Illinois General Assembly - Full Text of Public Act 097-0452
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Public Act 097-0452


 

Public Act 0452 97TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY



 


 
Public Act 097-0452
 
HB2259 EnrolledLRB097 08113 JDS 48236 b

    AN ACT concerning government.
 
    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
 
    Section 5. The Open Meetings Act is amended by changing
Section 2 as follows:
 
    (5 ILCS 120/2)  (from Ch. 102, par. 42)
    Sec. 2. Open meetings.
    (a) Openness required. All meetings of public bodies shall
be open to the public unless excepted in subsection (c) and
closed in accordance with Section 2a.
    (b) Construction of exceptions. The exceptions contained
in subsection (c) are in derogation of the requirement that
public bodies meet in the open, and therefore, the exceptions
are to be strictly construed, extending only to subjects
clearly within their scope. The exceptions authorize but do not
require the holding of a closed meeting to discuss a subject
included within an enumerated exception.
    (c) Exceptions. A public body may hold closed meetings to
consider the following subjects:
        (1) The appointment, employment, compensation,
    discipline, performance, or dismissal of specific
    employees of the public body or legal counsel for the
    public body, including hearing testimony on a complaint
    lodged against an employee of the public body or against
    legal counsel for the public body to determine its
    validity.
        (2) Collective negotiating matters between the public
    body and its employees or their representatives, or
    deliberations concerning salary schedules for one or more
    classes of employees.
        (3) The selection of a person to fill a public office,
    as defined in this Act, including a vacancy in a public
    office, when the public body is given power to appoint
    under law or ordinance, or the discipline, performance or
    removal of the occupant of a public office, when the public
    body is given power to remove the occupant under law or
    ordinance.
        (4) Evidence or testimony presented in open hearing, or
    in closed hearing where specifically authorized by law, to
    a quasi-adjudicative body, as defined in this Act, provided
    that the body prepares and makes available for public
    inspection a written decision setting forth its
    determinative reasoning.
        (5) The purchase or lease of real property for the use
    of the public body, including meetings held for the purpose
    of discussing whether a particular parcel should be
    acquired.
        (6) The setting of a price for sale or lease of
    property owned by the public body.
        (7) The sale or purchase of securities, investments, or
    investment contracts.
        (8) Security procedures and the use of personnel and
    equipment to respond to an actual, a threatened, or a
    reasonably potential danger to the safety of employees,
    students, staff, the public, or public property.
        (9) Student disciplinary cases.
        (10) The placement of individual students in special
    education programs and other matters relating to
    individual students.
        (11) Litigation, when an action against, affecting or
    on behalf of the particular public body has been filed and
    is pending before a court or administrative tribunal, or
    when the public body finds that an action is probable or
    imminent, in which case the basis for the finding shall be
    recorded and entered into the minutes of the closed
    meeting.
        (12) The establishment of reserves or settlement of
    claims as provided in the Local Governmental and
    Governmental Employees Tort Immunity Act, if otherwise the
    disposition of a claim or potential claim might be
    prejudiced, or the review or discussion of claims, loss or
    risk management information, records, data, advice or
    communications from or with respect to any insurer of the
    public body or any intergovernmental risk management
    association or self insurance pool of which the public body
    is a member.
        (13) Conciliation of complaints of discrimination in
    the sale or rental of housing, when closed meetings are
    authorized by the law or ordinance prescribing fair housing
    practices and creating a commission or administrative
    agency for their enforcement.
        (14) Informant sources, the hiring or assignment of
    undercover personnel or equipment, or ongoing, prior or
    future criminal investigations, when discussed by a public
    body with criminal investigatory responsibilities.
        (15) Professional ethics or performance when
    considered by an advisory body appointed to advise a
    licensing or regulatory agency on matters germane to the
    advisory body's field of competence.
        (16) Self evaluation, practices and procedures or
    professional ethics, when meeting with a representative of
    a statewide association of which the public body is a
    member.
        (17) The recruitment, credentialing, discipline or
    formal peer review of physicians or other health care
    professionals for a hospital, or other institution
    providing medical care, that is operated by the public
    body.
        (18) Deliberations for decisions of the Prisoner
    Review Board.
        (19) Review or discussion of applications received
    under the Experimental Organ Transplantation Procedures
    Act.
        (20) The classification and discussion of matters
    classified as confidential or continued confidential by
    the State Government Suggestion Award Board.
        (21) Discussion of minutes of meetings lawfully closed
    under this Act, whether for purposes of approval by the
    body of the minutes or semi-annual review of the minutes as
    mandated by Section 2.06.
        (22) Deliberations for decisions of the State
    Emergency Medical Services Disciplinary Review Board.
        (23) The operation by a municipality of a municipal
    utility or the operation of a municipal power agency or
    municipal natural gas agency when the discussion involves
    (i) contracts relating to the purchase, sale, or delivery
    of electricity or natural gas or (ii) the results or
    conclusions of load forecast studies.
        (24) Meetings of a residential health care facility
    resident sexual assault and death review team or the
    Executive Council under the Abuse Prevention Review Team
    Act.
        (25) Meetings of an independent team of experts under
    Brian's Law.
        (26) (25) Meetings of a mortality review team appointed
    under the Department of Juvenile Justice Mortality Review
    Team Act.
        (27) (25) Confidential information, when discussed by
    one or more members of an elder abuse fatality review team,
    designated under Section 15 of the Elder Abuse and Neglect
    Act, while participating in a review conducted by that team
    of the death of an elderly person in which abuse or neglect
    is suspected, alleged, or substantiated; provided that
    before the review team holds a closed meeting, or closes an
    open meeting, to discuss the confidential information,
    each participating review team member seeking to disclose
    the confidential information in the closed meeting or
    closed portion of the meeting must state on the record
    during an open meeting or the open portion of a meeting the
    nature of the information to be disclosed and the legal
    basis for otherwise holding that information confidential.
        (28) Correspondence and records (i) that may not be
    disclosed under Section 11-9 of the Public Aid Code or (ii)
    that pertain to appeals under Section 11-8 of the Public
    Aid Code.
    (d) Definitions. For purposes of this Section:
    "Employee" means a person employed by a public body whose
relationship with the public body constitutes an
employer-employee relationship under the usual common law
rules, and who is not an independent contractor.
    "Public office" means a position created by or under the
Constitution or laws of this State, the occupant of which is
charged with the exercise of some portion of the sovereign
power of this State. The term "public office" shall include
members of the public body, but it shall not include
organizational positions filled by members thereof, whether
established by law or by a public body itself, that exist to
assist the body in the conduct of its business.
    "Quasi-adjudicative body" means an administrative body
charged by law or ordinance with the responsibility to conduct
hearings, receive evidence or testimony and make
determinations based thereon, but does not include local
electoral boards when such bodies are considering petition
challenges.
    (e) Final action. No final action may be taken at a closed
meeting. Final action shall be preceded by a public recital of
the nature of the matter being considered and other information
that will inform the public of the business being conducted.
(Source: P.A. 95-185, eff. 1-1-08; 96-1235, eff. 1-1-11;
96-1378, eff. 7-29-10; 96-1428, eff. 8-11-10; revised 9-2-10.)
 
    Section 10. The Freedom of Information Act is amended by
changing Section 7 as follows:
 
    (5 ILCS 140/7)  (from Ch. 116, par. 207)
    Sec. 7. Exemptions.
    (1) When a request is made to inspect or copy a public
record that contains information that is exempt from disclosure
under this Section, but also contains information that is not
exempt from disclosure, the public body may elect to redact the
information that is exempt. The public body shall make the
remaining information available for inspection and copying.
Subject to this requirement, the following shall be exempt from
inspection and copying:
        (a) Information specifically prohibited from
    disclosure by federal or State law or rules and regulations
    implementing federal or State law.
        (b) Private information, unless disclosure is required
    by another provision of this Act, a State or federal law or
    a court order.
        (b-5) Files, documents, and other data or databases
    maintained by one or more law enforcement agencies and
    specifically designed to provide information to one or more
    law enforcement agencies regarding the physical or mental
    status of one or more individual subjects.
        (c) Personal information contained within public
    records, the disclosure of which would constitute a clearly
    unwarranted invasion of personal privacy, unless the
    disclosure is consented to in writing by the individual
    subjects of the information. "Unwarranted invasion of
    personal privacy" means the disclosure of information that
    is highly personal or objectionable to a reasonable person
    and in which the subject's right to privacy outweighs any
    legitimate public interest in obtaining the information.
    The disclosure of information that bears on the public
    duties of public employees and officials shall not be
    considered an invasion of personal privacy.
        (d) Records in the possession of any public body
    created in the course of administrative enforcement
    proceedings, and any law enforcement or correctional
    agency for law enforcement purposes, but only to the extent
    that disclosure would:
            (i) interfere with pending or actually and
        reasonably contemplated law enforcement proceedings
        conducted by any law enforcement or correctional
        agency that is the recipient of the request;
            (ii) interfere with active administrative
        enforcement proceedings conducted by the public body
        that is the recipient of the request;
            (iii) create a substantial likelihood that a
        person will be deprived of a fair trial or an impartial
        hearing;
            (iv) unavoidably disclose the identity of a
        confidential source, confidential information
        furnished only by the confidential source, or persons
        who file complaints with or provide information to
        administrative, investigative, law enforcement, or
        penal agencies; except that the identities of
        witnesses to traffic accidents, traffic accident
        reports, and rescue reports shall be provided by
        agencies of local government, except when disclosure
        would interfere with an active criminal investigation
        conducted by the agency that is the recipient of the
        request;
            (v) disclose unique or specialized investigative
        techniques other than those generally used and known or
        disclose internal documents of correctional agencies
        related to detection, observation or investigation of
        incidents of crime or misconduct, and disclosure would
        result in demonstrable harm to the agency or public
        body that is the recipient of the request;
            (vi) endanger the life or physical safety of law
        enforcement personnel or any other person; or
            (vii) obstruct an ongoing criminal investigation
        by the agency that is the recipient of the request.
        (e) Records that relate to or affect the security of
    correctional institutions and detention facilities.
        (f) Preliminary drafts, notes, recommendations,
    memoranda and other records in which opinions are
    expressed, or policies or actions are formulated, except
    that a specific record or relevant portion of a record
    shall not be exempt when the record is publicly cited and
    identified by the head of the public body. The exemption
    provided in this paragraph (f) extends to all those records
    of officers and agencies of the General Assembly that
    pertain to the preparation of legislative documents.
        (g) Trade secrets and commercial or financial
    information obtained from a person or business where the
    trade secrets or commercial or financial information are
    furnished under a claim that they are proprietary,
    privileged or confidential, and that disclosure of the
    trade secrets or commercial or financial information would
    cause competitive harm to the person or business, and only
    insofar as the claim directly applies to the records
    requested.
        The information included under this exemption includes
    all trade secrets and commercial or financial information
    obtained by a public body, including a public pension fund,
    from a private equity fund or a privately held company
    within the investment portfolio of a private equity fund as
    a result of either investing or evaluating a potential
    investment of public funds in a private equity fund. The
    exemption contained in this item does not apply to the
    aggregate financial performance information of a private
    equity fund, nor to the identity of the fund's managers or
    general partners. The exemption contained in this item does
    not apply to the identity of a privately held company
    within the investment portfolio of a private equity fund,
    unless the disclosure of the identity of a privately held
    company may cause competitive harm.
        Nothing contained in this paragraph (g) shall be
    construed to prevent a person or business from consenting
    to disclosure.
        (h) Proposals and bids for any contract, grant, or
    agreement, including information which if it were
    disclosed would frustrate procurement or give an advantage
    to any person proposing to enter into a contractor
    agreement with the body, until an award or final selection
    is made. Information prepared by or for the body in
    preparation of a bid solicitation shall be exempt until an
    award or final selection is made.
        (i) Valuable formulae, computer geographic systems,
    designs, drawings and research data obtained or produced by
    any public body when disclosure could reasonably be
    expected to produce private gain or public loss. The
    exemption for "computer geographic systems" provided in
    this paragraph (i) does not extend to requests made by news
    media as defined in Section 2 of this Act when the
    requested information is not otherwise exempt and the only
    purpose of the request is to access and disseminate
    information regarding the health, safety, welfare, or
    legal rights of the general public.
        (j) The following information pertaining to
    educational matters:
            (i) test questions, scoring keys and other
        examination data used to administer an academic
        examination;
            (ii) information received by a primary or
        secondary school, college, or university under its
        procedures for the evaluation of faculty members by
        their academic peers;
            (iii) information concerning a school or
        university's adjudication of student disciplinary
        cases, but only to the extent that disclosure would
        unavoidably reveal the identity of the student; and
            (iv) course materials or research materials used
        by faculty members.
        (k) Architects' plans, engineers' technical
    submissions, and other construction related technical
    documents for projects not constructed or developed in
    whole or in part with public funds and the same for
    projects constructed or developed with public funds,
    including but not limited to power generating and
    distribution stations and other transmission and
    distribution facilities, water treatment facilities,
    airport facilities, sport stadiums, convention centers,
    and all government owned, operated, or occupied buildings,
    but only to the extent that disclosure would compromise
    security.
        (l) Minutes of meetings of public bodies closed to the
    public as provided in the Open Meetings Act until the
    public body makes the minutes available to the public under
    Section 2.06 of the Open Meetings Act.
        (m) Communications between a public body and an
    attorney or auditor representing the public body that would
    not be subject to discovery in litigation, and materials
    prepared or compiled by or for a public body in
    anticipation of a criminal, civil or administrative
    proceeding upon the request of an attorney advising the
    public body, and materials prepared or compiled with
    respect to internal audits of public bodies.
        (n) Records relating to a public body's adjudication of
    employee grievances or disciplinary cases; however, this
    exemption shall not extend to the final outcome of cases in
    which discipline is imposed.
        (o) Administrative or technical information associated
    with automated data processing operations, including but
    not limited to software, operating protocols, computer
    program abstracts, file layouts, source listings, object
    modules, load modules, user guides, documentation
    pertaining to all logical and physical design of
    computerized systems, employee manuals, and any other
    information that, if disclosed, would jeopardize the
    security of the system or its data or the security of
    materials exempt under this Section.
        (p) Records relating to collective negotiating matters
    between public bodies and their employees or
    representatives, except that any final contract or
    agreement shall be subject to inspection and copying.
        (q) Test questions, scoring keys, and other
    examination data used to determine the qualifications of an
    applicant for a license or employment.
        (r) The records, documents, and information relating
    to real estate purchase negotiations until those
    negotiations have been completed or otherwise terminated.
    With regard to a parcel involved in a pending or actually
    and reasonably contemplated eminent domain proceeding
    under the Eminent Domain Act, records, documents and
    information relating to that parcel shall be exempt except
    as may be allowed under discovery rules adopted by the
    Illinois Supreme Court. The records, documents and
    information relating to a real estate sale shall be exempt
    until a sale is consummated.
        (s) Any and all proprietary information and records
    related to the operation of an intergovernmental risk
    management association or self-insurance pool or jointly
    self-administered health and accident cooperative or pool.
    Insurance or self insurance (including any
    intergovernmental risk management association or self
    insurance pool) claims, loss or risk management
    information, records, data, advice or communications.
        (t) Information contained in or related to
    examination, operating, or condition reports prepared by,
    on behalf of, or for the use of a public body responsible
    for the regulation or supervision of financial
    institutions or insurance companies, unless disclosure is
    otherwise required by State law.
        (u) Information that would disclose or might lead to
    the disclosure of secret or confidential information,
    codes, algorithms, programs, or private keys intended to be
    used to create electronic or digital signatures under the
    Electronic Commerce Security Act.
        (v) Vulnerability assessments, security measures, and
    response policies or plans that are designed to identify,
    prevent, or respond to potential attacks upon a community's
    population or systems, facilities, or installations, the
    destruction or contamination of which would constitute a
    clear and present danger to the health or safety of the
    community, but only to the extent that disclosure could
    reasonably be expected to jeopardize the effectiveness of
    the measures or the safety of the personnel who implement
    them or the public. Information exempt under this item may
    include such things as details pertaining to the
    mobilization or deployment of personnel or equipment, to
    the operation of communication systems or protocols, or to
    tactical operations.
        (w) (Blank).
        (x) Maps and other records regarding the location or
    security of generation, transmission, distribution,
    storage, gathering, treatment, or switching facilities
    owned by a utility, by a power generator, or by the
    Illinois Power Agency.
        (y) Information contained in or related to proposals,
    bids, or negotiations related to electric power
    procurement under Section 1-75 of the Illinois Power Agency
    Act and Section 16-111.5 of the Public Utilities Act that
    is determined to be confidential and proprietary by the
    Illinois Power Agency or by the Illinois Commerce
    Commission.
        (z) Information about students exempted from
    disclosure under Sections 10-20.38 or 34-18.29 of the
    School Code, and information about undergraduate students
    enrolled at an institution of higher education exempted
    from disclosure under Section 25 of the Illinois Credit
    Card Marketing Act of 2009.
        (aa) Information the disclosure of which is exempted
    under the Viatical Settlements Act of 2009.
        (bb) Records and information provided to a mortality
    review team and records maintained by a mortality review
    team appointed under the Department of Juvenile Justice
    Mortality Review Team Act.
        (cc) (bb) Information regarding interments,
    entombments, or inurnments of human remains that are
    submitted to the Cemetery Oversight Database under the
    Cemetery Care Act or the Cemetery Oversight Act, whichever
    is applicable.
        (dd) Correspondence and records (i) that may not be
    disclosed under Section 11-9 of the Public Aid Code or (ii)
    that pertain to appeals under Section 11-8 of the Public
    Aid Code.
    (2) A public record that is not in the possession of a
public body but is in the possession of a party with whom the
agency has contracted to perform a governmental function on
behalf of the public body, and that directly relates to the
governmental function and is not otherwise exempt under this
Act, shall be considered a public record of the public body,
for purposes of this Act.
    (3) This Section does not authorize withholding of
information or limit the availability of records to the public,
except as stated in this Section or otherwise provided in this
Act.
(Source: P.A. 95-331, eff. 8-21-07; 95-481, eff. 8-28-07;
95-941, eff. 8-29-08; 95-988, eff. 6-1-09; 96-261, eff. 1-1-10;
96-328, eff. 8-11-09; 96-542, eff. 1-1-10; 96-558, eff. 1-1-10;
96-736, eff. 7-1-10; 96-863, eff. 3-1-10; 96-1378, eff.
7-29-10; revised 9-2-10.)
 
    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
becoming law.

Effective Date: 8/19/2011