Public Act 098-1129
 
HB3796 EnrolledLRB098 15774 OMW 50806 b



    AN ACT concerning government.

 
    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, 
represented in the General Assembly: 



 
    Section 5. The Freedom of Information Act is amended  by 
changing Sections 2, 3, 6, and 9.5 and  by adding Sections 3.6 
and 8.5 as follows:
 



    (5 ILCS 140/2)  (from Ch. 116, par. 202)



    Sec. 2. Definitions. As used in this Act:

    (a) "Public body" means all legislative,
executive, 
administrative, or advisory bodies of the State, state 
universities
and colleges, counties, townships, cities, 
villages, incorporated towns,
school districts and all other 
municipal corporations,
boards, bureaus, committees, or 
commissions of this State, any
subsidiary
bodies of any of the 
foregoing including but not limited to committees and

subcommittees thereof, and a School Finance Authority created 
under
Article 1E of the School Code.
 "Public body" does not 
include a child death review team
or the Illinois Child Death 
Review Teams
Executive Council
 established under
the Child 
Death Review Team Act.

    (b) "Person" means any individual, corporation, 
partnership, firm,
organization
or association, acting 
individually or as a group.

    (c) "Public records" means all records, reports, forms, 
writings, letters,
memoranda, books, papers, maps, 
photographs, microfilms, cards, tapes,
recordings,
electronic 
data processing records, electronic communications, recorded 
information and all other
documentary
materials pertaining to 
the transaction of public business, regardless of physical form 
or characteristics, having been
prepared by or for, or having 
been or being used by, received by, in the possession of, or 
under the
control
of
any public body.
    (c-5) "Private information" means unique identifiers, 
including a person's social security number, driver's license 
number, employee identification number, biometric identifiers, 
personal financial information, passwords or other access 
codes, medical records, home or personal telephone numbers, and 
personal email addresses. Private information also includes 
home address and personal license plates, except as otherwise 
provided by law or when compiled without possibility of 
attribution to any person. 
    (c-10) "Commercial purpose" means 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. For purposes of this 
definition, requests made by news media and non-profit, 
scientific, or academic organizations shall not be considered 
to be made for a "commercial purpose" when the principal 
purpose of the request is (i) to access and disseminate 
information concerning news and current or passing events, (ii) 
for articles of opinion or features of interest to the public, 
or (iii) for the purpose of academic, scientific, or public 
research or education.

    (d) "Copying" means the reproduction of any public record 
by means of any
photographic, electronic, mechanical or other 
process, device or means now known or hereafter developed and 
available to the public body.

    (e) "Head of the public body" means the president, mayor, 
chairman,
presiding
officer, director, superintendent, 
manager, supervisor or individual otherwise
holding primary 
executive and administrative authority for the public
body, or 
such person's duly authorized designee.

    (f) "News media" means a newspaper or other periodical 
issued at regular
intervals whether in print or electronic 
format, a news service whether
in print or electronic format, a 
radio
station, a television station, a television network, a 
community
antenna television service, or a person or 
corporation engaged in making news
reels or other motion 
picture news for public showing.

    (g) "Recurrent requester", as used in Section 3.2 of this 
Act, means a person that, in the 12 months immediately 
preceding the request, has submitted to the same public body 
(i) a minimum of 50 requests for records, (ii) a minimum of 15 
requests for records within a 30-day period, or (iii) a minimum 
of 7 requests for records within a 7-day period.  For purposes 
of this definition, requests made by news media and non-profit, 
scientific, or academic organizations shall not be considered 
in calculating the number of requests made in the time periods 
in this definition when the principal purpose of the requests 
is (i) to access and disseminate information concerning news 
and current or passing events, (ii) for articles of opinion or 
features of interest to the public, or (iii) for the purpose of 
academic, scientific, or public research or education. 
    For the purposes of this subsection (g), "request" means a 
written document (or oral request, if the public body chooses 
to honor oral requests) that is submitted to a public body via 
personal delivery, mail, telefax, electronic mail, or other 
means available to the public body and that identifies the 
particular public record the requester seeks. One request may 
identify multiple records to be inspected or copied. 
    (h)  "Voluminous request" means a request that: (i) includes 
more than 5 individual requests for more than 5 different 
categories of records or a combination of individual requests 
that total requests for more than 5 different categories of 
records in a period of 20 business days; or (ii) requires the 
compilation of more than 500 letter or legal-sized pages of 
public records unless a single requested record exceeds 500 
pages. "Single requested record" may include, but is not 
limited to, one report, form, e-mail, letter, memorandum, book, 
map, microfilm, tape, or recording.
    "Voluminous request" does not include a  request made by 
news media and non-profit, scientific, or academic 
organizations if the principal purpose of the request is: (1) 
to access and disseminate information concerning news and 
current or passing events; (2) for articles of opinion or 
features of interest to the public; or (3) for the purpose of 
academic, scientific, or public research or education.
    For the purposes of this subsection (h), "request" means a 
written document, or oral request, if the public body chooses 
to honor oral requests, that is submitted to a public body via 
personal delivery, mail, telefax, electronic mail, or other 
means available to the public body and that identifies the 
particular public record or records the requester seeks. One 
request may identify multiple individual records to be 
inspected or copied. 
(Source: P.A. 96-261, eff. 1-1-10; 96-542, eff. 1-1-10; 
96-1000, eff. 7-2-10; 97-579, eff. 8-26-11.)

 



    (5 ILCS 140/3)  (from Ch. 116, par. 203)



    Sec. 3. 
(a) Each public body shall make available to any 
person for
inspection or copying all public records, except as 
otherwise provided in
Sections Section 7 and 8.5 of this Act.

Notwithstanding any other law, a public body may not grant to 
any person
or entity, whether by contract, license, or 
otherwise, the exclusive right to
access and disseminate any 
public record as defined in this Act.

    (b) Subject to the fee provisions of Section 6 of this Act, 
each public
body shall promptly provide, to any person who 
submits a request,
a copy of any public record required to be 
disclosed
by subsection (a) of this Section and shall certify 
such copy if so requested.

    (c) Requests for inspection or copies shall be made in 
writing and directed to the public body. Written requests may 
be submitted to a public body via personal delivery, mail, 
telefax, or other means available to the public body. A public 
body may honor oral requests for inspection or copying. A 
public body may not require that a request be submitted on a 
standard form or require the requester to  specify the purpose 
for a request, except to determine whether the records are 
requested for a commercial purpose or whether to grant a 
request for a fee waiver. All requests for inspection and 
copying received by a public body shall immediately be 
forwarded to its Freedom of Information officer or designee. 
    (d) Each public body shall, promptly, either comply with or 
deny a
request for public records within 5 business days after 
its receipt of the request, unless the time for response is 
properly extended under subsection (e) of this Section.   Denial

shall be in writing as provided in Section 9 of this Act.  
Failure to comply with
a written request, extend the time for 
response, or deny a request within 5 business days after its 
receipt shall be considered a
 denial of the request. A public 
body that fails to respond to a request within the requisite 
periods in this Section but thereafter provides the requester 
with copies of the requested public records may not impose a 
fee for such copies. A public body that fails to respond to a 
request received may not treat the request as unduly burdensome 
under subsection (g). 

    (e) The time for response under this Section may be

extended by the public body for not more than 5 business days 
from the original due date for any
of the following reasons:


        (i) the requested records are stored in whole or in 
    part at other
locations
than the office having charge of 
    the requested records;


        (ii) the request requires the collection of a 
    substantial number of
specified records;


        (iii) the request is couched in categorical terms and 
    requires an
extensive
search for the records responsive to 
    it;


        (iv) the requested records have not been located in the 
    course of routine
search and additional efforts are being 
    made to locate them;


        (v) the requested records require examination and 
    evaluation by personnel
having the necessary competence 
    and discretion to determine if they are
exempt from 
    disclosure under Section 7 of this Act or should be 
    revealed
only with appropriate deletions;


        (vi) the request for records cannot be complied with by 
    the public body
within the time limits prescribed by 
    paragraph (c) of this Section without
unduly burdening or 
    interfering with the operations of the public body;


        (vii) there is a need for consultation, which shall be 
    conducted with all
practicable speed, with another public 
    body or among two or more components
of a public body 
    having a substantial interest in the determination or in

    the subject matter of the request.

    The person making a request and the public body may agree 
in writing to extend the time for compliance for a period to be 
determined by the parties. If the requester and the public body 
agree to extend the period for compliance, a failure by the 
public body to comply with any previous deadlines shall not be 
treated as a denial of the request for the records. 
    (f) When additional time is required for any of the above 
reasons, the
public body shall, within 5 business days after 
receipt of the request, notify the person making the request of 
the reasons
for the extension and the date by which the 
response will be forthcoming.  Failure to respond within the 
time permitted for extension shall be considered a denial of 
the request. A public body that fails to respond to a request 
within the time permitted for extension but thereafter provides 
the requester with copies of the requested public records may 
not impose a fee for those copies. A public body that requests 
an extension and subsequently fails to respond to the request 
may not treat the request as unduly burdensome under subsection 
(g).

    (g) Requests calling for all records falling within a 
category shall be
complied with unless compliance with the 
request would be unduly burdensome
for the complying public 
body and there is no way to narrow the request and the
burden 
on the public body outweighs the public interest in the 
information.
Before invoking this exemption, the public body 
shall extend to the person
making the request an opportunity to 
confer with it in an attempt to reduce
the request to 
manageable proportions.  If any public body responds to a 
categorical
request by stating that compliance would unduly 
burden its operation and
the conditions described above are 
met, it shall do so in writing, specifying
the reasons why it 
would be unduly burdensome and the extent to which compliance

will so burden the operations of the public body.  Such a 
response shall
be treated as a denial of the
request for 
information.  
    Repeated requests from the same person for the same records 
that are unchanged or identical to records previously provided 
or properly denied under this Act shall be deemed unduly 
burdensome under this provision.

    (h) Each public body may promulgate rules and regulations 
in conformity
with the provisions of this Section pertaining to 
the availability of records
and procedures to be followed, 
including:


        (i) the times and places where such records will be 
    made available, and


        (ii) the persons from whom such records may be 
    obtained.

    (i) The time periods for compliance or denial of a request 
to inspect or copy records set out in this Section shall not 
apply to requests for records made for a commercial purpose, 
requests by a recurrent requester, or voluminous requests.  Such 
requests shall be subject to the provisions of Sections Section 
3.1, 3.2, and 3.6 of this Act, as applicable. 
(Source: P.A. 96-542, eff. 1-1-10.)

 
    (5 ILCS 140/3.6 new)
    Sec. 3.6. Voluminous requests.
    (a)     Notwithstanding any provision of this Act to the 
contrary, a public body shall respond to a voluminous request 
within 5 business days after receipt.  The response shall notify 
the requester: (i) that the public body is treating the request 
as a voluminous request; (ii) the reasons why the public body 
is treating the request as a voluminous request; (iii) that the 
requester must respond to the public body within 10 business 
days after the public body's response was sent and specify 
whether the requester would like to amend the request in such a 
way that the public body will no longer treat the request as a 
voluminous request; (iv) that if the requester does not respond 
within 10 business days or if the request continues to be a 
voluminous request following the requester's response, the 
public body will respond to the request and assess any fees the 
public body charges pursuant to Section 6 of this Act; (v) that 
the public body has 5 business days after receipt of the 
requester's response or 5 business days from the last day for 
the requester to amend his or her request, whichever is sooner, 
to respond to the request; (vi) that the public body may 
request an additional 10 business days to comply with the 
request; (vii) of the requester's right to review of the public 
body's determination by the Public Access Counselor and provide 
the address and phone number for the Public Access Counselor; 
and (viii) that if the requester fails to accept or collect the 
responsive records, the public body may still charge the 
requester for its response pursuant to Section 6 of this Act 
and the requester's failure to pay will be considered a debt 
due and owing to the public body and may be collected in 
accordance with applicable law.
    (b)    A public body shall provide a person making a 
voluminous request 10 business days from the date the public 
body's response pursuant to subsection (a) of this Section is 
sent to amend the request in such a way  that the public body 
will no longer treat the request as a voluminous request.
    (c)   If a request continues to be a voluminous request 
following the requester's response under subsection (b) of this 
Section or the requester fails to respond, the public body 
shall respond within the earlier of 5 business days after it 
receives the response from the requester or 5 business days 
after the final day for the requester to respond to the public 
body's notification under this subsection.  The response shall: 
(i) provide 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 this 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.
    (d)   The time for response by the public body under 
subsection (c) of this Section may be extended by the public 
body for not more than 10 business days from the final day for 
the requester to respond to the public body's notification 
under subsection (c) of this Section for any of the reasons 
provided in subsection (e) of Section 3 of this Act.
    The person making a request and the public body may agree 
in writing to extend the time for compliance for a period to be 
determined by the parties. If the requester and the public body 
agree to extend the period for compliance, a failure by the 
public body to comply with any previous deadlines shall not be 
treated as a denial of the request for the records.
    (e)   If a requester does not pay a fee charged pursuant to 
Section 6 of this Act for a voluminous request, the debt shall 
be considered a debt due and owing to the public body and may 
be collected in accordance with applicable law. This fee may be 
charged by the public body even if the requester fails to 
accept or collect records the public body has prepared in 
response to a voluminous request.
 



    (5 ILCS 140/6)  (from Ch. 116, par. 206)



    Sec. 6. Authority to charge fees. 

    (a) When a person requests a copy of a record maintained in 
an electronic format, the public body shall furnish it in the 
electronic format specified by the requester, if feasible. If 
it is not feasible to furnish the public records in the 
specified electronic format, then the public body shall furnish 
it in the format in which it is maintained by the public body, 
or in paper format at the option of the requester. A public 
body may charge the requester for the actual cost of purchasing 
the recording medium, whether disc, diskette, tape, or other 
medium. If a request is not a request for a commercial purpose 
or a voluminous request, a  A public body may not charge the 
requester for the costs of any search for and review of the 
records or other personnel costs associated with reproducing 
the records, except for commercial requests as provided in 
subsection (f) of this Section.  Except to the extent that the 
General Assembly expressly provides, statutory fees applicable 
to copies of public records when furnished in a paper format 
shall not be applicable to those records when furnished in an 
electronic format. 
    (a-5) If a voluminous request is for electronic records and 
those records are not in a portable document format (PDF), the 
public body may charge up to $20 for not more than 2 megabytes 
of data, up to $40 for more than 2 but not more than 4 megabytes 
of data, and up to $100 for more than 4 megabytes of data.  If a 
voluminous request is for electronic records and those records 
are in a portable document format, the public body may charge 
up to $20 for not more than 80 megabytes of data, up to $40 for 
more than 80 megabytes but not more than 160 megabytes of data, 
and up to $100 for more than 160 megabytes of data.  If the 
responsive electronic records are in both a portable document 
format and not in a portable document format, the public body 
may separate the fees and charge the requester under both fee 
scales.
    If a public body imposes a fee pursuant to this subsection 
(a-5), it must provide the requester with an accounting of all 
fees, costs, and personnel hours in connection with the request 
for public records. 
    (b) Except when a fee is otherwise fixed by statute, each 
public body may charge fees
reasonably
calculated to
reimburse

its actual cost for reproducing and certifying public records 
and for the
use, by any person, of the equipment of the public 
body to copy records. No fees shall be charged for the first 50 
pages of black and white, letter or legal sized copies 
requested by a requester. The fee for black and white, letter 
or legal sized copies shall not exceed 15 cents per page. If a 
public body provides copies in color or in a size other than 
letter or legal, the public body may not charge more than its 
actual cost for reproducing the records.
In calculating its 
actual cost for reproducing records or for the use of the 
equipment of the public body to reproduce records, a public 
body shall not include the costs of any search for and review 
of the records or other personnel costs associated with 
reproducing the records, except for commercial requests as 
provided in subsection (f) of this Section.  Such fees shall be 
imposed
according to a standard scale of fees, established and 
made public by the
body imposing them. The cost for certifying 
a record shall not exceed $1. 

    (c) Documents shall be furnished without charge or at a 
reduced
charge, as determined by the public body, if the person 
requesting the
documents states the specific purpose for the 
request and indicates that a
waiver or reduction of the fee is 
in the public interest.  Waiver or
reduction of the fee is in 
the public interest if the principal purpose of
the request is 
to access and disseminate information regarding the health,

safety and welfare or the legal rights of the general public 
and is not for
the principal purpose of personal or commercial 
benefit.
For purposes of this subsection, "commercial benefit" 
shall not apply to
requests
made by news media when the 
principal purpose of the request is to access and
disseminate 
information regarding the health, safety, and welfare or the 
legal
rights of the general public.
In setting the
amount of 
the waiver or reduction, the public body may take into

consideration the amount of materials requested and the cost of 
copying
them.

    (d) The imposition of a fee not consistent with subsections

(6)(a) and (b) of this Act constitutes a denial of access to 
public
records for the purposes of judicial review.

    (e) The fee for each abstract of a driver's record shall be 
as provided
in Section 6-118 of "The Illinois Vehicle Code", 
approved September 29,
1969, as amended, whether furnished as a 
paper copy or as an electronic copy.

    (f) A public body may charge up to $10 for each hour spent 
by personnel in searching for and retrieving a requested record 
or examining the record for necessary redactions.  No fees shall 
be charged for the first 8 hours spent by personnel in 
searching for or retrieving a requested record.  A public body 
may charge the actual cost of retrieving and transporting 
public records from an off-site storage facility when the 
public records are maintained by a third-party storage company 
under contract with the public body.  If a public body imposes a 
fee pursuant to this subsection (f), it must provide the 
requester with an accounting of all fees, costs, and personnel 
hours in connection with the request for public records.  The 
provisions of this subsection (f) apply only to commercial 
requests. 
(Source: P.A. 96-542, eff. 1-1-10; 96-1000, eff. 7-2-10; 
97-579, eff. 8-26-11.)

 
    (5 ILCS 140/8.5 new)
    Sec. 8.5. Records maintained online.
    (a)   Notwithstanding any provision of this Act to the 
contrary, a public body is not required to copy a public record 
that is published on the public body's website. The public body 
shall notify the requester that the public record is available 
online and direct the requester to the website where the record 
can be reasonably accessed.
    (b)   If the person requesting the public record is unable to 
reasonably access the record online after being directed to the 
website pursuant to subsection (a) of this Section, the 
requester may re-submit his or her request for the record 
stating his or her inability to reasonably access the record 
online, and the public body shall make the requested record 
available for inspection or copying as provided in Section 3 of 
this Act.
 
    (5 ILCS 140/9.5)
    Sec. 9.5. Public Access Counselor; opinions.
    (a) A person whose request to inspect or copy a public 
record is denied by a public body, except the General Assembly 
and committees, commissions, and agencies thereof, may file a 
request for review with the Public Access Counselor established 
in the Office of the Attorney General not later than 60 days 
after the date of the final denial.  The request for review must 
be in writing, signed by the requester, and include (i) a copy 
of the request for access to records and (ii) any responses 
from the public body.
    (b) A person whose request to inspect or copy a public 
record is made for a commercial purpose as defined in 
subsection (c-10) of Section 2 of this Act may not file a 
request for review with the Public Access Counselor.  A person 
whose request to inspect or copy a public record was treated by 
the public body as a request for a commercial purpose under 
Section 3.1 of this Act may file a request for review with the 
Public Access Counselor for the limited purpose of reviewing 
whether the public body properly determined that the request 
was made for a commercial purpose. 
    (b-5)  A person whose request to inspect or copy a public 
record was treated by a public body, except the General 
Assembly and committees, commissions, and agencies thereof, as 
a voluminous request under Section 3.6 of this Act may file a 
request for review with the Public Access Counselor for the 
purpose of reviewing whether the public body properly 
determined that the request was a voluminous request. 
    (c) Upon receipt of a request for review, the Public Access 
Counselor shall determine whether further action is warranted.  
If the Public Access Counselor determines that the alleged 
violation is unfounded, he or she shall so advise the requester 
and the public body  and no further action shall be undertaken.  
In all other cases, the Public Access Counselor shall forward a 
copy of the request for review to the public body within 7 
business days after receipt and shall specify the records or 
other documents that the public body shall furnish to 
facilitate the review.  Within 7 business days after receipt of 
the request for review, the public body shall provide copies of 
records requested and shall otherwise fully cooperate with the 
Public Access Counselor. If a public body fails to furnish 
specified records pursuant to this Section, or if otherwise 
necessary, the Attorney General may issue a subpoena to any 
person or public body having knowledge of or records pertaining 
to a request for review of a denial of access to records under 
the Act. To the extent that records or documents produced by a 
public body contain information that is claimed to be exempt 
from disclosure under Section 7 of this Act, the Public Access 
Counselor shall not further disclose that information.
    (d) Within 7 business days after it receives a copy of a 
request for review and request for production of records from 
the Public Access Counselor, the public body may, but is not 
required to, answer the allegations of the request for review.  
The answer may take the form of a letter, brief, or memorandum. 
The Public Access Counselor shall forward a copy of the answer 
to the person submitting the request for review, with any 
alleged confidential information to which the request pertains 
redacted from the copy.  The requester may, but is not required 
to, respond in writing to the answer within 7 business days and 
shall provide a copy of the response to the public body.
    (e) In addition to the request for review, and the answer 
and the response thereto, if any, a requester or a public body 
may furnish affidavits or records concerning any matter germane 
to the review.
    (f) Unless the Public Access Counselor  extends the time by 
no more than 30 business days by  sending written notice to the 
requester and  the public body that includes a statement of the 
reasons for the extension in the notice, or decides to address 
the matter without the  issuance of a binding opinion,  the 
Attorney General shall examine the issues and the records, 
shall make findings of fact and conclusions of law, and  shall 
issue to the requester and the public body an opinion in 
response to the request for review within 60 days after its 
receipt.  The opinion shall be binding upon both the requester 
and the public body, subject to administrative  review under 
Section 11.5.
    In responding to any request under this Section 9.5, the 
Attorney General may exercise his or her discretion and choose 
to resolve a request for review by mediation or by a means 
other than the issuance of a binding opinion. The decision not 
to issue a binding opinion shall not be reviewable.
    Upon receipt of a binding opinion concluding that a 
violation of this Act has occurred, the public body shall 
either take necessary action immediately to comply with the 
directive of the opinion or shall initiate administrative 
review under Section 11.5.  If the opinion concludes that no 
violation of the Act has occurred, the requester may initiate 
administrative review under Section 11.5.
    A public body that discloses records in accordance with an 
opinion of the Attorney General is immune from all liabilities 
by reason thereof and shall not be liable for penalties under 
this Act. 
    (g) If the requester files suit under Section 11 with 
respect to the same denial that is the subject of a pending 
request  for  review, the requester shall notify the Public 
Access Counselor, and the Public Access Counselor shall take no 
further action with respect to the request for review and shall 
so notify the public body.
    (h) The Attorney General may also issue advisory opinions 
to public bodies regarding compliance with this Act.  A review 
may be initiated upon receipt of a written request from the 
head of the public body or its attorney, which shall contain 
sufficient accurate facts from which a determination can be 
made.  The Public Access Counselor may request additional 
information from the public body in order to assist in the 
review.  A public body that relies in good faith on an advisory 
opinion of the Attorney General in responding to a request is 
not liable for penalties under this Act, so long as the facts 
upon which the opinion is based have been fully and fairly 
disclosed to the Public Access Counselor. 

(Source: P.A. 96-542, eff. 1-1-10; 97-579, eff. 8-26-11.)
 

    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon 
becoming law.