State of Illinois
90th General Assembly
Legislation

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90_SB0552

      5 ILCS 120/2              from Ch. 102, par. 42
          Amends the Open Meetings Act.  Provides that  a  property
      tax  Board  of  Review  or  a  Board  of Appeals shall not be
      considered a "quasi-adjudicative body".
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 1        AN ACT to amend the Open Meetings Act by changing Section
 2    2.
 3        Be it enacted by the People of  the  State  of  Illinois,
 4    represented in the General Assembly:
 5        Section  5.  The Open Meetings Act is amended by changing
 6    Section 2 as follows:
 7        (5 ILCS 120/2) (from Ch. 102, par. 42)
 8        Sec. 2.  Open meetings.
 9        (a)  Openness required. All  meetings  of  public  bodies
10    shall be open to the public unless excepted in subsection (c)
11    and closed in accordance with Section 2a.
12        (b)  Construction of exceptions. The exceptions contained
13    in  subsection  (c) are in derogation of the requirement that
14    public bodies meet in the open, and therefore, the exceptions
15    are to be strictly  construed,  extending  only  to  subjects
16    clearly  within their scope.  The exceptions authorize but do
17    not require the holding of a  closed  meeting  to  discuss  a
18    subject included within an enumerated exception.
19        (c)  Exceptions.  A  public body may hold closed meetings
20    to consider the following subjects:
21             (1)  The  appointment,   employment,   compensation,
22        discipline,   performance,   or   dismissal  of  specific
23        employees of the public body, including hearing testimony
24        on a complaint lodged against an  employee  to  determine
25        its validity.
26             (2)  Collective   negotiating  matters  between  the
27        public body and its employees or  their  representatives,
28        or  deliberations  concerning salary schedules for one or
29        more classes of employees.
30             (3)  The selection of a  person  to  fill  a  public
31        office,  as defined in this Act, including a vacancy in a
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 1        public office, when the public body  is  given  power  to
 2        appoint  under  law  or  ordinance,  or  the  discipline,
 3        performance  or  removal  of  the  occupant  of  a public
 4        office, when the public body is given power to remove the
 5        occupant under law or ordinance.
 6             (4)  Evidence  or  testimony   presented   in   open
 7        hearing,   or   in   closed  hearing  where  specifically
 8        authorized by  law,  to  a  quasi-adjudicative  body,  as
 9        defined  in this Act, provided that the body prepares and
10        makes available for public inspection a written  decision
11        setting forth its determinative reasoning.
12             (5)  The  purchase or lease of real property for the
13        use of the public body, including meetings held  for  the
14        purpose  of discussing whether a particular parcel should
15        be acquired.
16             (6)  The setting of a price for  sale  or  lease  of
17        property owned by the public body.
18             (7)  The    sale    or   purchase   of   securities,
19        investments, or investment contracts.
20             (8)  Emergency security procedures and  the  use  of
21        personnel  and  equipment  to respond to actual danger to
22        the  safety  of  employees,  students,  staff  or  public
23        property, provided  that  a  description  of  the  actual
24        danger  shall  be  made a part of the motion to close the
25        meeting.
26             (9)  Student disciplinary cases.
27             (10)  The  placement  of  individual   students   in
28        special  education programs and other matters relating to
29        individual students.
30             (11)  Litigation, when an action against,  affecting
31        or on behalf of the particular public body has been filed
32        and is pending before a court or administrative tribunal,
33        or  when the public body finds that an action is probable
34        or imminent, in which case  the  basis  for  the  finding
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 1        shall  be  recorded  and  entered into the minutes of the
 2        closed meeting.
 3             (12)  The establishment of reserves or settlement of
 4        claims  as  provided  in  the  Local   Governmental   and
 5        Governmental  Employees  Tort  Immunity Act, if otherwise
 6        the disposition of a claim or potential  claim  might  be
 7        prejudiced,  or  the review or discussion of claims, loss
 8        or risk management information, records, data, advice  or
 9        communications from or with respect to any insurer of the
10        public  body  or  any  intergovernmental  risk management
11        association or self insurance pool of  which  the  public
12        body is a member.
13             (13)  Conciliation  of  complaints of discrimination
14        in the sale or rental of housing,  when  closed  meetings
15        are  authorized  by the law or ordinance prescribing fair
16        housing  practices   and   creating   a   commission   or
17        administrative agency for their enforcement.
18             (14)  Informant sources, the hiring or assignment of
19        undercover  personnel  or equipment, or ongoing, prior or
20        future  criminal  investigations,  when  discussed  by  a
21        public body with criminal investigatory responsibilities.
22             (15)  Professional  ethics   or   performance   when
23        considered  by  an  advisory  body  appointed to advise a
24        licensing or regulatory agency on matters germane to  the
25        advisory body's field of competence.
26             (16)  Self  evaluation,  practices and procedures or
27        professional ethics, when meeting with  a  representative
28        of  a statewide association of which the public body is a
29        member.
30             (17)  The recruitment, credentialing, discipline  or
31        formal  peer  review  of  physicians or other health care
32        professionals  for  a  hospital,  or  other   institution
33        providing  medical  care,  that is operated by the public
34        body.
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 1             (18)  Deliberations for decisions  of  the  Prisoner
 2        Review Board.
 3             (19)  Review  or discussion of applications received
 4        under the Experimental Organ  Transplantation  Procedures
 5        Act.
 6             (20)  The  classification  and discussion of matters
 7        classified as confidential or continued  confidential  by
 8        the State Employees Suggestion Award Board.
 9             (21)  Discussion  of  minutes  of  meetings lawfully
10        closed under this Act, whether for purposes  of  approval
11        by  the  body of the minutes or semi-annual review of the
12        minutes as mandated by Section 2.06.
13             (22)  The business of the  State  Emergency  Medical
14        Services Disciplinary Review Board.
15        (d)  Definitions. For purposes of this Section:
16        "Employee" means a person employed by a public body whose
17    relationship    with   the   public   body   constitutes   an
18    employer-employee relationship under  the  usual  common  law
19    rules, and who is not an independent contractor.
20        "Public  office" means a position created by or under the
21    Constitution or laws of this State, the occupant of which  is
22    charged  with  the  exercise of some portion of the sovereign
23    power of this State. The term "public office"  shall  include
24    members  of  the  public  body,  but  it  shall  not  include
25    organizational  positions  filled by members thereof, whether
26    established by law or by a public body itself, that exist  to
27    assist the body in the conduct of its business.
28        "Quasi-adjudicative  body"  means  an administrative body
29    charged by  law  or  ordinance  with  the  responsibility  to
30    conduct  hearings,  receive  evidence  or  testimony and make
31    determinations based thereon,  but  does  not  include  local
32    electoral  boards  when  such bodies are considering petition
33    challenges. A property  tax  board  of  review  or  board  of
34    appeals  shall  not be considered a "quasi-adjudicative body"
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 1    for purposes of this Act.
 2        (e)  Final action. No final action  may  be  taken  at  a
 3    closed  meeting.  Final  action shall be preceded by a public
 4    recital of the nature of  the  matter  being  considered  and
 5    other information that will inform the public of the business
 6    being conducted.
 7    (Source:  P.A.  88-530;  88-621,  eff.  1-1-95;  89-86,  eff.
 8    6-30-95; 89-177, eff. 7-19-95; 89-626, eff. 8-9-96.)

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