Body Camera Act. Provides that requests for a commercial purpose, as defined in the Freedom of Information Act, are not subject to provisions of the Act requiring the release of body-camera footage that has been flagged for specified reasons.
HB4395 - FOIA-JUDICIAL BRANCH
House Bill 4395 proposes significant amendments to the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) to expand its scope to include the judicial branch. Currently, FOIA primarily applies to legislative and executive bodies; this bill specifically redefines "public body" to include the judicial branch and all its various components. By doing so, it subjects the administrative and operational records of the Illinois court system to the same transparency requirements as other branches of state and local government.
The legislation includes specific protections for judicial deliberations, exempting any records that pertain to the preparation of judicial opinions and orders. This ensures that the internal decision-making process of judges remains confidential while opening up other administrative records to public scrutiny. Additionally, the bill modifies the enforcement process for these new requirements by excluding the judicial branch from the jurisdiction of the Public Access Counselor regarding record denials. This means that if a request for judicial records is denied, the resolution of that dispute would likely follow a different path than denials from executive agencies.
HB4408 - FOIA-VICTIM INFORMATION
Amends the Freedom of Information Act. Provides that records in the possession of any public body created in the course of administrative enforcement proceedings, and any law enforcement or correctional agency for law enforcement purposes, that contain the name, address, or other identifying information or contact information of a person who is under the age of 18 years old and who is a victim of sexual abuse, sexual assault, or sexual violence are exempt from inspection and copying under certain provisions regarding a public body redacting the exempt information.
HB4409 - FOIA-POLICE REDACTIONS 10 DAYS
Amends the Freedom of Information Act. Provides that a law enforcement or correctional agency shall, promptly, either comply with or deny a request for public records within 15 business days (rather than within 5 business days) after its receipt of the request, unless the time for response is properly extended under certain provisions. Allows for an extension for not more than 15 business days from the original due date for the reason that the requested records are records that are partially exempt from disclosure but that require blurring of body camera footage by a law enforcement or correctional agency or other redactions by a law enforcement or correctional agency before making the remaining requested information available for inspection and copying.
HB4444 - FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT-FEE
Amends the Freedom of Information Act. Provides that a public body may charge the actual cost (rather than up to $10) for each hour spent by personnel in searching for and retrieving a requesting record or in examining the record for necessary redactions. Specifies that no fees shall be charged for the first 2 hours (rather than the first 8 hours) spent by personnel searching for or retrieving a requested record. Deletes a provision that limits the applicability of these cost recovery provisions to commercial requests.
HB4445 - FOIA-COMMERCIAL BODY CAMERA
Amends the Freedom of Information Act. Provides that, if a public body determines that a request for a body-worn camera recording is reasonably likely to be used for a commercial purpose, then the public body's response to the requester shall inform the requester: (1) if the recording contains one or more identifiable subjects; (2) that use of the recording for any commercial purpose triggers obligations under the provisions if the recording contains an identifiable subject; and (3) that failure to comply with the provisions may result in civil liability. Provides that prior to disclosing a body-worn camera recording to a requester, the public body shall provide written notice to each identifiable subject in the recording that is known to the public body. Provides that prior to any publication, posting, dissemination, or distribution, a person intending to use a body-worn camera recording for a commercial purpose must provide written notice to each identifiable subject. Provides that, if a person engages in a profit-derived use of a body-worn camera recording, then the person shall remit not less than 50% of the gross revenues derived from the use of the body-worn camera recording to the identifiable subjects depicted in the recording. Provides that an identifiable subject who is aggrieved by a violation of the provisions may bring a civil action against any person who violates the provisions or who knowingly directs, assists, or benefits from a violation of the provisions. Provides that a person who is aggrieved by a violation of the provisions may recover damages and any other appropriate relief, including reasonable attorney's fees. Provides that nothing in the provisions shall be construed to limit, diminish, or adversely affect any rights, remedies, causes of actions, or protections under any other State or federal law. Provides that a public body, its officers, and its employees are immune from liability for any failure by a person other than the public body to comply with the provisions. Defines "body-worn camera recording", "identifiable subject", "profit-derived use", "duration of appearance", and "officer-worn body camera".
HB4446 - POLICE BODY CAMERA RECORD
Amends the Law Enforcement Officer-Worn Body Camera Act. In provisions concerning whether recordings made with the use of an officer-worn body camera are subject to disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act, provides that any recording disclosed under the Freedom of Information Act may, rather than shall, be redacted to remove identification of any person that appears on the recording and is not an officer, a subject of the encounter, or directly involved in the encounter. Provides that nothing in the provisions shall prohibit the disclosure of any recording or portion of any recording regardless of whether it would be exempt from disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act, rather than require the disclosure of any recording or portion of any recording which would be exempt from disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act.
HB4563 - PROP TX-ASSESSMENT LIST
Amends the Property Tax Code. In provisions concerning the publication of assessments, provides that, if no newspaper is published in the county, then the publication shall be printed in a public newspaper of general circulation in the county. Provides that, in counties with less than 3,000,000 inhabitants, the county assessor may, in lieu of other publication methods provided by law, publish the list of assessments on the county website. Effective immediately.
HB4597 - FOIA-POLICE BODY CAM RECORDING
Amends the Freedom of Information Act. Provides that a public body may impose a fee upon a requester for the actual, necessary, and direct cost of redacting recorded audio or video content recordings made under the Law Enforcement Officer-Worn Body Camera Act. Provides that the public body may not impose the fee under specified circumstances. Requires the public body to provide the requester, in writing, with an estimate of the amount of the fee to be charged before before fulfilling the request.
HB4677 - LOCAL GOVERNMENT-TECH
Amends the Local Government Electronic Notification Act. Makes a technical change in a Section concerning the short title.
HB4681 - FOIA-MASS REQ & VEXATIOUS REQ
Amends the Freedom of Information Act. Changes the definition of "commercial purpose". Defines "business day" or "working day", as well as "mass requester" and "vexatious requester". Requires a public body to respond to a request for records submitted by a mass requester within 21 days after receipt. Sets forth procedures and requirements regarding mass requesters. Provides that it is a violation of the Act to knowingly obtain a public record as a mass requester without disclosing the person's status as a mass requester, if requested to do so by the public body. Requires persons denied access to inspect or copy any public record to first notify the public body of intent to file suit and provide an opportunity to confer orally, within 10 business days after receipt of the notification, about curing or resolving the issue. Requires a court to award a public body attorney's fees and costs against a commercial purpose requester, a recurrent requester, a mass requester, or a vexatious requester. Allows a public body to petition the Public Access Counselor for relief from a requester that the public body alleges is a vexatious requester, including an order that the public body need not comply with the current request and other requests from the vexatious requester for up to one year. Sets forth procedures and requirements regarding vexatious requesters. Makes conforming changes.
HB4682 - FOIA-REPEAT COMMERCIAL REQUEST
Amends the Freedom of Information Act. Provides that repeated requests for commercial purposes shall be deemed unduly burdensome if the requests are from the same person and seek similar or updated records.
HB4683 - FOIA-MASS REQUESTER
Amends the Freedom of Information Act. Requires a public body to respond to a request for records submitted by a mass requester within 21 business days after receipt. Requires the response to (i) provide to the requester an estimate of the time required by the public body to provide the records requested and an estimate of the fees to be charged, which the public body may require the person to pay in full before copying the requested documents, (ii) deny the request pursuant to one or more of the exemptions set out in the Act, (iii) notify the requester that the request is unduly burdensome and extend an opportunity to the requester to attempt to reduce the request to manageable proportions, or (iv) provide the records requested. Provides that, unless the records are exempt from disclosure, a public body shall comply with a request for records within a reasonable period considering the size and complexity of the request and giving priority to records requested by requesters who are not mass requesters. Provides that it is a violation of the Act for a person to knowingly obtain a public record without disclosing the person's status as a mass requester, if requested to do so by the public body, within 5 business days. Allows the public body to deny the request based upon the violation. Requires a mass requester to notify the public body of an objection before seeking review of a denial of a request with the Public Access Counselor, and requires review by a Public Access Counselor before judicial review. Limits awards of attorney's fees to mass requesters under the Act. Defines "mass requester". Makes conforming changes.
HB4684 - FOIA-PURPOSELESS MASS REQUEST
Amends the Freedom of Information Act. Changes the definition of "commercial purpose". Defines "purposeless mass request". Provides that a public body may designate a request as a purposeless mass request under specified conditions. Establishes procedures for notice, requester response, and a final determination concerning the request. Sets timelines for processing such requests and authorizes responses to them. Prohibits attorney's fees in actions where the public body reasonably determined a request was a purposeless mass request.
HB4888 - LOC GOV-RECORD DISPOSAL
Amends the Local Records Act. Provides that, except as otherwise provided by law, no public record shall be disposed of by any officer or agency unless in compliance with an application for authority to dispose of local records (rather than unless the written approval of the appropriate Local Records Commission is first obtained). Defines "application for authority to dispose of local records".
HB5145 - FOIA-LAW ENFORCEMENT RECORDS
Amends the Freedom of Information Act. Specifies that the Act is not intended to circumvent the process used by the courts to address whether arrest and booking records, mug shots, body-worn camera footage, in-car camera footage, 9-1-1 audio files, crime scene photographs, or other similar law enforcement records are to be made publicly available, except when those records may be relevant to a current or potential case or claim by the requester. Increases the cap on the fee that may be imposed for black and white copies from 15 cents per page to 25 cents per page. Makes changes to the fees public bodies may charge for time spent by personnel in searching for and retrieving a requested record or examining the record for necessary redactions. Exempts from disclosure under the Act specified law enforcement records, except when those records may be relevant to a current or potential case or claim by the requester.
HB5224 - ELECTRONIC FILING DOCUMENTS
Amends the Code of Civil Procedure. Provides that an electronic filing system approved by or maintained by the Supreme Court of Illinois, a State agency, or a unit of local government may be used for the filing of documents. Provides that, as soon as reasonably practicable after an electronic filing system receives and files a document, the system shall electronically notify the court, State agency, or unit of local government in which the document was filed of the filing, the person who requested the document to be filed, and the persons and entities on whom the document was served by the system. Provides that the electronic notice is proof of filing and service of that document, and no additional proof of filing or service of that document is required. Provides that proof of service of documents on persons or entities who do not receive service from the electronic filing system shall be as otherwise required by law.
HB5307 - NOTICE BY PUB-ONLINE MEDIA
Amends the Notice by Publication Act. Provides that when any notice is required by law, court order, or by any contract, to be published in a newspaper, it is considered to be in compliance with the publication requirements if published in an online news media or digital news media platform as long as the media or platform serves the locale in which the notice is required to be published. "Online news media" or "digital news platform" means any website or digital platform that is regularly updated with content at least 5 days per week, has maintained this frequency of publication for no less than one year, and serves the geographic area relevant to the notice. Provides that the provision applies to all notices required to be published on or after the effective date of the amendatory Act.
HB5406 - FOIA-BUSINESS DAY
Amends the Freedom of Information Act. Defines "business day" as Monday through Friday, not including Saturday, Sunday, and specified holidays. In provisions regarding requests for commercial purposes, changes a reference to 21 working days to a reference to 21 business days.
HB5484 - FOIA PRIVATE INFO-GENDER
Amends the Freedom of Information Act. In the definition of "private information", includes gender identity, sexual orientation, and gender expression.
HB5608 - OMA&FOIA-NGO
Amends the Open Meetings Act and the Freedom of Information Act. Changes the definitions of "public body" in the Acts to include a nongovernmental organization that receives the lesser of $10,000 or 20% of its funding from the State.
HB5613 - OMA&FOIA-NGO
Amends the Open Meetings Act and the Freedom of Information Act. Changes the definitions of "public body" in the Acts to include a nongovernmental organization that receives the lesser of $10,000 or 20% of its funding from the State.
SB1796 - BODY CAMERAS-FOIA REQUESTS
Amends the Law Enforcement Officer-Worn Body Camera Act. Provides that a law enforcement agency shall disclose a recording made with the use of an officer-worn body camera, upon request, to (i) the subject of the encounter captured on the recording, (ii) the legal representative of the subject of the encounter captured on the recording, (iii) the officer who wore the camera that made the recording, (iv) the legal representative of the officer who wore the camera that made the recording, (v) a person who has written permission from the subject of the encounter to receive the recording, or (vi) a person who has written permission from the officer who wore the camera that made the recording to receive the recording. Provides that all recordings made with an officer-worn body camera may (rather than must) be destroyed after 90 days, unless any encounter captured on the recording has been flagged. Makes changes to the definition of "law enforcement officer" in the Act. Amends the Eavesdropping Article to the Criminal Code of 2012. Provides that recordings made in accordance with the Law Enforcement Officer-Worn Body Camera Act are exempt from the Article. Effective immediately.
SB2715 - FOIA - VEXATIOUS LITIGANTS
Bill as Introduced
If and only if Senate Bill 243 of the 104th General Assembly, as amended by House Amendment No. 1, becomes law, then the Open Meetings Act is amended to allow a public body to hold closed meetings to consider self evaluation, practices and procedures, or professional ethics, when meeting with a representative of a statewide association (rather than a statewide or regional association) of which the public body is a member. Effective upon becoming law or on the date Senate Bill 243 of the 104th General Assembly takes effect, whichever is later.
House Floor Amendment 5 (Support)
SB3218 - FOIA-LAW ENFORCEMENT RECORDS
Amends the Freedom of Information Act. Specifies that the Act is not intended to circumvent the process used by the courts to address whether arrest and booking records, mug shots, body-worn camera footage, in-car camera footage, 9-1-1 audio files, crime scene photographs, or other similar law enforcement records are to be made publicly available, except when those records may be relevant to a current or potential case or claim by the requester. Increases the cap on the fee that may be imposed for black and white copies from 15 cents per page to 25 cents per page. Makes changes to the fees public bodies may charge for time spent by personnel in searching for and retrieving a requested record or examining the record for necessary redactions. Exempts from disclosure under the Act specified law enforcement records, except when those records may be relevant to a current or potential case or claim by the requester.
SB3243 - PROPERTY ASSESSMENT LISTS
Amends the Counties Code. Provides that any recorder may publish property assessment lists in a newspaper of general circulation in the county or on the county's public-facing website.
SB3378 - NOTICE BY PUB-ONLINE MEDIA
Amends the Notice by Publication Act. Provides that when any notice is required by law, court order, or by any contract, to be published in a newspaper, it is considered to be in compliance with the publication requirements if published in an online news media or digital news media platform as long as the media or platform serves the locale in which the notice is required to be published. "Online news media" or "digital news platform" means any website or digital platform that is regularly updated with content at least 5 days per week, has maintained this frequency of publication for no less than one year, and serves the geographic area relevant to the notice. Provides that the provision applies to all notices required to be published on or after the effective date of the amendatory Act.
SB3551 - GOVT COMMUNICATION SECURITY
Creates the Government Communications Transparency and Security Act. Prohibits a government entity, government officer, or government employee from downloading, installing, accessing, activating, or using an end-to-end encryption platform with autodeletion on a government communication device. Prohibits an Internet service provider, telecommunications carrier, server operator, mobile application marketplace, or digital platform doing business in the State from enabling the download, installation, activation, or operation of an end-to-end encryption platform with autodeletion on a government communication device. Requires Internet service providers, telecommunications carriers, and digital platforms to implement reasonable technological measures to block access to, installation of, or operation of end-to-end encryption platforms with autodeletion on government communication devices. Establishes penalties for violations. Authorizes the Attorney General or an Illinois taxpayer to bring suit to enforce the Act, with recovery of attorney's fees and costs. Requires the Department of Innovation and Technology to adopt rules. Defines terms. Effective January 1, 2027.
SB3673 - ELEC CD-VOTER EDUCATION
Amends the Election Code. Any election authority maintaining a website shall publish, no later than the 45 days before a general election, an Internet Guide containing specified information. Sets forth provisions concerning language access and the election authority's review of candidate photographs, campaign finance attestations, and statements to be included in the Internet Guide. Makes changes in provisions concerning the Internet Guide published by the State Board of Elections.
SB3715 - PROP TX-ASSESSMENT LIST
Amends the Property Tax Code. In provisions concerning the publication of assessments, provides that, if no newspaper is published in the county, then the publication shall be printed in a public newspaper of general circulation in the county. Provides that, in counties with less than 3,000,000 inhabitants, the county assessor may, in lieu of other publication methods provided by law, publish the list of assessments on the county website. Effective immediately.