97TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2011 and 2012
HB4592

 

Introduced 2/1/2012, by Rep. William Cunningham

 

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
 
5 ILCS 140/7  from Ch. 116, par. 207

    Amends the Freedom of Information Act. Exempts from the Act's copying and disclosure requirements records requested by persons committed to the Department of Corrections if those materials (i) are available in the library of the correctional facility where the inmate is confined, (ii) include records from staff members' personnel files, staff rosters, or other staffing assignment information, or (iii) are available through an administrative request to the Department of Corrections. Effective immediately.


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FISCAL NOTE ACT MAY APPLY

 

 

A BILL FOR

 

HB4592LRB097 18208 JDS 63432 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 Freedom of Information Act is amended by
5changing Section 7 as follows:
 
6    (5 ILCS 140/7)  (from Ch. 116, par. 207)
7    Sec. 7. Exemptions.
8    (1) When a request is made to inspect or copy a public
9record that contains information that is exempt from disclosure
10under this Section, but also contains information that is not
11exempt from disclosure, the public body may elect to redact the
12information that is exempt. The public body shall make the
13remaining information available for inspection and copying.
14Subject to this requirement, the following shall be exempt from
15inspection and copying:
16        (a) Information specifically prohibited from
17    disclosure by federal or State law or rules and regulations
18    implementing federal or State law.
19        (b) Private information, unless disclosure is required
20    by another provision of this Act, a State or federal law or
21    a court order.
22        (b-5) Files, documents, and other data or databases
23    maintained by one or more law enforcement agencies and

 

 

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1    specifically designed to provide information to one or more
2    law enforcement agencies regarding the physical or mental
3    status of one or more individual subjects.
4        (c) Personal information contained within public
5    records, the disclosure of which would constitute a clearly
6    unwarranted invasion of personal privacy, unless the
7    disclosure is consented to in writing by the individual
8    subjects of the information. "Unwarranted invasion of
9    personal privacy" means the disclosure of information that
10    is highly personal or objectionable to a reasonable person
11    and in which the subject's right to privacy outweighs any
12    legitimate public interest in obtaining the information.
13    The disclosure of information that bears on the public
14    duties of public employees and officials shall not be
15    considered an invasion of personal privacy.
16        (d) Records in the possession of any public body
17    created in the course of administrative enforcement
18    proceedings, and any law enforcement or correctional
19    agency for law enforcement purposes, but only to the extent
20    that disclosure would:
21            (i) interfere with pending or actually and
22        reasonably contemplated law enforcement proceedings
23        conducted by any law enforcement or correctional
24        agency that is the recipient of the request;
25            (ii) interfere with active administrative
26        enforcement proceedings conducted by the public body

 

 

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1        that is the recipient of the request;
2            (iii) create a substantial likelihood that a
3        person will be deprived of a fair trial or an impartial
4        hearing;
5            (iv) unavoidably disclose the identity of a
6        confidential source, confidential information
7        furnished only by the confidential source, or persons
8        who file complaints with or provide information to
9        administrative, investigative, law enforcement, or
10        penal agencies; except that the identities of
11        witnesses to traffic accidents, traffic accident
12        reports, and rescue reports shall be provided by
13        agencies of local government, except when disclosure
14        would interfere with an active criminal investigation
15        conducted by the agency that is the recipient of the
16        request;
17            (v) disclose unique or specialized investigative
18        techniques other than those generally used and known or
19        disclose internal documents of correctional agencies
20        related to detection, observation or investigation of
21        incidents of crime or misconduct, and disclosure would
22        result in demonstrable harm to the agency or public
23        body that is the recipient of the request;
24            (vi) endanger the life or physical safety of law
25        enforcement personnel or any other person; or
26            (vii) obstruct an ongoing criminal investigation

 

 

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1        by the agency that is the recipient of the request.
2        (e) Records that relate to or affect the security of
3    correctional institutions and detention facilities.
4        (e-5) Records requested by persons committed to the
5    Department of Corrections if those materials are available
6    in the library of the correctional facility where the
7    inmate is confined.
8        (e-6) Records requested by persons committed to the
9    Department of Corrections if those materials include
10    records from staff members' personnel files, staff
11    rosters, or other staffing assignment information.
12        (e-7) Records requested by persons committed to the
13    Department of Corrections if those materials are available
14    through an administrative request to the Department of
15    Corrections.
16        (f) Preliminary drafts, notes, recommendations,
17    memoranda and other records in which opinions are
18    expressed, or policies or actions are formulated, except
19    that a specific record or relevant portion of a record
20    shall not be exempt when the record is publicly cited and
21    identified by the head of the public body. The exemption
22    provided in this paragraph (f) extends to all those records
23    of officers and agencies of the General Assembly that
24    pertain to the preparation of legislative documents.
25        (g) Trade secrets and commercial or financial
26    information obtained from a person or business where the

 

 

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1    trade secrets or commercial or financial information are
2    furnished under a claim that they are proprietary,
3    privileged or confidential, and that disclosure of the
4    trade secrets or commercial or financial information would
5    cause competitive harm to the person or business, and only
6    insofar as the claim directly applies to the records
7    requested.
8        The information included under this exemption includes
9    all trade secrets and commercial or financial information
10    obtained by a public body, including a public pension fund,
11    from a private equity fund or a privately held company
12    within the investment portfolio of a private equity fund as
13    a result of either investing or evaluating a potential
14    investment of public funds in a private equity fund. The
15    exemption contained in this item does not apply to the
16    aggregate financial performance information of a private
17    equity fund, nor to the identity of the fund's managers or
18    general partners. The exemption contained in this item does
19    not apply to the identity of a privately held company
20    within the investment portfolio of a private equity fund,
21    unless the disclosure of the identity of a privately held
22    company may cause competitive harm.
23        Nothing contained in this paragraph (g) shall be
24    construed to prevent a person or business from consenting
25    to disclosure.
26        (h) Proposals and bids for any contract, grant, or

 

 

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1    agreement, including information which if it were
2    disclosed would frustrate procurement or give an advantage
3    to any person proposing to enter into a contractor
4    agreement with the body, until an award or final selection
5    is made. Information prepared by or for the body in
6    preparation of a bid solicitation shall be exempt until an
7    award or final selection is made.
8        (i) Valuable formulae, computer geographic systems,
9    designs, drawings and research data obtained or produced by
10    any public body when disclosure could reasonably be
11    expected to produce private gain or public loss. The
12    exemption for "computer geographic systems" provided in
13    this paragraph (i) does not extend to requests made by news
14    media as defined in Section 2 of this Act when the
15    requested information is not otherwise exempt and the only
16    purpose of the request is to access and disseminate
17    information regarding the health, safety, welfare, or
18    legal rights of the general public.
19        (j) The following information pertaining to
20    educational matters:
21            (i) test questions, scoring keys and other
22        examination data used to administer an academic
23        examination;
24            (ii) information received by a primary or
25        secondary school, college, or university under its
26        procedures for the evaluation of faculty members by

 

 

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1        their academic peers;
2            (iii) information concerning a school or
3        university's adjudication of student disciplinary
4        cases, but only to the extent that disclosure would
5        unavoidably reveal the identity of the student; and
6            (iv) course materials or research materials used
7        by faculty members.
8        (k) Architects' plans, engineers' technical
9    submissions, and other construction related technical
10    documents for projects not constructed or developed in
11    whole or in part with public funds and the same for
12    projects constructed or developed with public funds,
13    including but not limited to power generating and
14    distribution stations and other transmission and
15    distribution facilities, water treatment facilities,
16    airport facilities, sport stadiums, convention centers,
17    and all government owned, operated, or occupied buildings,
18    but only to the extent that disclosure would compromise
19    security.
20        (l) Minutes of meetings of public bodies closed to the
21    public as provided in the Open Meetings Act until the
22    public body makes the minutes available to the public under
23    Section 2.06 of the Open Meetings Act.
24        (m) Communications between a public body and an
25    attorney or auditor representing the public body that would
26    not be subject to discovery in litigation, and materials

 

 

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1    prepared or compiled by or for a public body in
2    anticipation of a criminal, civil or administrative
3    proceeding upon the request of an attorney advising the
4    public body, and materials prepared or compiled with
5    respect to internal audits of public bodies.
6        (n) Records relating to a public body's adjudication of
7    employee grievances or disciplinary cases; however, this
8    exemption shall not extend to the final outcome of cases in
9    which discipline is imposed.
10        (o) Administrative or technical information associated
11    with automated data processing operations, including but
12    not limited to software, operating protocols, computer
13    program abstracts, file layouts, source listings, object
14    modules, load modules, user guides, documentation
15    pertaining to all logical and physical design of
16    computerized systems, employee manuals, and any other
17    information that, if disclosed, would jeopardize the
18    security of the system or its data or the security of
19    materials exempt under this Section.
20        (p) Records relating to collective negotiating matters
21    between public bodies and their employees or
22    representatives, except that any final contract or
23    agreement shall be subject to inspection and copying.
24        (q) Test questions, scoring keys, and other
25    examination data used to determine the qualifications of an
26    applicant for a license or employment.

 

 

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1        (r) The records, documents, and information relating
2    to real estate purchase negotiations until those
3    negotiations have been completed or otherwise terminated.
4    With regard to a parcel involved in a pending or actually
5    and reasonably contemplated eminent domain proceeding
6    under the Eminent Domain Act, records, documents and
7    information relating to that parcel shall be exempt except
8    as may be allowed under discovery rules adopted by the
9    Illinois Supreme Court. The records, documents and
10    information relating to a real estate sale shall be exempt
11    until a sale is consummated.
12        (s) Any and all proprietary information and records
13    related to the operation of an intergovernmental risk
14    management association or self-insurance pool or jointly
15    self-administered health and accident cooperative or pool.
16    Insurance or self insurance (including any
17    intergovernmental risk management association or self
18    insurance pool) claims, loss or risk management
19    information, records, data, advice or communications.
20        (t) Information contained in or related to
21    examination, operating, or condition reports prepared by,
22    on behalf of, or for the use of a public body responsible
23    for the regulation or supervision of financial
24    institutions or insurance companies, unless disclosure is
25    otherwise required by State law.
26        (u) Information that would disclose or might lead to

 

 

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1    the disclosure of secret or confidential information,
2    codes, algorithms, programs, or private keys intended to be
3    used to create electronic or digital signatures under the
4    Electronic Commerce Security Act.
5        (v) Vulnerability assessments, security measures, and
6    response policies or plans that are designed to identify,
7    prevent, or respond to potential attacks upon a community's
8    population or systems, facilities, or installations, the
9    destruction or contamination of which would constitute a
10    clear and present danger to the health or safety of the
11    community, but only to the extent that disclosure could
12    reasonably be expected to jeopardize the effectiveness of
13    the measures or the safety of the personnel who implement
14    them or the public. Information exempt under this item may
15    include such things as details pertaining to the
16    mobilization or deployment of personnel or equipment, to
17    the operation of communication systems or protocols, or to
18    tactical operations.
19        (w) (Blank).
20        (x) Maps and other records regarding the location or
21    security of generation, transmission, distribution,
22    storage, gathering, treatment, or switching facilities
23    owned by a utility, by a power generator, or by the
24    Illinois Power Agency.
25        (y) Information contained in or related to proposals,
26    bids, or negotiations related to electric power

 

 

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1    procurement under Section 1-75 of the Illinois Power Agency
2    Act and Section 16-111.5 of the Public Utilities Act that
3    is determined to be confidential and proprietary by the
4    Illinois Power Agency or by the Illinois Commerce
5    Commission.
6        (z) Information about students exempted from
7    disclosure under Sections 10-20.38 or 34-18.29 of the
8    School Code, and information about undergraduate students
9    enrolled at an institution of higher education exempted
10    from disclosure under Section 25 of the Illinois Credit
11    Card Marketing Act of 2009.
12        (aa) Information the disclosure of which is exempted
13    under the Viatical Settlements Act of 2009.
14        (bb) Records and information provided to a mortality
15    review team and records maintained by a mortality review
16    team appointed under the Department of Juvenile Justice
17    Mortality Review Team Act.
18        (cc) Information regarding interments, entombments, or
19    inurnments of human remains that are submitted to the
20    Cemetery Oversight Database under the Cemetery Care Act or
21    the Cemetery Oversight Act, whichever is applicable.
22        (dd) Correspondence and records (i) that may not be
23    disclosed under Section 11-9 of the Public Aid Code or (ii)
24    that pertain to appeals under Section 11-8 of the Public
25    Aid Code.
26        (ee) (dd) The names, addresses, or other personal

 

 

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1    information of persons who are minors and are also
2    participants and registrants in programs of park
3    districts, forest preserve districts, conservation
4    districts, recreation agencies, and special recreation
5    associations.
6        (ff) (ee) The names, addresses, or other personal
7    information of participants and registrants in programs of
8    park districts, forest preserve districts, conservation
9    districts, recreation agencies, and special recreation
10    associations where such programs are targeted primarily to
11    minors.
12    (2) A public record that is not in the possession of a
13public body but is in the possession of a party with whom the
14agency has contracted to perform a governmental function on
15behalf of the public body, and that directly relates to the
16governmental function and is not otherwise exempt under this
17Act, shall be considered a public record of the public body,
18for purposes of this Act.
19    (3) This Section does not authorize withholding of
20information or limit the availability of records to the public,
21except as stated in this Section or otherwise provided in this
22Act.
23(Source: P.A. 96-261, eff. 1-1-10; 96-328, eff. 8-11-09;
2496-542, eff. 1-1-10; 96-558, eff. 1-1-10; 96-736, eff. 7-1-10;
2596-863, eff. 3-1-10; 96-1378, eff. 7-29-10; 97-333, eff.
268-12-11; 97-385, eff. 8-15-11; 97-452, eff. 8-19-11; revised

 

 

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19-2-11.)
 
2    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
3becoming law.