Bill Text: IL SB3118 | 2023-2024 | 103rd General Assembly | Introduced


Bill Title: Amends the Freedom of Information Act. Defines "public body official" as an elected or appointed officeholder of a public body. Provides that "public body official" does not include a private attorney or law firm appointed to represent the public body. Provides that a public body's Freedom of Information officer must be a public body official or employee of the public body.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)

Status: (Introduced) 2024-02-02 - Referred to Assignments [SB3118 Detail]

Download: Illinois-2023-SB3118-Introduced.html

103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2023 and 2024
SB3118

Introduced 2/2/2024, by Sen. Craig Wilcox

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
5 ILCS 140/2 from Ch. 116, par. 202
5 ILCS 140/3.5

Amends the Freedom of Information Act. Defines "public body official" as an elected or appointed officeholder of a public body. Provides that "public body official" does not include a private attorney or law firm appointed to represent the public body. Provides that a public body's Freedom of Information officer must be a public body official or employee of the public body.
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A BILL FOR

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1 AN ACT concerning government.
2 Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3represented in the General Assembly:
4 Section 5. The Freedom of Information Act is amended by
5changing Sections 2 and 3.5 as follows:
6 (5 ILCS 140/2) (from Ch. 116, par. 202)
7 Sec. 2. Definitions. As used in this Act:
8 (a) "Public body" means all legislative, executive,
9administrative, or advisory bodies of the State, state
10universities and colleges, counties, townships, cities,
11villages, incorporated towns, school districts and all other
12municipal corporations, boards, bureaus, committees, or
13commissions of this State, any subsidiary bodies of any of the
14foregoing including but not limited to committees and
15subcommittees thereof, and a School Finance Authority created
16under Article 1E of the School Code. "Public body" does not
17include a child death review team or the Illinois Child Death
18Review Teams Executive Council established under the Child
19Death Review Team Act, or a regional youth advisory board or
20the Statewide Youth Advisory Board established under the
21Department of Children and Family Services Statewide Youth
22Advisory Board Act.
23 (a-5) "Public body official" means an elected or appointed

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1officeholder of a public body. "Public body official" does not
2include a private attorney or law firm appointed to represent
3the public body.
4 (b) "Person" means any individual, corporation,
5partnership, firm, organization or association, acting
6individually or as a group.
7 (c) "Public records" means all records, reports, forms,
8writings, letters, memoranda, books, papers, maps,
9photographs, microfilms, cards, tapes, recordings, electronic
10data processing records, electronic communications, recorded
11information and all other documentary materials pertaining to
12the transaction of public business, regardless of physical
13form or characteristics, having been prepared by or for, or
14having been or being used by, received by, in the possession
15of, or under the control of any public body.
16 (c-5) "Private information" means unique identifiers,
17including a person's social security number, driver's license
18number, employee identification number, biometric identifiers,
19personal financial information, passwords or other access
20codes, medical records, home or personal telephone numbers,
21and personal email addresses. Private information also
22includes home address and personal license plates, except as
23otherwise provided by law or when compiled without possibility
24of attribution to any person. For a public body that is a
25HIPAA-covered entity, "private information" includes
26electronic medical records and all information, including

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1demographic information, contained within or extracted from an
2electronic medical records system operated or maintained by
3the public body in compliance with State and federal medical
4privacy laws and regulations, including, but not limited to,
5the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act and
6its regulations, 45 CFR Parts 160 and 164. As used in this
7subsection, "HIPAA-covered entity" has the meaning given to
8the term "covered entity" in 45 CFR 160.103.
9 (c-10) "Commercial purpose" means the use of any part of a
10public record or records, or information derived from public
11records, in any form for sale, resale, or solicitation or
12advertisement for sales or services. For purposes of this
13definition, requests made by news media and non-profit,
14scientific, or academic organizations shall not be considered
15to be made for a "commercial purpose" when the principal
16purpose of the request is (i) to access and disseminate
17information concerning news and current or passing events,
18(ii) for articles of opinion or features of interest to the
19public, or (iii) for the purpose of academic, scientific, or
20public research or education.
21 (d) "Copying" means the reproduction of any public record
22by means of any photographic, electronic, mechanical or other
23process, device or means now known or hereafter developed and
24available to the public body.
25 (e) "Head of the public body" means the president, mayor,
26chairman, presiding officer, director, superintendent,

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1manager, supervisor or individual otherwise holding primary
2executive and administrative authority for the public body, or
3such person's duly authorized designee.
4 (f) "News media" means a newspaper or other periodical
5issued at regular intervals whether in print or electronic
6format, a news service whether in print or electronic format,
7a radio station, a television station, a television network, a
8community antenna television service, or a person or
9corporation engaged in making news reels or other motion
10picture news for public showing.
11 (g) "Recurrent requester", as used in Section 3.2 of this
12Act, means a person that, in the 12 months immediately
13preceding the request, has submitted to the same public body
14(i) a minimum of 50 requests for records, (ii) a minimum of 15
15requests for records within a 30-day period, or (iii) a
16minimum of 7 requests for records within a 7-day period. For
17purposes of this definition, requests made by news media and
18non-profit, scientific, or academic organizations shall not be
19considered in calculating the number of requests made in the
20time periods in this definition when the principal purpose of
21the requests is (i) to access and disseminate information
22concerning news and current or passing events, (ii) for
23articles of opinion or features of interest to the public, or
24(iii) for the purpose of academic, scientific, or public
25research or education.
26 For the purposes of this subsection (g), "request" means a

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1written document (or oral request, if the public body chooses
2to honor oral requests) that is submitted to a public body via
3personal delivery, mail, telefax, electronic mail, or other
4means available to the public body and that identifies the
5particular public record the requester seeks. One request may
6identify multiple records to be inspected or copied.
7 (h) "Voluminous request" means a request that: (i)
8includes more than 5 individual requests for more than 5
9different categories of records or a combination of individual
10requests that total requests for more than 5 different
11categories of records in a period of 20 business days; or (ii)
12requires the compilation of more than 500 letter or
13legal-sized pages of public records unless a single requested
14record exceeds 500 pages. "Single requested record" may
15include, but is not limited to, one report, form, e-mail,
16letter, memorandum, book, map, microfilm, tape, or recording.
17 "Voluminous request" does not include a request made by
18news media and non-profit, scientific, or academic
19organizations if the principal purpose of the request is: (1)
20to access and disseminate information concerning news and
21current or passing events; (2) for articles of opinion or
22features of interest to the public; or (3) for the purpose of
23academic, scientific, or public research or education.
24 For the purposes of this subsection (h), "request" means a
25written document, or oral request, if the public body chooses
26to honor oral requests, that is submitted to a public body via

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1personal delivery, mail, telefax, electronic mail, or other
2means available to the public body and that identifies the
3particular public record or records the requester seeks. One
4request may identify multiple individual records to be
5inspected or copied.
6 (i) "Severance agreement" means a mutual agreement between
7any public body and its employee for the employee's
8resignation in exchange for payment by the public body.
9(Source: P.A. 103-554, eff. 1-1-24.)
10 (5 ILCS 140/3.5)
11 Sec. 3.5. Freedom of Information officers.
12 (a) Each public body shall designate one or more public
13body officials or employees to act as its Freedom of
14Information officer or officers. Except in instances when
15records are furnished immediately, Freedom of Information
16officers, or their designees, shall receive requests submitted
17to the public body under this Act, ensure that the public body
18responds to requests in a timely fashion, and issue responses
19under this Act. Freedom of Information officers shall develop
20a list of documents or categories of records that the public
21body shall immediately disclose upon request.
22 Upon receiving a request for a public record, the Freedom
23of Information officer shall:
24 (1) note the date the public body receives the written
25 request;

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