HB4681 104TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

LRB104 18834 BDA 32279 b

104TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2025 and 2026
HB4681

Introduced , by Rep. Daniel Didech

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:

5 ILCS 140/2	from Ch. 116, par. 202
5 ILCS 140/3	from Ch. 116, par. 203
5 ILCS 140/3.7 new
5 ILCS 140/11	from Ch. 116, par. 211
5 ILCS 140/12 new

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.

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 Sections 2, 3, and 11 and by adding Sections 3.7 and 12 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 or , resale, for or solicitation or advertisement for sales or services, or to provide services to a specific customer or client. 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.

(c-15) "Business day" or "working day" means a regular day of the week, Monday through Friday, when public offices and most businesses are open. "Business day" or "working day" does not include Saturdays and Sundays and does not include a State holiday, as described in Section 17 of the Promissory Note and Bank Holiday Act, if the public body is closed on the holiday. "Business day" or "working day" also does not include, for public school districts and other public educational institutions, days during an institution's winter break and spring break, as established by the institution's academic calendar, or the day after Thanksgiving.

(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) "Mass requester" means a person or cooperating persons submitting one or more requests that seek identical or substantially similar records from 7 or more public bodies.

(l) "Vexatious requester" means a person with a vexatious history of requests as described under Section 12.

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

(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 this Section and Sections 3.7, 7, 7.5, and 8.5, and 12 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. Electronic requests under this Section must appear in their entirety within the body of the electronic submission. As a cybersecurity measure, no public body shall be required to open electronically attached files or hyperlinks to view or access details of a request. A public body that receives a request that would require the public body to open hyperlinks or attached files shall, within 5 business days, notify the requester of the requirement that the entirety of an electronic request must appear within the body of the electronic submission. 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 subsection (d) 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 2 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 mass requester, or voluminous requests. Such requests shall be subject to the provisions of Sections 3.1, 3.2, and 3.6, and 3.7 of this Act, as applicable.

(j) Within 5 business days after its receipt of the request, a public body that has a reasonable belief that a request was not submitted by a person may require the requester to verify orally or in writing that the requester is a person. The deadline for the public body to respond to the request shall be tolled until the requester verifies that he or she is a person. If the requester fails to verify that he or she is a person within 30 days after the public body requests such a verification, then the public body may deny the request. For purposes of this subsection (j), a public body may not require the requester to submit personal information, private information, or identifying information to verify that the requester is a person.

(Source: P.A. 104-438, eff. 1-1-26.)

(5 ILCS 140/3.7 new)

Sec. 3.7. Mass requesters.

(a) A public body shall respond to a request for records submitted by a mass requester within 21 business days after receipt. The response shall (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 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.

(b) Within 5 business days after its receipt of a request, a public body that has a reasonable belief that a request was submitted by a mass requester may require the requester to verify whether the requester is a mass requester, if the request does not already verify whether the requester is a mass requester. The deadline for the public body to respond to the request under subsection (a) of this Section shall be tolled until the requester verifies whether or not the request was submitted by a mass requester. If the requester fails to verify that he or she is a mass requester within 30 calendar days after the public body requests such a verification, then the public body may deny the request.

(c) It is a violation of this Act for a person 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.

(5 ILCS 140/11) (from Ch. 116, par. 211)

Sec. 11. (a) Any person denied access to inspect or copy any public record by a public body may file suit for injunctive or declaratory relief, provided that the person first notifies the public body in writing of his or her intent to file suit and provides an opportunity for the public body to confer orally, within 10 business days after receipt of the notice, about curing or resolving the issue. The written notice and opportunity to confer about curing or resolving the issue is a condition precedent to filing suit and must be attached to the complaint along with any response from the public body.

(a-5) In accordance with Section 11.6 of this Act, a requester may file an action to enforce a binding opinion issued under Section 9.5 of this Act.

(b) Where the denial is from a public body of the State, suit may be filed in the circuit court for the county where the public body has its principal office or where the person denied access resides.

(c) Where the denial is from a municipality or other public body, except as provided in subsection (b) of this Section, suit may be filed in the circuit court for the county where the public body is located.

(d) The circuit court shall have the jurisdiction to enjoin the public body from withholding public records and to order the production of any public records improperly withheld from the person seeking access. If the public body can show that exceptional circumstances exist, and that the body is exercising due diligence in responding to the request, the court may retain jurisdiction and allow the agency additional time to complete its review of the records.

(e) On motion of the plaintiff, prior to or after in camera inspection, the court shall order the public body to provide an index of the records to which access has been denied. The index shall include the following:

(i) A description of the nature or contents of each document withheld, or each deletion from a released document, provided, however, that the public body shall not be required to disclose the information which it asserts is exempt; and

(ii) A statement of the exemption or exemptions claimed for each such deletion or withheld document.

(f) In any action considered by the court, the court shall consider the matter de novo, and shall conduct such in camera examination of the requested records as it finds appropriate to determine if such records or any part thereof may be withheld under any provision of this Act. The burden shall be on the public body to establish that its refusal to permit public inspection or copying is in accordance with the provisions of this Act. Any public body that asserts that a record is exempt from disclosure has the burden of proving that it is exempt by clear and convincing evidence.

(g) In the event of noncompliance with an order of the court to disclose, the court may enforce its order against any public official or employee so ordered or primarily responsible for such noncompliance through the court's contempt powers.

(h) Except as to causes the court considers to be of greater importance, proceedings arising under this Section shall take precedence on the docket over all other causes and be assigned for hearing and trial at the earliest practicable date and expedited in every way.

(i) If a person seeking the right to inspect or receive a copy of a public record prevails in a proceeding under this Section, the court shall award such person reasonable attorney's fees and costs. In determining what amount of attorney's fees is reasonable, the court shall consider the degree to which the relief obtained relates to the relief sought. The changes contained in this subsection apply to an action filed on or after January 1, 2010 (the effective date of Public Act 96-542). If the public body prevails in its defense of a proceeding under this Section brought by a commercial purpose requester, a recurrent requester, a mass requester, or a vexatious requester, the court shall award the public body reasonable attorney's fees and costs to be paid by the requester.

(j) If the court determines that a public body willfully and intentionally failed to comply with this Act, or otherwise acted in bad faith, the court shall also impose upon the public body a civil penalty of not less than $2,500 nor more than $5,000 for each occurrence. In assessing the civil penalty, the court shall consider in aggravation or mitigation the budget of the public body and whether the public body has previously been assessed penalties for violations of this Act. The court may impose an additional penalty of up to $1,000 for each day the violation continues if:

(1) the public body fails to comply with the court's order after 30 days;

(2) the court's order is not on appeal or stayed; and

(3) the court does not grant the public body additional time to comply with the court's order to disclose public records.

The changes contained in this subsection made by Public Act 96-542 apply to an action filed on or after January 1, 2010 (the effective date of Public Act 96-542).

(k) The changes to this Section made by this amendatory Act of the 99th General Assembly apply to actions filed on or after the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 99th General Assembly.

(Source: P.A. 99-586, eff. 1-1-17; 99-642, eff. 7-28-16.)

(5 ILCS 140/12 new)

Sec. 12. Petition for relief from a vexatious requester.

(a) A public body may petition the Public Access Counselor for relief from a requester that the public body alleges is a vexatious requester. Such petition shall be a sworn and notarized statement and shall detail the conduct which the public body alleges demonstrates a vexatious history of requests, which may include, but is not limited to:

(1) the number of requests filed;

(2) the scope of the requests;

(3) the nature, content, language, or subject matter of the requests;

(4) the nature, content, language, or subject matter of other oral and written communications to the public body from the requester; and

(5) a pattern of conduct that amounts to an abuse of the right to access information under the Freedom of Information Act or an interference with the operation of the public body.

(b) A requester's history of requests need not include any particular number of requests or categories of records in order to be deemed vexatious under this Section, and a requester who is not a recurrent requester still may be vexatious. However, the Public Access Counselor shall deem a requester vexatious if the requester has submitted to a single public body:

(1) within a period of 12 months, any combination of requests seeking 60 categories of records;

(2) within a period of 30 calendar days, any combination of requests seeking 20 categories of records; or

(3) within a period of 7 calendar days, any combination of requests seeking 15 categories of records.

(c) A petition under this Section must be submitted no later than 7 business days after receipt of the most recent request at issue. The Public Access Counselor may consolidate petitions by multiple public bodies related to the same requester or coordinating requesters. Upon receipt of such petition, the Public Access Counselor shall review the petition and, if the Public Access Counselor determines that further inquiry is warranted, shall provide the alleged vexatious requester with an opportunity to respond and provide further information within 7 business days. If a response is filed, the public body shall be provided with 5 business days to submit a reply to the Public Access Counselor. The Public Access Counselor shall issue a binding opinion on the petition or dismiss the petition within 30 calendar days after receipt of the public body's reply or the final date to submit a reply, whichever date is earlier. Upon a grant of such petition, the Public Access Counselor may provide appropriate relief commensurate with the vexatious conduct, including, but not limited to, an order that the public body need not comply with the current request and other requests from the vexatious requester for a specified period of time, not to exceed one year.

(d) Any party aggrieved by the Public Access Counselor's granting of such petition may file an action for administrative review of the binding opinion under the Administrative Review Law in Cook or Sangamon County, not later than 35 days after the binding opinion is received. If a petition is filed, the public body's time for response to the Freedom of Information Act Request and any additional requests from the same requester is tolled until the Public Access Counselor issues a determination that no further inquiry is warranted or a binding opinion. If the petition is granted, the public body's response, if any, shall be determined by the opinion or determination. If the petition is denied, the public body shall respond to the request within 7 business days after receipt of the binding opinion.

(e) For purposes of this Section, a request made by news media shall not be considered in determining whether a requester is a vexatious requester when the principal purpose of the request is for investigative reporting by the news media regarding the health, safety, and welfare or the legal rights of the general public. The requester has the burden of proving the principal purpose of the request.