102ND GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2021 and 2022
SB2356

 

Introduced 2/26/2021, by Sen. John F. Curran

 

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
 
5 ILCS 120/2.06  from Ch. 102, par. 42.06

    Amends the Open Meetings Act. Provides that each public body shall periodically (currently, specifies no less than semi-annually) meet to review minutes of all closed meetings. Provides that meetings to review minutes shall occur every 6 months, or as soon thereafter as is practicable, taking into account the nature and meeting schedule of the public body. Provides that committees which are ad hoc in nature shall review closed session minutes at the later of (1) 6 months from the date of the last review of closed session minutes or (2) at the next scheduled meeting of the ad hoc committee. Provides that when a public body is dissolved, disbanded, eliminated, or consolidated by executive action, legislative action, or referendum, the governing body of the unit of local government in which the public body was located shall review the closed session minutes of that public body.


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A BILL FOR

 

SB2356LRB102 10299 RJF 15626 b

1    AN ACT concerning government.
 
2    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3represented in the General Assembly:
 
4    Section 5. The Open Meetings Act is amended by changing
5Section 2.06 as follows:
 
6    (5 ILCS 120/2.06)  (from Ch. 102, par. 42.06)
7    Sec. 2.06. Minutes; right to speak.
8    (a) All public bodies shall keep written minutes of all
9their meetings, whether open or closed, and a verbatim record
10of all their closed meetings in the form of an audio or video
11recording. Minutes shall include, but need not be limited to:
12        (1) the date, time and place of the meeting;
13        (2) the members of the public body recorded as either
14    present or absent and whether the members were physically
15    present or present by means of video or audio conference;
16    and
17        (3) a summary of discussion on all matters proposed,
18    deliberated, or decided, and a record of any votes taken.
19    (b) A public body shall approve the minutes of its open
20meeting within 30 days after that meeting or at the public
21body's second subsequent regular meeting, whichever is later.
22The minutes of meetings open to the public shall be available
23for public inspection within 10 days after the approval of

 

 

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1such minutes by the public body. Beginning July 1, 2006, at the
2time it complies with the other requirements of this
3subsection, a public body that has a website that the
4full-time staff of the public body maintains shall post the
5minutes of a regular meeting of its governing body open to the
6public on the public body's website within 10 days after the
7approval of the minutes by the public body. Beginning July 1,
82006, any minutes of meetings open to the public posted on the
9public body's website shall remain posted on the website for
10at least 60 days after their initial posting.
11    (c) The verbatim record may be destroyed without
12notification to or the approval of a records commission or the
13State Archivist under the Local Records Act or the State
14Records Act no less than 18 months after the completion of the
15meeting recorded but only after:
16        (1) the public body approves the destruction of a
17    particular recording; and
18        (2) the public body approves minutes of the closed
19    meeting that meet the written minutes requirements of
20    subsection (a) of this Section.
21    (d) Each public body shall periodically, but no less than
22semi-annually, meet to review minutes of all closed meetings.
23Meetings to review minutes shall occur every 6 months, or as
24soon thereafter as is practicable, taking into account the
25nature and meeting schedule of the public body. Committees
26which are ad hoc in nature shall review closed session minutes

 

 

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1at the later of (1) 6 months from the date of the last review
2of closed session minutes or (2) at the next scheduled meeting
3of the ad hoc committee. At such meetings a determination
4shall be made, and reported in an open session that (1) the
5need for confidentiality still exists as to all or part of
6those minutes or (2) that the minutes or portions thereof no
7longer require confidential treatment and are available for
8public inspection. The failure of a public body to strictly
9comply with the semi-annual review of closed session written
10minutes, whether before or after the effective date of this
11amendatory Act of the 94th General Assembly, shall not cause
12the written minutes or related verbatim record to become
13public or available for inspection in any judicial proceeding,
14other than a proceeding involving an alleged violation of this
15Act, if the public body, within 60 days of discovering its
16failure to strictly comply with the technical requirements of
17this subsection, reviews the closed session minutes and
18determines and thereafter reports in open session that either
19(1) the need for confidentiality still exists as to all or part
20of the minutes or verbatim record, or (2) that the minutes or
21recordings or portions thereof no longer require confidential
22treatment and are available for public inspection.
23    (e) Unless the public body has made a determination that
24the verbatim recording no longer requires confidential
25treatment or otherwise consents to disclosure, the verbatim
26record of a meeting closed to the public shall not be open for

 

 

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1public inspection or subject to discovery in any
2administrative or judicial proceeding other than one brought
3to enforce this Act. In the case of a civil action brought to
4enforce this Act, the court, if the judge believes such an
5examination is necessary, must conduct such in camera
6examination of the verbatim record as it finds appropriate in
7order to determine whether there has been a violation of this
8Act. In the case of a criminal proceeding, the court may
9conduct an examination in order to determine what portions, if
10any, must be made available to the parties for use as evidence
11in the prosecution. Any such initial inspection must be held
12in camera. If the court determines that a complaint or suit
13brought for noncompliance under this Act is valid it may, for
14the purposes of discovery, redact from the minutes of the
15meeting closed to the public any information deemed to qualify
16under the attorney-client privilege. The provisions of this
17subsection do not supersede the privacy or confidentiality
18provisions of State or federal law. Access to verbatim
19recordings shall be provided to duly elected officials or
20appointed officials filling a vacancy of an elected office in
21a public body, and access shall be granted in the public body's
22main office or official storage location, in the presence of a
23records secretary, an administrative official of the public
24body, or any elected official of the public body. No verbatim
25recordings shall be recorded or removed from the public body's
26main office or official storage location, except by vote of

 

 

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1the public body or by court order. Nothing in this subsection
2(e) is intended to limit the Public Access Counselor's access
3to those records necessary to address a request for
4administrative review under Section 7.5 of this Act.
5    (f) Minutes of meetings closed to the public shall be
6available only after the public body determines that it is no
7longer necessary to protect the public interest or the privacy
8of an individual by keeping them confidential, except that
9duly elected officials or appointed officials filling a
10vacancy of an elected office in a public body shall be provided
11access to minutes of meetings closed to the public. Access to
12minutes shall be granted in the public body's main office or
13official storage location, in the presence of a records
14secretary, an administrative official of the public body, or
15any elected official of the public body. No minutes of
16meetings closed to the public shall be removed from the public
17body's main office or official storage location, except by
18vote of the public body or by court order. Nothing in this
19subsection (f) is intended to limit the Public Access
20Counselor's access to those records necessary to address a
21request for administrative review under Section 7.5 of this
22Act.
23    (g) Any person shall be permitted an opportunity to
24address public officials under the rules established and
25recorded by the public body.
26    (h) When a public body is dissolved, disbanded,

 

 

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1eliminated, or consolidated by executive action, legislative
2action, or referendum, the governing body of the unit of local
3government in which the public body was located shall review
4the closed session minutes of that public body.
5(Source: P.A. 99-515, eff. 6-30-16.)