Bill Text: IL HB0248 | 2015-2016 | 99th General Assembly | Engrossed

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Bill Title: Amends the Open Meetings Act. Provides that the court may declare null and void any final action taken at a closed or open meeting (instead of only a closed meeting) in violation of the Act. Effective immediately.

Sponsorship: Partisan Bill (Republican 3)

Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2015-10-10 - Senate Committee Amendment No. 1 Pursuant to Senate Rule 3-9(b) / Referred to Assignments [HB0248 Detail]

Download: Illinois-2015-HB0248-Engrossed.html

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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 3 as follows:
(5 ILCS 120/3) (from Ch. 102, par. 43)
Sec. 3. (a) Where the provisions of this Act are not
complied with, or where there is probable cause to believe that
the provisions of this Act will not be complied with, any
person, including the State's Attorney of the county in which
such noncompliance may occur, may bring a civil action in the
circuit court for the judicial circuit in which the alleged
noncompliance has occurred or is about to occur, or in which
the affected public body has its principal office, prior to or
within 60 days of the meeting alleged to be in violation of
this Act or, if facts concerning the meeting are not discovered
within the 60-day period, within 60 days of the discovery of a
violation by the State's Attorney.
Records that are obtained by a State's Attorney from a
public body for purposes of reviewing whether the public body
has complied with this Act may not be disclosed to the public.
Those records, while in the possession of the State's Attorney,
are exempt from disclosure under the Freedom of Information

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Act.
(b) In deciding such a case the court may examine in camera
any portion of the minutes of a meeting at which a violation of
the Act is alleged to have occurred, and may take such
additional evidence as it deems necessary.
(c) The court, having due regard for orderly administration
and the public interest, as well as for the interests of the
parties, may grant such relief as it deems appropriate,
including granting a relief by mandamus requiring that a
meeting be open to the public, granting an injunction against
future violations of this Act, ordering the public body to make
available to the public such portion of the minutes of a
meeting as is not authorized to be kept confidential under this
Act, or declaring null and void any final action taken at a
closed meeting in violation of this Act, or declaring null and
void a final action taken at an open meeting in violation of
this Act, but only if a civil action alleging the violation is
commenced within 60 days of that meeting and the alleged
violation is directly and substantially related to that final
action.
(d) The court may assess against any party, except a
State's Attorney, reasonable attorney's fees and other
litigation costs reasonably incurred by any other party who
substantially prevails in any action brought in accordance with
this Section, provided that costs may be assessed against any
private party or parties bringing an action pursuant to this

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Section only upon the court's determination that the action is
malicious or frivolous in nature.
(Source: P.A. 96-542, eff. 1-1-10.)
Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
becoming law.