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| | 98TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2013 and 2014 HB5553 Introduced , by Rep. Brad E. Halbrook SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED: |
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5 ILCS 140/11 | from Ch. 116, par. 211 |
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Amends the Freedom of Information Act. Provides that an individual acting on behalf of a public body who willfully and intentionally fails to comply with the Act is guilty of a Class C misdemeanor. Effective immediately.
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| | A BILL FOR |
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| | HB5553 | | LRB098 18657 HEP 53800 b |
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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 Freedom of Information Act is amended by |
5 | | changing Section 11 as follows:
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6 | | (5 ILCS 140/11) (from Ch. 116, par. 211)
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7 | | Sec. 11.
(a) Any person denied access to inspect or copy |
8 | | any public
record by a public body
may file suit for injunctive |
9 | | or
declaratory relief.
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10 | | (b) Where the denial is from a public body of the State, |
11 | | suit
may be filed in the circuit court for the county where the |
12 | | public body has
its principal office or where the person denied |
13 | | access resides.
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14 | | (c) Where the denial is from a municipality or other public
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15 | | body, except as provided in subsection (b) of this Section, |
16 | | suit may be filed
in the circuit court for the county where the |
17 | | public body is located.
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18 | | (d) The circuit court shall have the jurisdiction to enjoin |
19 | | the public
body from withholding public records and to order |
20 | | the production of any
public records improperly withheld from |
21 | | the person seeking access. If the
public body can show that |
22 | | exceptional circumstances exist, and that the
body is |
23 | | exercising due diligence in responding to the request, the |
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1 | | court
may retain jurisdiction and allow the agency additional |
2 | | time to complete
its review of the records.
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3 | | (e) On motion of the plaintiff, prior to or after in camera
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4 | | inspection, the court shall order the public body
to provide an |
5 | | index of the records to which access has been denied. The
index |
6 | | shall include the following:
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7 | | (i) A description of the nature or contents of each |
8 | | document
withheld, or each deletion from a released |
9 | | document, provided, however,
that the public body shall not |
10 | | be required to disclose the information
which it asserts is |
11 | | exempt; and
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12 | | (ii) A statement of the exemption or exemptions claimed |
13 | | for each such
deletion or withheld document.
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14 | | (f) In any action considered by the court, the court shall |
15 | | consider the
matter de novo, and shall conduct such in camera |
16 | | examination of the requested
records as it finds appropriate to |
17 | | determine if such records or any part
thereof may be withheld |
18 | | under any provision of this Act. The burden shall
be on the |
19 | | public body to establish that its refusal to permit public |
20 | | inspection
or copying is in accordance with the provisions of |
21 | | this Act. Any public body that asserts that a record is exempt |
22 | | from disclosure has the burden of proving that it is exempt by |
23 | | clear and convincing evidence.
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24 | | (g) In the event of noncompliance with an order of the |
25 | | court to disclose,
the court may enforce its order against any |
26 | | public official or employee
so ordered or primarily responsible |
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1 | | for such noncompliance through the court's
contempt powers.
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2 | | (h) Except as to causes the court considers to be of |
3 | | greater importance,
proceedings arising under this Section |
4 | | shall take precedence on the docket
over all other causes and |
5 | | be assigned for hearing and trial at the earliest
practicable |
6 | | date and expedited in every way.
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7 | | (i) If a person seeking the right to inspect or receive a |
8 | | copy of a public
record prevails in a
proceeding under this |
9 | | Section, the court shall award such
person reasonable |
10 | | attorneys' fees and costs. In determining what amount of |
11 | | attorney's fees is reasonable, the court shall consider the |
12 | | degree to which the relief obtained relates to the relief |
13 | | sought. The changes contained in this subsection apply to an |
14 | | action filed on or after the effective date of this amendatory |
15 | | Act of the 96th General Assembly.
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16 | | (j) If the court determines that a public body willfully |
17 | | and intentionally failed to comply with this Act, or otherwise |
18 | | acted in bad faith, the court shall also impose upon the public |
19 | | body a civil penalty of not less than $2,500 nor more than |
20 | | $5,000 for each occurrence. In assessing the civil penalty, the |
21 | | court shall consider in aggravation or mitigation the budget of |
22 | | the public body and whether the public body has previously been |
23 | | assessed penalties for violations of this Act. The changes |
24 | | contained in this subsection apply to an action filed on or |
25 | | after the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 96th |
26 | | General Assembly. |