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| 1 | AN ACT concerning government.
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| 2 | Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
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| 3 | represented in the General Assembly:
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| 4 | Section 5. The Open Meetings Act is amended by changing | ||||||
| 5 | Sections 2.01 and 7 as follows:
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| 6 | (5 ILCS 120/2.01) (from Ch. 102, par. 42.01)
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| 7 | Sec. 2.01. All meetings required by this Act to be public | ||||||
| 8 | shall be held at
specified times and places which are | ||||||
| 9 | convenient and open
to the public. No meeting
required by this | ||||||
| 10 | Act to be public shall be held on a legal holiday unless
the | ||||||
| 11 | regular meeting day falls on that holiday.
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| 12 | A quorum of members of a public body must be physically | ||||||
| 13 | present at the location of an open meeting. If, however, an | ||||||
| 14 | open meeting of a public body (i) with statewide jurisdiction | ||||||
| 15 | or (ii) that is an Illinois library system with jurisdiction | ||||||
| 16 | over a specific geographic area of more than 4,500 square miles | ||||||
| 17 | (except one with jurisdiction limited to a specific geographic | ||||||
| 18 | area that is less than statewide) is held simultaneously at one | ||||||
| 19 | of its offices and one or more other locations in a public | ||||||
| 20 | building, which may include other of its offices, through an | ||||||
| 21 | interactive video conference and the public body provides | ||||||
| 22 | public notice and public access as required under this Act for | ||||||
| 23 | all locations, then members physically present in those | ||||||
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| 1 | locations all count towards determining a quorum. "Public | ||||||
| 2 | building", as used in this Section, means any building or | ||||||
| 3 | portion thereof owned or leased by any public body. The | ||||||
| 4 | requirement that a quorum be physically present at the location | ||||||
| 5 | of an open meeting shall not apply, however, to State advisory | ||||||
| 6 | boards or bodies that do not have authority to make binding | ||||||
| 7 | recommendations or determinations or to take any other | ||||||
| 8 | substantive action.
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| 9 | A quorum of members of a public body that is not (i) a | ||||||
| 10 | public body with statewide jurisdiction or (ii) a public body | ||||||
| 11 | that is an Illinois library system with jurisdiction over a | ||||||
| 12 | specific geographic area of more than 4,500 square miles must | ||||||
| 13 | be physically present at the location of a closed meeting. | ||||||
| 14 | Other members who are not physically present at a closed | ||||||
| 15 | meeting of such a public body may participate in the meeting by | ||||||
| 16 | means of a video or audio conference.
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| 17 | (Source: P.A. 94-1058, eff. 1-1-07.)
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| 18 | (5 ILCS 120/7)
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| 19 | Sec. 7. Attendance by a means other than physical presence. | ||||||
| 20 | (a) If a
quorum of the members of the public body is | ||||||
| 21 | physically present as required by Section 2.01, a majority of | ||||||
| 22 | the public body may allow a member of that body to attend the | ||||||
| 23 | meeting by other means if the member is prevented from | ||||||
| 24 | physically
attending because of: (i) personal illness or | ||||||
| 25 | disability; (ii) employment purposes or
the
business of the | ||||||
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| 1 | public body; or (iii) a family or other emergency.
"Other | ||||||
| 2 | means" is by video or audio conference.
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| 3 | (b) If a member wishes to attend a meeting by other means, | ||||||
| 4 | the
member must notify the
recording secretary or clerk of the
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| 5 | public body before the meeting unless
advance notice is | ||||||
| 6 | impractical.
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| 7 | (c) A majority of the public body may allow a member to | ||||||
| 8 | attend a meeting by other means only in accordance with and to | ||||||
| 9 | the extent allowed by rules adopted by the public body. The | ||||||
| 10 | rules must conform to the requirements and restrictions of this | ||||||
| 11 | Section, may further limit the extent to which attendance by | ||||||
| 12 | other means is allowed, and may provide for the giving of | ||||||
| 13 | additional notice to the public or further facilitate public | ||||||
| 14 | access to meetings.
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| 15 | (d) The limitations of this Section shall not apply to (i) | ||||||
| 16 | closed meetings of public bodies with statewide jurisdiction or | ||||||
| 17 | that are Illinois library systems with jurisdiction over a | ||||||
| 18 | specific geographic area of more than 4,500 square miles or | ||||||
| 19 | (ii) open or closed meetings of State advisory boards or bodies | ||||||
| 20 | that do not have authority to make binding recommendations or | ||||||
| 21 | determinations or to take any other substantive action. State | ||||||
| 22 | advisory boards or bodies and public bodies with statewide | ||||||
| 23 | jurisdiction or that are Illinois library systems with | ||||||
| 24 | jurisdiction over a specific geographic area of more than 4,500 | ||||||
| 25 | square miles, however, may permit members to attend meetings by | ||||||
| 26 | other means only in accordance with and to the extent allowed | ||||||
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| 1 | by specific procedural rules adopted by the body.
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| 2 | (Source: P.A. 94-1058, eff. 1-1-07.)
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| 3 | Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon | ||||||
| 4 | becoming law.
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