Bill Text: IL SB0243 | 2025-2026 | 104th General Assembly | Enrolled

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Bill Title: Amends the Open Meetings Act. Provides that an elected or appointed member of a public body of a township may satisfy specified training requirements of the Act by participating in a course of training sponsored or conducted by an organization that represents townships created under the Township Code. Provides that a public body may not hold or schedule a regular or special meeting on the day of an election. Amends the Freedom of Information Act. Provides that electronic requests for public records must appear in their entirety within the body of the electronic submission and that no public body shall be required to open electronically attached files or hyperlinks to view or access the details of such a request. Allows, within 5 business days after its receipt of the request, a public body that has a reasonable belief that a request was not submitted by a person to require the requester to verify orally or in writing that the requester is a person. Provides that documents that have been determined to be security sensitive under certain requirements related to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission and National Materials Program are exempt from inspection and copying under the Act. Amends the Local Records Act to make a conforming change. Makes other changes. Effective January 1, 2026.

Sponsorship: Strong Partisan Bill (Democrat 16-1)

Status: (Passed) 2025-11-21 - Public Act . . . . . . . . . 104-0438 [SB0243 Detail]

Download: Illinois-2025-SB0243-Enrolled.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
Sections 1.05, 2, 2.07, and 7 as follows:
(5 ILCS 120/1.05)
Sec. 1.05. Training.
(a) Every public body shall designate employees, officers,
or members to receive training on compliance with this Act.
Each public body shall submit a list of designated employees,
officers, or members to the Public Access Counselor. Within 6
months after January 1, 2010 (the effective date of Public Act
96-542), the designated employees, officers, and members must
successfully complete an electronic training curriculum,
developed and administered by the Public Access Counselor, and
thereafter must successfully complete an annual training
program. Thereafter, whenever a public body designates an
additional employee, officer, or member to receive this
training, that person must successfully complete the
electronic training curriculum within 30 days after that
designation.
(b) Except as otherwise provided in this Section, each
elected or appointed member of a public body subject to this

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Act who is such a member on January 1, 2012 (the effective date
of Public Act 97-504) must successfully complete the
electronic training curriculum developed and administered by
the Public Access Counselor. For these members, the training
must be completed within one year after January 1, 2012 (the
effective date of Public Act 97-504).
Except as otherwise provided in this Section, each elected
or appointed member of a public body subject to this Act who
becomes such a member after January 1, 2012 (the effective
date of Public Act 97-504) shall successfully complete the
electronic training curriculum developed and administered by
the Public Access Counselor. For these members, the training
must be completed not later than the 90th day after the date
the member:
(1) takes the oath of office, if the member is
required to take an oath of office to assume the person's
duties as a member of the public body; or
(2) otherwise assumes responsibilities as a member of
the public body, if the member is not required to take an
oath of office to assume the person's duties as a member of
the governmental body.
Each member successfully completing the electronic
training curriculum shall file a copy of the certificate of
completion with the public body.
Completing the required training as a member of the public
body satisfies the requirements of this Section with regard to

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the member's service on a committee or subcommittee of the
public body and the member's ex officio service on any other
public body.
The failure of one or more members of a public body to
complete the training required by this Section does not affect
the validity of an action taken by the public body.
An elected or appointed member of a public body subject to
this Act who has successfully completed the training required
under this subsection (b) and filed a copy of the certificate
of completion with the public body is not required to
subsequently complete the training required under this
subsection (b).
(c) An elected school board member may satisfy the
training requirements of this Section by participating in a
course of training sponsored or conducted by an organization
created under Article 23 of the School Code. The course of
training shall include, but not be limited to, instruction in:
(1) the general background of the legal requirements
for open meetings;
(2) the applicability of this Act to public bodies;
(3) procedures and requirements regarding quorums,
notice, and record-keeping under this Act;
(4) procedures and requirements for holding an open
meeting and for holding a closed meeting under this Act;
and
(5) penalties and other consequences for failing to

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comply with this Act.
If an organization created under Article 23 of the School
Code provides a course of training under this subsection (c),
it must provide a certificate of course completion to each
school board member who successfully completes that course of
training.
(d) A commissioner of a drainage district may satisfy the
training requirements of this Section by participating in a
course of training sponsored or conducted by an organization
that represents the drainage districts created under the
Illinois Drainage Code. The course of training shall include,
but not be limited to, instruction in:
(1) the general background of the legal requirements
for open meetings;
(2) the applicability of this Act to public bodies;
(3) procedures and requirements regarding quorums,
notice, and record-keeping under this Act;
(4) procedures and requirements for holding an open
meeting and for holding a closed meeting under this Act;
and
(5) penalties and other consequences for failing to
comply with this Act.
If an organization that represents the drainage districts
created under the Illinois Drainage Code provides a course of
training under this subsection (d), it must provide a
certificate of course completion to each commissioner who

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successfully completes that course of training.
(e) A director of a soil and water conservation district
may satisfy the training requirements of this Section by
participating in a course of training sponsored or conducted
by an organization that represents soil and water conservation
districts created under the Soil and Water Conservation
Districts Act. The course of training shall include, but not
be limited to, instruction in:
(1) the general background of the legal requirements
for open meetings;
(2) the applicability of this Act to public bodies;
(3) procedures and requirements regarding quorums,
notice, and record-keeping under this Act;
(4) procedures and requirements for holding an open
meeting and for holding a closed meeting under this Act;
and
(5) penalties and other consequences for failing to
comply with this Act.
If an organization that represents the soil and water
conservation districts created under the Soil and Water
Conservation Districts Act provides a course of training under
this subsection (e), it must provide a certificate of course
completion to each director who successfully completes that
course of training.
(f) An elected or appointed member of a public body of a
park district, forest preserve district, or conservation

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district may satisfy the training requirements of this Section
by participating in a course of training sponsored or
conducted by an organization that represents the park
districts created in the Park District Code. The course of
training shall include, but not be limited to, instruction in:
(1) the general background of the legal requirements
for open meetings;
(2) the applicability of this Act to public bodies;
(3) procedures and requirements regarding quorums,
notice, and record-keeping under this Act;
(4) procedures and requirements for holding an open
meeting and for holding a closed meeting under this Act;
and
(5) penalties and other consequences for failing to
comply with this Act.
If an organization that represents the park districts
created in the Park District Code provides a course of
training under this subsection (f), it must provide a
certificate of course completion to each elected or appointed
member of a public body who successfully completes that course
of training.
(g) An elected or appointed member of the board of
trustees of a fire protection district may satisfy the
training requirements of this Section by participating in a
course of training sponsored or conducted by an organization
that represents fire protection districts created under the

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Fire Protection District Act. The course of training shall
include, but not be limited to, instruction in:
(1) the general background of the legal requirements
for open meetings;
(2) the applicability of this Act to public bodies;
(3) procedures and requirements regarding quorums,
notice, and record-keeping under this Act;
(4) procedures and requirements for holding an open
meeting and for holding a closed meeting under this Act;
and
(5) penalties and other consequences for failing to
comply with this Act.
If an organization that represents fire protection
districts organized under the Fire Protection District Act
provides a course of training under this subsection (g), it
must provide a certificate of course completion to each
elected or appointed member of a board of trustees who
successfully completes that course of training.
(h) An elected or appointed member of a public body of a
municipality may satisfy the training requirements of this
Section by participating in a course of training sponsored or
conducted by an organization that represents municipalities as
designated in Section 1-8-1 of the Illinois Municipal Code.
The course of training shall include, but not be limited to,
instruction in:
(1) the general background of the legal requirements

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for open meetings;
(2) the applicability of this Act to public bodies;
(3) procedures and requirements regarding quorums,
notice, and record-keeping under this Act;
(4) procedures and requirements for holding an open
meeting and for holding a closed meeting under this Act;
and
(5) penalties and other consequences for failing to
comply with this Act.
If an organization that represents municipalities as
designated in Section 1-8-1 of the Illinois Municipal Code
provides a course of training under this subsection (h), it
must provide a certificate of course completion to each
elected or appointed member of a public body who successfully
completes that course of training.
(i) An elected or appointed member of a public body of a
township may satisfy the training requirements of this Section
by participating in a course of training sponsored or
conducted by an organization that represents townships created
under the Township Code. The course of training shall include,
but shall not be limited to, instruction in:
(1) the general background of the legal requirements
for open meetings;
(2) the applicability of this Act to public bodies;
(3) procedures and requirements regarding quorums,
notice, and recordkeeping under this Act;

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(4) procedures and requirements for holding an open
meeting and for holding a closed meeting under this Act;
and
(5) penalties and other consequences for failing to
comply with this Act.
If an organization that represents townships created under
the Township Code provides a course of training under this
subsection, it must provide a certificate of course completion
to each elected or appointed member of a public body who
successfully completes that course of training.
(Source: P.A. 101-233, eff. 1-1-20; 102-558, eff. 8-20-21.)
(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:

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(1) The appointment, employment, compensation,
discipline, performance, or dismissal of specific
employees, specific individuals who serve as independent
contractors in a park, recreational, or educational
setting, or specific volunteers of the public body or
legal counsel for the public body, including hearing
testimony on a complaint lodged against an employee, a
specific individual who serves as an independent
contractor in a park, recreational, or educational
setting, or a volunteer of the public body or against
legal counsel for the public body to determine its
validity. However, a meeting to consider an increase in
compensation to a specific employee of a public body that
is subject to the Local Government Wage Increase
Transparency Act may not be closed and shall be open to the
public and posted and held in accordance with this Act.
(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

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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.
(4.5) Evidence or testimony presented to a school
board regarding denial of admission to school events or
property pursuant to Section 24-24 of the School Code,
provided that the school board 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. This exception shall not apply to
the investment of assets or income of funds deposited into
the Illinois Prepaid Tuition Trust Fund.
(8) Security procedures, school building safety and
security, and the use of personnel and equipment to
respond to an actual, a threatened, or a reasonably

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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

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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 or regional 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, or for the discussion of matters protected
under the federal Patient Safety and Quality Improvement
Act of 2005, and the regulations promulgated thereunder,
including 42 C.F.R. Part 3 (73 FR 70732), or the federal
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of
1996, and the regulations promulgated thereunder,
including 45 C.F.R. Parts 160, 162, and 164, by a
hospital, or other institution providing medical care,
that is operated by the public body.
(18) Deliberations for decisions of the Prisoner

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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) Meetings of a mortality review team appointed

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under the Department of Juvenile Justice Mortality Review
Team Act.
(27) (Blank).
(28) Correspondence and records (i) that may not be
disclosed under Section 11-9 of the Illinois Public Aid
Code or (ii) that pertain to appeals under Section 11-8 of
the Illinois Public Aid Code.
(29) Meetings between internal or external auditors
and governmental audit committees, finance committees, and
their equivalents, when the discussion involves internal
control weaknesses, identification of potential fraud risk
areas, known or suspected frauds, and fraud interviews
conducted in accordance with generally accepted auditing
standards of the United States of America.
(30) (Blank).
(31) Meetings and deliberations for decisions of the
Concealed Carry Licensing Review Board under the Firearm
Concealed Carry Act.
(32) Meetings between the Regional Transportation
Authority Board and its Service Boards when the discussion
involves review by the Regional Transportation Authority
Board of employment contracts under Section 28d of the
Metropolitan Transit Authority Act and Sections 3A.18 and
3B.26 of the Regional Transportation Authority Act.
(33) Those meetings or portions of meetings of the
advisory committee and peer review subcommittee created

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under Section 320 of the Illinois Controlled Substances
Act during which specific controlled substance prescriber,
dispenser, or patient information is discussed.
(34) Meetings of the Tax Increment Financing Reform
Task Force under Section 2505-800 of the Department of
Revenue Law of the Civil Administrative Code of Illinois.
(35) Meetings of the group established to discuss
Medicaid capitation rates under Section 5-30.8 of the
Illinois Public Aid Code.
(36) Those deliberations or portions of deliberations
for decisions of the Illinois Gaming Board in which there
is discussed any of the following: (i) personal,
commercial, financial, or other information obtained from
any source that is privileged, proprietary, confidential,
or a trade secret; or (ii) information specifically
exempted from the disclosure by federal or State law.
(37) Deliberations for decisions of the Illinois Law
Enforcement Training Standards Board, the Certification
Review Panel, and the Illinois State Police Merit Board
regarding certification and decertification.
(38) Meetings of the Ad Hoc Statewide Domestic
Violence Fatality Review Committee of the Illinois
Criminal Justice Information Authority Board that occur in
closed executive session under subsection (d) of Section
35 of the Domestic Violence Fatality Review Act.
(39) Meetings of the regional review teams under

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subsection (a) of Section 75 of the Domestic Violence
Fatality Review Act.
(40) Meetings of the Firearm Owner's Identification
Card Review Board under Section 10 of the Firearm Owners
Identification Card Act.
(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

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the nature of the matter being considered and other
information that will inform the public of the business being
conducted.
(Source: P.A. 102-237, eff. 1-1-22; 102-520, eff. 8-20-21;
102-558, eff. 8-20-21; 102-813, eff. 5-13-22; 103-311, eff.
7-28-23; 103-626, eff. 1-1-25.)
(5 ILCS 120/2.07 new)
Sec. 2.07. Meetings on election days; prohibited.
(a) A public body may not hold or schedule a regular or
special meeting on the day of a general primary election, a
general election, a consolidated primary election, or a
consolidated election, as defined in the Election Code.
(b) A home rule unit may not hold or schedule meetings in a
manner inconsistent with this Act. This Section is a denial
and limitation of home rule powers and functions in accordance
with subsection (i) of Section 6 of Article VII of the Illinois
Constitution.
(5 ILCS 120/7)
Sec. 7. Attendance by a means other than physical
presence.
(a) If a quorum of the members of the public body is
physically present as required by Section 2.01, a majority of
the public body may allow a member of that body to attend the
meeting by other means if the member is prevented from

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physically attending because of: (i) personal illness or
disability; (ii) employment purposes or the business of the
public body; (iii) a family or other emergency; or (iv)
unexpected childcare obligations; or (v) performance of active
military duty as a service member. "Other means" is by video or
audio conference. As used in this subsection:
"Active military duty" has the meaning given to "active
service" in Section 1-10 of the Service Member Employment and
Reemployment Rights Act.
"Service member" means a resident of Illinois who is a
member of any component of the U.S. Armed Forces or the
National Guard of any state, the District of Columbia, a
commonwealth, or a territory of the United States.
(b) If a member wishes to attend a meeting by other means,
the member must notify the recording secretary or clerk of the
public body before the meeting unless advance notice is
impractical.
(c) A majority of the public body may allow a member to
attend a meeting by other means only in accordance with and to
the extent allowed by rules adopted by the public body. The
rules must conform to the requirements and restrictions of
this Section, may further limit the extent to which attendance
by other means is allowed, and may provide for the giving of
additional notice to the public or further facilitate public
access to meetings.
(d) The limitations of this Section shall not apply to (i)

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closed meetings of (A) public bodies with statewide
jurisdiction, (B) Illinois library systems with jurisdiction
over a specific geographic area of more than 4,500 square
miles, (C) municipal transit districts with jurisdiction over
a specific geographic area of more than 4,500 square miles, or
(D) local workforce innovation areas with jurisdiction over a
specific geographic area of more than 4,500 square miles or
(ii) open or closed meetings of State advisory boards or
bodies that do not have authority to make binding
recommendations or determinations or to take any other
substantive action. State advisory boards or bodies, public
bodies with statewide jurisdiction, Illinois library systems
with jurisdiction over a specific geographic area of more than
4,500 square miles, municipal transit districts with
jurisdiction over a specific geographic area of more than
4,500 square miles, and local workforce investment areas with
jurisdiction over a specific geographic area of more than
4,500 square miles, however, may permit members to attend
meetings by other means only in accordance with and to the
extent allowed by specific procedural rules adopted by the
body. For the purposes of this Section, "local workforce
innovation area" means any local workforce innovation area or
areas designated by the Governor pursuant to the federal
Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act or its reauthorizing
legislation.
(e) Subject to the requirements of Section 2.06 but

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notwithstanding any other provision of law, an open or closed
meeting subject to this Act may be conducted by audio or video
conference, without the physical presence of a quorum of the
members, so long as the following conditions are met:
(1) the Governor or the Director of the Illinois
Department of Public Health has issued a disaster
declaration related to public health concerns because of a
disaster as defined in Section 4 of the Illinois Emergency
Management Agency Act, and all or part of the jurisdiction
of the public body is covered by the disaster area;
(2) the head of the public body as defined in
subsection (e) of Section 2 of the Freedom of Information
Act determines that an in-person meeting or a meeting
conducted under this Act is not practical or prudent
because of a disaster;
(3) all members of the body participating in the
meeting, wherever their physical location, shall be
verified and can hear one another and can hear all
discussion and testimony;
(4) for open meetings, members of the public present
at the regular meeting location of the body can hear all
discussion and testimony and all votes of the members of
the body, unless attendance at the regular meeting
location is not feasible due to the disaster, including
the issued disaster declaration, in which case the public
body must make alternative arrangements and provide notice

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pursuant to this Section of such alternative arrangements
in a manner to allow any interested member of the public
access to contemporaneously hear all discussion,
testimony, and roll call votes, such as by offering a
telephone number or a web-based link;
(5) at least one member of the body, chief legal
counsel, or chief administrative officer is physically
present at the regular meeting location, unless unfeasible
due to the disaster, including the issued disaster
declaration; and
(6) all votes are conducted by roll call, so each
member's vote on each issue can be identified and
recorded.
(7) Except in the event of a bona fide emergency, 48
hours' notice shall be given of a meeting to be held
pursuant to this Section. Notice shall be given to all
members of the public body, shall be posted on the website
of the public body, and shall also be provided to any news
media who has requested notice of meetings pursuant to
subsection (a) of Section 2.02 of this Act. If the public
body declares a bona fide emergency:
(A) Notice shall be given pursuant to subsection
(a) of Section 2.02 of this Act, and the presiding
officer shall state the nature of the emergency at the
beginning of the meeting.
(B) The public body must comply with the verbatim

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recording requirements set forth in Section 2.06 of
this Act.
(8) Each member of the body participating in a meeting
by audio or video conference for a meeting held pursuant
to this Section is considered present at the meeting for
purposes of determining a quorum and participating in all
proceedings.
(9) In addition to the requirements for open meetings
under Section 2.06, public bodies holding open meetings
under this subsection (e) must also keep a verbatim record
of all their meetings in the form of an audio or video
recording. Verbatim records made under this paragraph (9)
shall be made available to the public under, and are
otherwise subject to, the provisions of Section 2.06.
(10) The public body shall bear all costs associated
with compliance with this subsection (e).
(Source: P.A. 103-311, eff. 7-28-23.)
Section 10. The Freedom of Information Act is amended by
changing Sections 2, 3, 4, 7, and 9.5 as follows:
(5 ILCS 140/2) (from Ch. 116, par. 202)
Sec. 2. Definitions. As used in this Act:
(a) "Public body" means all legislative, executive,
administrative, or advisory bodies of the State, state
universities and colleges, counties, townships, cities,

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villages, incorporated towns, school districts and all other
municipal corporations, boards, bureaus, committees, or
commissions of this State, any subsidiary bodies of any of the
foregoing including but not limited to committees and
subcommittees thereof, and a School Finance Authority created
under Article 1E of the School Code. "Public body" does not
include a child death review team or the Illinois Child Death
Review Teams Executive Council established under the Child
Death Review Team Act, or a regional youth advisory board or
the Statewide Youth Advisory Board established under the
Department of Children and Family Services Statewide Youth
Advisory Board Act.
(b) "Person" means any individual or any individual acting
as an agent of a , corporation, partnership, firm,
organization or association, acting individually or as a
group.
(c) "Public records" means all records, reports, forms,
writings, letters, memoranda, books, papers, maps,
photographs, microfilms, cards, tapes, recordings, electronic
data processing records, electronic communications, recorded
information and all other documentary materials pertaining to
the transaction of public business, regardless of physical
form or characteristics, having been prepared by or for, or
having been or being used by, received by, in the possession
of, or under the control of any public body. "Public records"
does not include junk mail.

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(c-5) "Private information" means unique identifiers,
including a person's social security number, driver's license
number, employee identification number, biometric identifiers,
personal financial information, passwords or other access
codes, medical records, home or personal telephone numbers,
and personal email addresses. Private information also
includes home address and personal license plates, except as
otherwise provided by law or when compiled without possibility
of attribution to any person. For a public body that is a
HIPAA-covered entity, "private information" includes
electronic medical records and all information, including
demographic information, contained within or extracted from an
electronic medical records system operated or maintained by
the public body in compliance with State and federal medical
privacy laws and regulations, including, but not limited to,
the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act and
its regulations, 45 CFR Parts 160 and 164. As used in this
subsection, "HIPAA-covered entity" has the meaning given to
the term "covered entity" in 45 CFR 160.103.
(c-10) "Commercial purpose" means the use of any part of a
public record or records, or information derived from public
records, in any form for sale, resale, or solicitation or
advertisement for sales or services. For purposes of this
definition, requests made by news media and non-profit,
scientific, or academic organizations shall not be considered
to be made for a "commercial purpose" when the principal

SB0243 Enrolled - 26 - LRB104 07181 BDA 17218 b
purpose of the request is (i) to access and disseminate
information concerning news and current or passing events,
(ii) for articles of opinion or features of interest to the
public, or (iii) for the purpose of academic, scientific, or
public research or education.
(d) "Copying" means the reproduction of any public record
by means of any photographic, electronic, mechanical or other
process, device or means now known or hereafter developed and
available to the public body.
(e) "Head of the public body" means the president, mayor,
chairman, presiding officer, director, superintendent,
manager, supervisor or individual otherwise holding primary
executive and administrative authority for the public body, or
such person's duly authorized designee.
(f) "News media" means a newspaper or other periodical
issued at regular intervals whether in print or electronic
format, a news service whether in print or electronic format,
a radio station, a television station, a television network, a
community antenna television service, or a person or
corporation engaged in making news reels or other motion
picture news for public showing.
(g) "Recurrent requester", as used in Section 3.2 of this
Act, means a person that, in the 12 months immediately
preceding the request, has submitted to the same public body
(i) a minimum of 50 requests for records, (ii) a minimum of 15
requests for records within a 30-day period, or (iii) a

SB0243 Enrolled - 27 - LRB104 07181 BDA 17218 b
minimum of 7 requests for records within a 7-day period. For
purposes of this definition, requests made by news media and
non-profit, scientific, or academic organizations shall not be
considered in calculating the number of requests made in the
time periods in this definition when the principal purpose of
the requests is (i) to access and disseminate information
concerning news and current or passing events, (ii) for
articles of opinion or features of interest to the public, or
(iii) for the purpose of academic, scientific, or public
research or education.
For the purposes of this subsection (g), "request" means a
written document (or oral request, if the public body chooses
to honor oral requests) that is submitted to a public body via
personal delivery, mail, telefax, electronic mail, or other
means available to the public body and that identifies the
particular public record the requester seeks. One request may
identify multiple records to be inspected or copied.
(h) "Voluminous request" means a request that: (i)
includes more than 5 individual requests for more than 5
different categories of records or a combination of individual
requests that total requests for more than 5 different
categories of records in a period of 20 business days; or (ii)
requires the compilation of more than 500 letter or
legal-sized pages of public records unless a single requested
record exceeds 500 pages. "Single requested record" may
include, but is not limited to, one report, form, e-mail,

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letter, memorandum, book, map, microfilm, tape, or recording.
"Voluminous request" does not include a request made by
news media and non-profit, scientific, or academic
organizations if the principal purpose of the request is: (1)
to access and disseminate information concerning news and
current or passing events; (2) for articles of opinion or
features of interest to the public; or (3) for the purpose of
academic, scientific, or public research or education.
For the purposes of this subsection (h), "request" means a
written document, or oral request, if the public body chooses
to honor oral requests, that is submitted to a public body via
personal delivery, mail, telefax, electronic mail, or other
means available to the public body and that identifies the
particular public record or records the requester seeks. One
request may identify multiple individual records to be
inspected or copied.
(i) "Severance agreement" means a mutual agreement between
any public body and its employee for the employee's
resignation in exchange for payment by the public body.
(j) "Junk mail" means (i) any unsolicited commercial mail
sent to a public body and not responded to by an official,
employee, or agent of the public body or (ii) any unsolicited
commercial electronic communication sent to a public body and
not responded to by an official, employee, or agent of the
public body.
(Source: P.A. 103-554, eff. 1-1-24.)

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(5 ILCS 140/3) (from Ch. 116, par. 203)
Sec. 3. (a) Each public body shall make available to any
person for inspection or copying all public records, except as
otherwise provided in Sections 7 and 8.5 of this Act.
Notwithstanding any other law, a public body may not grant to
any person or entity, whether by contract, license, or
otherwise, the exclusive right to access and disseminate any
public record as defined in this Act.
(b) Subject to the fee provisions of Section 6 of this Act,
each public body shall promptly provide, to any person who
submits a request, a copy of any public record required to be
disclosed by subsection (a) of this Section and shall certify
such copy if so requested.
(c) Requests for inspection or copies shall be made in
writing and directed to the public body. Written requests may
be submitted to a public body via personal delivery, mail,
telefax, or other means available to the public body.
Electronic requests under this Section must appear in their
entirety within the body of the electronic submission. As a
cybersecurity measure, no public body shall be required to
open electronically attached files or hyperlinks to view or
access details of a request. A public body that receives a
request that would require the public body to open hyperlinks
or attached files shall, within 5 business days, notify the
requester of the requirement that the entirety of an

SB0243 Enrolled - 30 - LRB104 07181 BDA 17218 b
electronic request must appear within the body of the
electronic submission. A public body may honor oral requests
for inspection or copying. A public body may not require that a
request be submitted on a standard form or require the
requester to specify the purpose for a request, except to
determine whether the records are requested for a commercial
purpose or whether to grant a request for a fee waiver. All
requests for inspection and copying received by a public body
shall immediately be forwarded to its Freedom of Information
officer or designee.
(d) Each public body shall, promptly, either comply with
or deny a request for public records within 5 business days
after its receipt of the request, unless the time for response
is properly extended under subsection (e) of this Section.
Denial shall be in writing as provided in Section 9 of this
Act. Failure to comply with a written request, extend the time
for response, or deny a request within 5 business days after
its receipt shall be considered a denial of the request. A
public body that fails to respond to a request within the
requisite periods in this Section but thereafter provides the
requester with copies of the requested public records may not
impose a fee for such copies. A public body that fails to
respond to a request received may not treat the request as
unduly burdensome under subsection (g).
(e) The time for response under this Section may be
extended by the public body for not more than 5 business days

SB0243 Enrolled - 31 - LRB104 07181 BDA 17218 b
from the original due date for any of the following reasons:
(i) the requested records are stored in whole or in
part at other locations than the office having charge of
the requested records;
(ii) the request requires the collection of a
substantial number of specified records;
(iii) the request is couched in categorical terms and
requires an extensive search for the records responsive to
it;
(iv) the requested records have not been located in
the course of routine search and additional efforts are
being made to locate them;
(v) the requested records require examination and
evaluation by personnel having the necessary competence
and discretion to determine if they are exempt from
disclosure under Section 7 of this Act or should be
revealed only with appropriate deletions;
(vi) the request for records cannot be complied with
by the public body within the time limits prescribed by
subsection (d) of this Section without unduly burdening or
interfering with the operations of the public body;
(vii) there is a need for consultation, which shall be
conducted with all practicable speed, with another public
body or among 2 or more components of a public body having
a substantial interest in the determination or in the
subject matter of the request.

SB0243 Enrolled - 32 - LRB104 07181 BDA 17218 b
The person making a request and the public body may agree
in writing to extend the time for compliance for a period to be
determined by the parties. If the requester and the public
body agree to extend the period for compliance, a failure by
the public body to comply with any previous deadlines shall
not be treated as a denial of the request for the records.
(f) When additional time is required for any of the above
reasons, the public body shall, within 5 business days after
receipt of the request, notify the person making the request
of the reasons for the extension and the date by which the
response will be forthcoming. Failure to respond within the
time permitted for extension shall be considered a denial of
the request. A public body that fails to respond to a request
within the time permitted for extension but thereafter
provides the requester with copies of the requested public
records may not impose a fee for those copies. A public body
that requests an extension and subsequently fails to respond
to the request may not treat the request as unduly burdensome
under subsection (g).
(g) Requests calling for all records falling within a
category shall be complied with unless compliance with the
request would be unduly burdensome for the complying public
body and there is no way to narrow the request and the burden
on the public body outweighs the public interest in the
information. Before invoking this exemption, the public body
shall extend to the person making the request an opportunity

SB0243 Enrolled - 33 - LRB104 07181 BDA 17218 b
to confer with it in an attempt to reduce the request to
manageable proportions. If any public body responds to a
categorical request by stating that compliance would unduly
burden its operation and the conditions described above are
met, it shall do so in writing, specifying the reasons why it
would be unduly burdensome and the extent to which compliance
will so burden the operations of the public body. Such a
response shall be treated as a denial of the request for
information.
Repeated requests from the same person for the same
records that are unchanged or identical to records previously
provided or properly denied under this Act shall be deemed
unduly burdensome under this provision.
(h) Each public body may promulgate rules and regulations
in conformity with the provisions of this Section pertaining
to the availability of records and procedures to be followed,
including:
(i) the times and places where such records will be
made available, and
(ii) the persons from whom such records may be
obtained.
(i) The time periods for compliance or denial of a request
to inspect or copy records set out in this Section shall not
apply to requests for records made for a commercial purpose,
requests by a recurrent requester, or voluminous requests.
Such requests shall be subject to the provisions of Sections

SB0243 Enrolled - 34 - LRB104 07181 BDA 17218 b
3.1, 3.2, and 3.6 of this Act, as applicable.
(j) Within 5 business days after its receipt of the
request, a public body that has a reasonable belief that a
request was not submitted by a person may require the
requester to verify orally or in writing that the requester is
a person. The deadline for the public body to respond to the
request shall be tolled until the requester verifies that he
or she is a person. If the requester fails to verify that he or
she is a person within 30 days after the public body requests
such a verification, then the public body may deny the
request. For purposes of this subsection (j), a public body
may not require the requester to submit personal information,
private information, or identifying information to verify that
the requester is a person.
(Source: P.A. 101-81, eff. 7-12-19.)
(5 ILCS 140/4) (from Ch. 116, par. 204)
Sec. 4. Each public body shall prominently display on its
website at each of its administrative or regional offices,
make available for inspection and copying, and send through
the mail if requested, each of the following:
(a) A brief description of itself, which will include,
but not be limited to, a short summary of its purpose, a
block diagram giving its functional subdivisions, the
total amount of its operating budget, the number and
location of all of its separate offices, the approximate

SB0243 Enrolled - 35 - LRB104 07181 BDA 17218 b
number of full and part-time employees, and the
identification and membership of any board, commission,
committee, or council which operates in an advisory
capacity relative to the operation of the public body, or
which exercises control over its policies or procedures,
or to which the public body is required to report and be
answerable for its operations; and
(b) A brief description of the methods whereby the
public may request information and public records, a
directory designating the Freedom of Information officer
or officers, the address where requests for public records
should be directed, and any fees allowable under Section 6
of this Act.
If a A public body does not maintain that maintains a
website, it shall also post this information at each of its
administrative or regional offices on its website.
(Source: P.A. 96-542, eff. 1-1-10; 96-1000, eff. 7-2-10.)
(5 ILCS 140/7)
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

SB0243 Enrolled - 36 - LRB104 07181 BDA 17218 b
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.

SB0243 Enrolled - 37 - LRB104 07181 BDA 17218 b
(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 crashes, traffic crash 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

SB0243 Enrolled - 38 - LRB104 07181 BDA 17218 b
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.
(d-5) A law enforcement record created for law
enforcement purposes and contained in a shared electronic
record management system if the law enforcement agency or
criminal justice agency that is the recipient of the
request did not create the record, did not participate in
or have a role in any of the events which are the subject
of the record, and only has access to the record through
the shared electronic record management system. As used in
this subsection (d-5), "criminal justice agency" means the
Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority or the
Illinois Sentencing Policy Advisory Council.
(d-6) Records contained in the Officer Professional
Conduct Database under Section 9.2 of the Illinois Police

SB0243 Enrolled - 39 - LRB104 07181 BDA 17218 b
Training Act, except to the extent authorized under that
Section. This includes the documents supplied to the
Illinois Law Enforcement Training Standards Board from the
Illinois State Police and Illinois State Police Merit
Board.
(d-7) Information gathered or records created from the
use of automatic license plate readers in connection with
Section 2-130 of the Illinois Vehicle Code.
(e) Records that relate to or affect the security of
correctional institutions and detention facilities.
(e-5) Records requested by persons committed to the
Department of Corrections, Department of Human Services
Division of Mental Health, or a county jail if those
materials are available in the library of the correctional
institution or facility or jail where the inmate is
confined.
(e-6) Records requested by persons committed to the
Department of Corrections, Department of Human Services
Division of Mental Health, or a county jail if those
materials include records from staff members' personnel
files, staff rosters, or other staffing assignment
information.
(e-7) Records requested by persons committed to the
Department of Corrections or Department of Human Services
Division of Mental Health if those materials are available
through an administrative request to the Department of

SB0243 Enrolled - 40 - LRB104 07181 BDA 17218 b
Corrections or Department of Human Services Division of
Mental Health.
(e-8) Records requested by a person committed to the
Department of Corrections, Department of Human Services
Division of Mental Health, or a county jail, the
disclosure of which would result in the risk of harm to any
person or the risk of an escape from a jail or correctional
institution or facility.
(e-9) Records requested by a person in a county jail
or committed to the Department of Corrections or
Department of Human Services Division of Mental Health,
containing personal information pertaining to the person's
victim or the victim's family, including, but not limited
to, a victim's home address, home telephone number, work
or school address, work telephone number, social security
number, or any other identifying information, except as
may be relevant to a requester's current or potential case
or claim.
(e-10) Law enforcement records of other persons
requested by a person committed to the Department of
Corrections, Department of Human Services Division of
Mental Health, or a county jail, including, but not
limited to, arrest and booking records, mug shots, and
crime scene photographs, except as these records may be
relevant to the requester's current or potential case or
claim.

SB0243 Enrolled - 41 - LRB104 07181 BDA 17218 b
(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

SB0243 Enrolled - 42 - LRB104 07181 BDA 17218 b
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

SB0243 Enrolled - 43 - LRB104 07181 BDA 17218 b
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,

SB0243 Enrolled - 44 - LRB104 07181 BDA 17218 b
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

SB0243 Enrolled - 45 - LRB104 07181 BDA 17218 b
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.

SB0243 Enrolled - 46 - LRB104 07181 BDA 17218 b
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, insurance companies, or pharmacy benefit
managers, 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 signatures under the Uniform
Electronic Transactions 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, but only to the extent that disclosure
could reasonably be expected to expose the vulnerability
or jeopardize the effectiveness of the measures, policies,
or plans, 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

SB0243 Enrolled - 47 - LRB104 07181 BDA 17218 b
mobilization or deployment of personnel or equipment, to
the operation of communication systems or protocols, to
cybersecurity vulnerabilities, 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 Section 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

SB0243 Enrolled - 48 - LRB104 07181 BDA 17218 b
team appointed under the Department of Juvenile Justice
Mortality Review Team Act.
(cc) 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 Illinois Public Aid
Code or (ii) that pertain to appeals under Section 11-8 of
the Illinois Public Aid Code.
(ee) The names, addresses, or other personal
information of persons who are minors and are also
participants and registrants in programs of park
districts, forest preserve districts, conservation
districts, recreation agencies, and special recreation
associations.
(ff) The names, addresses, or other personal
information of participants and registrants in programs of
park districts, forest preserve districts, conservation
districts, recreation agencies, and special recreation
associations where such programs are targeted primarily to
minors.
(gg) Confidential information described in Section
1-100 of the Illinois Independent Tax Tribunal Act of
2012.
(hh) The report submitted to the State Board of

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Education by the School Security and Standards Task Force
under item (8) of subsection (d) of Section 2-3.160 of the
School Code and any information contained in that report.
(ii) Records requested by persons committed to or
detained by the Department of Human Services under the
Sexually Violent Persons Commitment Act or committed to
the Department of Corrections under the Sexually Dangerous
Persons Act if those materials: (i) are available in the
library of the facility where the individual is confined;
(ii) include records from staff members' personnel files,
staff rosters, or other staffing assignment information;
or (iii) are available through an administrative request
to the Department of Human Services or the Department of
Corrections.
(jj) Confidential information described in Section
5-535 of the Civil Administrative Code of Illinois.
(kk) The public body's credit card numbers, debit card
numbers, bank account numbers, Federal Employer
Identification Number, security code numbers, passwords,
and similar account information, the disclosure of which
could result in identity theft or impression or defrauding
of a governmental entity or a person.
(ll) Records concerning the work of the threat
assessment team of a school district, including, but not
limited to, any threat assessment procedure under the
School Safety Drill Act and any information contained in

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the procedure.
(mm) Information prohibited from being disclosed under
subsections (a) and (b) of Section 15 of the Student
Confidential Reporting Act.
(nn) Proprietary information submitted to the
Environmental Protection Agency under the Drug Take-Back
Act.
(oo) Records described in subsection (f) of Section
3-5-1 of the Unified Code of Corrections.
(pp) Any and all information regarding burials,
interments, or entombments of human remains as required to
be reported to the Department of Natural Resources
pursuant either to the Archaeological and Paleontological
Resources Protection Act or the Human Remains Protection
Act.
(qq) Reports described in subsection (e) of Section
16-15 of the Abortion Care Clinical Training Program Act.
(rr) Information obtained by a certified local health
department under the Access to Public Health Data Act.
(ss) For a request directed to a public body that is
also a HIPAA-covered entity, all information that is
protected health information, including demographic
information, that may be contained within or extracted
from any record held by the public body in compliance with
State and federal medical privacy laws and regulations,
including, but not limited to, the Health Insurance

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Portability and Accountability Act and its regulations, 45
CFR Parts 160 and 164. As used in this paragraph,
"HIPAA-covered entity" has the meaning given to the term
"covered entity" in 45 CFR 160.103 and "protected health
information" has the meaning given to that term in 45 CFR
160.103.
(tt) Proposals or bids submitted by engineering
consultants in response to requests for proposal or other
competitive bidding requests by the Department of
Transportation or the Illinois Toll Highway Authority.
(uu) Documents that, pursuant to the State of
Illinois' 1987 Agreement with the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory
Commission and the corresponding requirement to maintain
compatibility with the National Materials Program, have
been determined to be security sensitive. These documents
include information classified as safeguards,
safeguards-modified, and sensitive unclassified
nonsafeguards information, as identified in U.S. Nuclear
Regulatory Commission regulatory information summaries,
security advisories, and other applicable communications
or regulations related to the control and distribution of
security sensitive information.
(1.5) Any information exempt from disclosure under the
Judicial Privacy Act shall be redacted from public records
prior to disclosure under this Act.
(2) A public record that is not in the possession of a

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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. 102-38, eff. 6-25-21; 102-558, eff. 8-20-21;
102-694, eff. 1-7-22; 102-752, eff. 5-6-22; 102-753, eff.
1-1-23; 102-776, eff. 1-1-23; 102-791, eff. 5-13-22; 102-982,
eff. 7-1-23; 102-1055, eff. 6-10-22; 103-154, eff. 6-30-23;
103-423, eff. 1-1-24; 103-446, eff. 8-4-23; 103-462, eff.
8-4-23; 103-540, eff. 1-1-24; 103-554, eff. 1-1-24; 103-605,
eff. 7-1-24; 103-865, eff. 1-1-25.)
(5 ILCS 140/9.5)
Sec. 9.5. Public Access Counselor; opinions.
(a) A person whose request to inspect or copy a public
record is denied by a public body, except the General Assembly
and committees, commissions, and agencies thereof, may file a
request for review with the Public Access Counselor
established in the Office of the Attorney General not later
than 60 days after the date of the final denial. The request

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for review must be in writing, signed by the requester, and
include (i) a copy of the request for access to records and
(ii) any responses from the public body.
(b) A person whose request to inspect or copy a public
record is made for a commercial purpose as defined in
subsection (c-10) of Section 2 of this Act may not file a
request for review with the Public Access Counselor. A person
whose request to inspect or copy a public record was treated by
the public body as a request for a commercial purpose under
Section 3.1 of this Act may file a request for review with the
Public Access Counselor for the limited purpose of reviewing
whether the public body properly determined that the request
was made for a commercial purpose.
(b-5) A person whose request to inspect or copy a public
record was treated by a public body, except the General
Assembly and committees, commissions, and agencies thereof, as
a voluminous request under Section 3.6 of this Act may file a
request for review with the Public Access Counselor for the
purpose of reviewing whether the public body properly
determined that the request was a voluminous request.
(c) Upon receipt of a request for review, the Public
Access Counselor shall determine whether further action is
warranted. If the Public Access Counselor determines that the
alleged violation is unfounded, he or she shall so advise the
requester and the public body and no further action shall be
undertaken. In all other cases, the Public Access Counselor

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shall forward a copy of the request for review to the public
body within 7 business days after receipt and shall specify
the records or other documents that the public body shall
furnish to facilitate the review. Within 7 business days after
receipt of the request for review, the public body shall
provide copies of records requested and shall otherwise fully
cooperate with the Public Access Counselor. If a public body
fails to furnish specified records pursuant to this Section,
or if otherwise necessary, the Attorney General may issue a
subpoena to any person or public body having knowledge of or
records pertaining to a request for review of a denial of
access to records under the Act. Records or documents obtained
by the Public Access Counselor from a public body for the
purpose of addressing a request for review under this Section
may not be disclosed to the public, including the requester,
by the Public Access Counselor. These records, while in the
possession of the Public Access Counselor, are exempt under
this Act from disclosure by the Public Access Counselor.
(d) Within 7 business days after it receives a copy of a
request for review and request for production of records from
the Public Access Counselor, the public body may, but is not
required to, answer the allegations of the request for review.
The answer may take the form of a letter, brief, or memorandum.
The Public Access Counselor shall forward a copy of the answer
to the person submitting the request for review, with any
alleged confidential information to which the request pertains

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redacted from the copy. The requester may, but is not required
to, respond in writing to the answer within 7 business days and
shall provide a copy of the response to the public body.
(e) In addition to the request for review, and the answer
and the response thereto, if any, a requester or a public body
may furnish affidavits or records concerning any matter
germane to the review.
(f) Unless the Public Access Counselor extends the time by
no more than 30 business days by sending written notice to the
requester and the public body that includes a statement of the
reasons for the extension in the notice, or decides to address
the matter without the issuance of a binding opinion, the
Attorney General shall examine the issues and the records,
shall make findings of fact and conclusions of law, and shall
issue to the requester and the public body an opinion in
response to the request for review within 60 days after its
receipt. The opinion shall be binding upon both the requester
and the public body, subject to administrative review under
Section 11.5.
In responding to any request under this Section 9.5, the
Attorney General may exercise his or her discretion and choose
to resolve a request for review by mediation or by a means
other than the issuance of a binding opinion. The decision not
to issue a binding opinion shall not be reviewable.
Upon receipt of a binding opinion concluding that a
violation of this Act has occurred, the public body shall

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either take necessary action immediately to comply with the
directive of the opinion or shall initiate administrative
review under Section 11.5. If the opinion concludes that no
violation of the Act has occurred, the requester may initiate
administrative review under Section 11.5.
A public body and any officer or employee of a public body
that discloses records in accordance with an opinion of the
Attorney General is immune from all liabilities by reason
thereof and shall not be liable for penalties under this Act.
(g) If the requester files suit under Section 11 with
respect to the same denial that is the subject of a pending
request for review, the requester shall notify the Public
Access Counselor, and the Public Access Counselor shall take
no further action with respect to the request for review and
shall so notify the public body.
(h) The Attorney General may also issue advisory opinions
to public bodies regarding compliance with this Act. A review
may be initiated upon receipt of a written request from the
head of the public body or its attorney, which shall contain
sufficient accurate facts from which a determination can be
made. The Public Access Counselor may request additional
information from the public body in order to assist in the
review. A public body that relies in good faith on an advisory
opinion of the Attorney General in responding to a request is
not liable for penalties under this Act, so long as the facts
upon which the opinion is based have been fully and fairly

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disclosed to the Public Access Counselor.
(Source: P.A. 103-69, eff. 1-1-24.)
Section 15. The Local Records Act is amended by changing
Section 3 as follows:
(50 ILCS 205/3) (from Ch. 116, par. 43.103)
Sec. 3. Except where the context indicates otherwise, the
terms used in this Act are defined as follows:
"Agency" means any court, and all parts, boards,
departments, bureaus and commissions of any county, municipal
corporation or political subdivision.
"Archivist" means the Secretary of State.
"Born-digital electronic material" means electronic
material created in digital form rather than converted from
print or analog form to digital form.
"Commission" means a Local Records Commission.
"Court" means a court, other than the Supreme Court.
"Digitized electronic material" means electronic material
converted from print or analog form to digital form.
"Junk mail" means (i) any unsolicited commercial mail sent
to a public body and not responded to by an official, employee,
or agent of the public body or (ii) any unsolicited commercial
electronic communication sent to a public body and not
responded to by an official, employee, or agent of the public
body.

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"Officer" means any elected or appointed official of a
court, county, municipal corporation or political subdivision.
"Public record" means any book, paper, map, photograph,
born-digital electronic material, digitized electronic
material, electronic material with a combination of digitized
and born-digital material, or other official documentary
material, regardless of physical form or characteristics,
made, produced, executed or received by any agency or officer
pursuant to law or in connection with the transaction of
public business and preserved or appropriate for preservation
by such agency or officer, or any successor thereof, as
evidence of the organization, function, policies, decisions,
procedures, or other activities thereof, or because of the
informational data contained therein. Library and museum
material made or acquired and preserved solely for reference
or exhibition purposes, extra copies of documents preserved
only for convenience of reference, and stocks of publications
and of processed documents, and junk mail are not included
within the definition of public record. Paper copies of
registration records, as defined in Section 1 of the Library
Records Confidentiality Act (75 ILCS 70/1), shall not be
considered public records once the information contained in
the paper registration records is transferred into a secure
electronic format and checked for accuracy.
(Source: P.A. 99-147, eff. 1-1-16.)
Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect January

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1, 2026.