Full Text of SB2332 103rd General Assembly
SB2332 103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
| | 103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2023 and 2024 SB2332 Introduced 2/10/2023, by Sen. Craig Wilcox SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED: |
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5 ILCS 140/2 | from Ch. 116, par. 202 |
5 ILCS 140/3.5 | |
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Amends the Freedom of Information Act. Defines "public body official" as an elected or appointed officeholder of a public body. Provides that "public body official" does not include a private attorney or law firm appointed to represent the public body. Provides that a public body's freedom of information officer must be a public body official or employee of the public body.
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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,
| 3 | | represented in the General Assembly:
| 4 | | Section 5. The Freedom of Information Act is amended by | 5 | | changing Sections 2 and 3.5 as follows:
| 6 | | (5 ILCS 140/2) (from Ch. 116, par. 202)
| 7 | | Sec. 2. Definitions. As used in this Act:
| 8 | | (a) "Public body" means all legislative,
executive, | 9 | | administrative, or advisory bodies of the State, state | 10 | | universities
and colleges, counties, townships, cities, | 11 | | villages, incorporated towns,
school districts and all other | 12 | | municipal corporations,
boards, bureaus, committees, or | 13 | | commissions of this State, any
subsidiary
bodies of any of the | 14 | | foregoing including but not limited to committees and
| 15 | | subcommittees thereof, and a School Finance Authority created | 16 | | under
Article 1E of the School Code.
"Public body" does not | 17 | | include a child death review team
or the Illinois Child Death | 18 | | Review Teams
Executive Council
established under
the Child | 19 | | Death Review Team Act, or a regional youth advisory board or | 20 | | the Statewide Youth Advisory Board established under the | 21 | | Department of Children and Family Services Statewide Youth | 22 | | Advisory Board Act.
| 23 | | (a-5) "Public body official" means an elected or appointed |
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| 1 | | officeholder of a public body. "Public body official" does not | 2 | | include a private attorney or law firm appointed to represent | 3 | | the public body. | 4 | | (b) "Person" means any individual, corporation, | 5 | | partnership, firm,
organization
or association, acting | 6 | | individually or as a group.
| 7 | | (c) "Public records" means all records, reports, forms, | 8 | | writings, letters,
memoranda, books, papers, maps, | 9 | | photographs, microfilms, cards, tapes,
recordings,
electronic | 10 | | data processing records, electronic communications, recorded | 11 | | information and all other
documentary
materials pertaining to | 12 | | the transaction of public business, regardless of physical | 13 | | form or characteristics, having been
prepared by or for, or | 14 | | having been or being used by, received by, in the possession | 15 | | of, or under the
control
of
any public body. | 16 | | (c-5) "Private information" means unique identifiers, | 17 | | including a person's social security number, driver's license | 18 | | number, employee identification number, biometric identifiers, | 19 | | personal financial information, passwords or other access | 20 | | codes, medical records, home or personal telephone numbers, | 21 | | and personal email addresses. Private information also | 22 | | includes home address and personal license plates, except as | 23 | | otherwise provided by law or when compiled without possibility | 24 | | of attribution to any person. | 25 | | (c-10) "Commercial purpose" means the use of any part of a | 26 | | public record or records, or information derived from public |
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| 1 | | records, in any form for sale, resale, or solicitation or | 2 | | advertisement for sales or services. For purposes of this | 3 | | definition, requests made by news media and non-profit, | 4 | | scientific, or academic organizations shall not be considered | 5 | | to be made for a "commercial purpose" when the principal | 6 | | purpose of the request is (i) to access and disseminate | 7 | | information concerning news and current or passing events, | 8 | | (ii) for articles of opinion or features of interest to the | 9 | | public, or (iii) for the purpose of academic, scientific, or | 10 | | public research or education.
| 11 | | (d) "Copying" means the reproduction of any public record | 12 | | by means of any
photographic, electronic, mechanical or other | 13 | | process, device or means now known or hereafter developed and | 14 | | available to the public body.
| 15 | | (e) "Head of the public body" means the president, mayor, | 16 | | chairman,
presiding
officer, director, superintendent, | 17 | | manager, supervisor or individual otherwise
holding primary | 18 | | executive and administrative authority for the public
body, or | 19 | | such person's duly authorized designee.
| 20 | | (f) "News media" means a newspaper or other periodical | 21 | | issued at regular
intervals whether in print or electronic | 22 | | format, a news service whether
in print or electronic format, | 23 | | a radio
station, a television station, a television network, a | 24 | | community
antenna television service, or a person or | 25 | | corporation engaged in making news
reels or other motion | 26 | | picture news for public showing.
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| 1 | | (g) "Recurrent requester", as used in Section 3.2 of this | 2 | | Act, means a person that, in the 12 months immediately | 3 | | preceding the request, has submitted to the same public body | 4 | | (i) a minimum of 50 requests for records, (ii) a minimum of 15 | 5 | | requests for records within a 30-day period, or (iii) a | 6 | | minimum of 7 requests for records within a 7-day period. For | 7 | | purposes of this definition, requests made by news media and | 8 | | non-profit, scientific, or academic organizations shall not be | 9 | | considered in calculating the number of requests made in the | 10 | | time periods in this definition when the principal purpose of | 11 | | the requests is (i) to access and disseminate information | 12 | | concerning news and current or passing events, (ii) for | 13 | | articles of opinion or features of interest to the public, or | 14 | | (iii) for the purpose of academic, scientific, or public | 15 | | research or education. | 16 | | For the purposes of this subsection (g), "request" means a | 17 | | written document (or oral request, if the public body chooses | 18 | | to honor oral requests) that is submitted to a public body via | 19 | | personal delivery, mail, telefax, electronic mail, or other | 20 | | means available to the public body and that identifies the | 21 | | particular public record the requester seeks. One request may | 22 | | identify multiple records to be inspected or copied. | 23 | | (h) "Voluminous request" means a request that: (i) | 24 | | includes more than 5 individual requests for more than 5 | 25 | | different categories of records or a combination of individual | 26 | | requests that total requests for more than 5 different |
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| 1 | | categories of records in a period of 20 business days; or (ii) | 2 | | requires the compilation of more than 500 letter or | 3 | | legal-sized pages of public records unless a single requested | 4 | | record exceeds 500 pages. "Single requested record" may | 5 | | include, but is not limited to, one report, form, e-mail, | 6 | | letter, memorandum, book, map, microfilm, tape, or recording. | 7 | | "Voluminous request" does not include a request made by | 8 | | news media and non-profit, scientific, or academic | 9 | | organizations if the principal purpose of the request is: (1) | 10 | | to access and disseminate information concerning news and | 11 | | current or passing events; (2) for articles of opinion or | 12 | | features of interest to the public; or (3) for the purpose of | 13 | | academic, scientific, or public research or education. | 14 | | For the purposes of this subsection (h), "request" means a | 15 | | written document, or oral request, if the public body chooses | 16 | | to honor oral requests, that is submitted to a public body via | 17 | | personal delivery, mail, telefax, electronic mail, or other | 18 | | means available to the public body and that identifies the | 19 | | particular public record or records the requester seeks. One | 20 | | request may identify multiple individual records to be | 21 | | inspected or copied. | 22 | | (i) "Severance agreement" means a mutual agreement between | 23 | | any public body and its employee for the employee's | 24 | | resignation in exchange for payment by the public body. | 25 | | (Source: P.A. 98-806, eff. 1-1-15; 98-1129, eff. 12-3-14; | 26 | | 99-78, eff. 7-20-15; 99-478, eff. 6-1-16 .)
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| 1 | | (5 ILCS 140/3.5) | 2 | | Sec. 3.5. Freedom of Information officers. | 3 | | (a) Each public body shall designate one or more public | 4 | | body officials or employees to act as its Freedom of | 5 | | Information officer or officers. Except in instances when | 6 | | records are furnished immediately, Freedom of Information | 7 | | officers, or their designees, shall receive requests submitted | 8 | | to the public body under this Act, ensure that the public body | 9 | | responds to requests in a timely fashion, and issue responses | 10 | | under this Act. Freedom of Information officers shall develop | 11 | | a list of documents or categories of records that the public | 12 | | body shall immediately disclose upon request. | 13 | | Upon receiving a request for a public record, the Freedom | 14 | | of Information officer shall: | 15 | | (1) note the date the public body receives the written | 16 | | request; | 17 | | (2) compute the day on which the period for response | 18 | | will expire and make a notation of that date on the written | 19 | | request; | 20 | | (3) maintain an electronic or paper copy of a written | 21 | | request, including all documents submitted with the | 22 | | request until the request has been complied with or | 23 | | denied; and | 24 | | (4) create a file for the retention of the original | 25 | | request, a copy of the response, a record of written |
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| 1 | | communications with the requester, and a copy of other | 2 | | communications. | 3 | | (b) All Freedom of Information officers shall, within 6 | 4 | | months after the effective date of this amendatory Act of the | 5 | | 96th General Assembly, successfully complete an electronic | 6 | | training curriculum to be developed by the Public Access | 7 | | Counselor and thereafter successfully complete an annual | 8 | | training program. Thereafter, whenever a new Freedom of | 9 | | Information officer is designated by a public body, that | 10 | | person shall successfully complete the electronic training | 11 | | curriculum within 30 days after assuming the position. | 12 | | Successful completion of the required training curriculum | 13 | | within the periods provided shall be a prerequisite to | 14 | | continue serving as a Freedom of Information officer.
| 15 | | (Source: P.A. 96-542, eff. 1-1-10.)
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