HB4445 104TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

LRB104 16540 BDA 29938 b

104TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2025 and 2026
HB4445

Introduced 1/20/2026, by Rep. Daniel Didech

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:

5 ILCS 140/2	from Ch. 116, par. 202
5 ILCS 140/10.5 new

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".

A BILL FOR

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 Section 2 and by adding Section 10.5 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, or a regional youth advisory board or the Statewide Youth Advisory Board established under the Department of Children and Family Services Statewide Youth Advisory Board Act.

(b) "Person" means any individual or any individual acting as an agent of a 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. "Public records" does not include junk mail.

(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. For a public body that is a HIPAA-covered entity, "private information" includes electronic medical records and all information, including demographic information, contained within or extracted from an electronic medical records system operated or maintained by the public body in compliance with State and federal medical privacy laws and regulations, including, but not limited to, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act and its regulations, 45 CFR Parts 160 and 164. As used in this subsection, "HIPAA-covered entity" has the meaning given to the term "covered entity" in 45 CFR 160.103.

(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.

(i) "Severance agreement" means a mutual agreement between any public body and its employee for the employee's resignation in exchange for payment by the public body.

(j) "Junk mail" means (i) any unsolicited commercial mail sent to a public body and not responded to by an official, employee, or agent of the public body or (ii) any unsolicited commercial electronic communication sent to a public body and not responded to by an official, employee, or agent of the public body.

(k) "Body-worn camera recording" means a recording captured by an officer-worn body camera.

(l) "Identifiable subject" means any individual whose identity is discernible, directly or indirectly, from a body-worn camera recording disclosed under this Act, including through facial features, voice, vehicle information, or other identifying characteristics.

(m) "Profit-derived use" means any commercial purpose from which the requester receives advertising revenue, revenue sharing, subscription income, donations linked to the recording, or any other pecuniary benefit attributable to publication or dissemination of a body-worn camera recording.

(n) "Duration of appearance" means the total amount of time during which the identifiable subject's image, voice, or other identifying characteristics are perceptible in a body-worn camera recording.

(o) "Officer-worn body camera" has the meaning provided in Section 10-10 of the Law Enforcement Officer-Worn Body Camera Act.

(Source: P.A. 103-554, eff. 1-1-24; 104-438, eff. 1-1-26.)

(5 ILCS 140/10.5 new)

Sec. 10.5. Commercial use of body-worn camera recordings; notice and revenue-sharing requirements.

(a) 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 this Section if the recording contains an identifiable subject; and

(3) that failure to comply with this Section may result in civil liability.

(b) 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. The written notice must:

(1) inform the identifiable subject that a request has been made for a body-worn camera recording depicting the identifiable subject;

(2) include the identity of the requester;

(3) inform the identifiable subject that the requester may use the recording for a commercial purpose;

(4) inform the identifiable subject that State law requires the requester to provide prepublication notice and to share gross revenues derived from any commercial use to any identifiable subjects depicted in the recording; and

(5) inform the identifiable subject that the identifiable subject has rights under this Section.

(c) In making its determination under subsection (a), the public body may consider the request itself, prior requests by the requester, the requester's publicly accessible publishing activities, and other articulable facts.

(d) 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. The written notice must:

(1) inform the identifiable subject that the person intends to publish, post, disseminate, or distribute the recording;

(2) include the platforms or mediums on which publication, posting, dissemination, or distribution is intended;

(3) inform the identifiable subject that the person intends or expects to receive monetary compensation or other pecuniary benefit from the publication, posting, dissemination, or distribution; and

(4) inform the identifiable subject that the identifiable subject has a right to receive a share of gross revenues derived from any profit-derived use.

(e) 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. The revenues distributed under this subsection shall be allocated among the identifiable subjects in proportion to each identifiable subject's duration of appearance in the body-worn camera recording.

(1) Each identifiable subject's duration of appearance must be calculated with reasonable specificity. To determine each identifiable subject's duration of appearance, a person may rely on:

(A) timestamps;

(B) segment breakdowns;

(C) time-coded transcripts or scene logs; or

(D) any other documentation that reasonably establishes the duration of appearance of each identifiable subject's presence in the recording.

(2) Revenue sharing shall occur quarterly, accompanied by a written accounting that includes:

(A) total gross revenues received during the period;

(B) the total length of the body-worn camera recording;

(C) the duration of appearance for each identifiable subject;

(D) the formula used to determine each identifiable subject's proportional share; and

(E) payment of the amount owed to each identifiable subject.

(f) An identifiable subject who is aggrieved by a violation of this Section may bring a civil action against any person who violates this Section or who knowingly directs, assists, or benefits from a violation of this Section. A person who is aggrieved by a violation of this Section may recover damages and any other appropriate relief, including reasonable attorney's fees. A person who is found liable under this Section shall be jointly and severally liable with each other person, if any, who is also found liable under this Section for damages arising from the same violation of this Section. If a judgment is entered in favor of a person alleged to have violated this Section, then the court may award reasonable costs and attorney's fees to the person for the alleged violation. Under this subsection, the court may only award reasonable costs and attorney's fees to a person alleged to have violated this Section if the court finds that the plaintiff's claim is frivolous, baseless, or brought in bad faith.

(g) Any purported waiver of rights under this Section is void and unenforceable unless the waiver is:

(1) in writing;

(2) made knowingly and voluntarily; and

(3) supported by separate consideration.

(h) Nothing in this Section shall be construed to limit, diminish, or adversely affect any rights, remedies, causes of actions, or protections under any other State or federal law.

(i) Nothing in this Section restricts publication of a body-worn camera recording for non-commercial, news reporting, public interest, academic, or other expressive purposes protected by the First Amendment, except where a person engages in a profit-derived use from the recording.

(j) 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 this Section.

(k) For the purposes of this Section, "person" includes any individual, corporation, partnership, firm, organization or association, acting individually or as a group.