102ND GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2021 and 2022
SB3767

 

Introduced 1/21/2022, by Sen. John F. Curran

 

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
 
5 ILCS 120/3  from Ch. 102, par. 43

    Amends the Open Meetings Act. Provides that a civil action for violation of the Act may be brought within 60 days after the discovery of failure to comply with specified notice requirements.


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A BILL FOR

 

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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 3 as follows:
 
6    (5 ILCS 120/3)  (from Ch. 102, par. 43)
7    Sec. 3. (a) Where the provisions of this Act are not
8complied with, or where there is probable cause to believe
9that the provisions of this Act will not be complied with, any
10person, including the State's Attorney of the county in which
11such noncompliance may occur, may bring a civil action in the
12circuit court for the judicial circuit in which the alleged
13noncompliance has occurred or is about to occur, or in which
14the affected public body has its principal office: (i) , prior
15to or within 60 days of the meeting alleged to be in violation
16of this Act; (ii) or, if facts concerning the meeting are not
17discovered within the 60-day period, within 60 days of the
18discovery of a violation by the State's Attorney; (iii) or, if
19the person timely files a request for review under Section
203.5, within 60 days of the decision by the Attorney General to
21resolve a request for review by a means other than the issuance
22of a binding opinion under subsection (e) of Section 3.5; or
23(iv) if the public body failed to provide notice of the meeting

 

 

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1compliant with Section 2.02, within 60 days after the
2discovery of a violation of this Act by the person.
3    Records that are obtained by a State's Attorney from a
4public body for purposes of reviewing whether the public body
5has complied with this Act may not be disclosed to the public.
6Those records, while in the possession of the State's
7Attorney, are exempt from disclosure under the Freedom of
8Information Act.
9    (b) In deciding such a case the court may examine in camera
10any portion of the minutes of a meeting at which a violation of
11the Act is alleged to have occurred, and may take such
12additional evidence as it deems necessary.
13    (c) The court, having due regard for orderly
14administration and the public interest, as well as for the
15interests of the parties, may grant such relief as it deems
16appropriate, including granting a relief by mandamus requiring
17that a meeting be open to the public, granting an injunction
18against future violations of this Act, ordering the public
19body to make available to the public such portion of the
20minutes of a meeting as is not authorized to be kept
21confidential under this Act, or declaring null and void any
22final action taken at a closed meeting in violation of this
23Act.
24    (d) The court may assess against any party, except a
25State's Attorney, reasonable attorney's fees and other
26litigation costs reasonably incurred by any other party who

 

 

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1substantially prevails in any action brought in accordance
2with this Section, provided that costs may be assessed against
3any private party or parties bringing an action pursuant to
4this Section only upon the court's determination that the
5action is malicious or frivolous in nature.
6(Source: P.A. 99-714, eff. 8-5-16.)