Bill Amendment: IL HB3410 | 2021-2022 | 102nd General Assembly

NOTE: For additional amemendments please see the Bill Drafting List

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Bill Title: LOCAL GOVT TRANSPARENCY

Status: 2021-04-23 - House Floor Amendment No. 2 Rule 19(c) / Re-referred to Rules Committee [HB3410 Detail]

Download: Illinois-2021-HB3410-House_Amendment_002.html

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Rep. Thomas Morrison

Filed: 4/20/2021

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AMENDMENT TO HOUSE BILL 3410
AMENDMENT NO. ______. Amend House Bill 3410 by replacing
everything after the enacting clause with the following:
"Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the FOIA
Relief Act.
Section 5. Internet posting requirements.
(a) Beginning January 1, 2022, a unit of local government
or school district with operating budgets of $1,000,000 or
more shall maintain an Internet website, and any unit of local
government or school district that maintains an Internet
website shall post to its website for the current calendar or
fiscal year, as the case may be, the following information:
(1) The official contact information, including the
official phone number and official e-mail address, for all
elected officials and officials appointed to the unit of
local government or school district, the Freedom of

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Information Officer, the chief administrator, and the head
administrator for each department.
(2) The agenda, board packets, and any other prepared
materials of all regular and special meetings, except for
supplemental materials, shall be posted at least 48 hours
before a meeting. The agenda, board packets, and any other
prepared materials of all emergency meetings, except for
supplemental materials, shall be posted when practicable.
The postings required by this paragraph (2) shall
indicate if the agendas are in draft form. The minutes
from any regular or special meeting shall be posted within
10 days after approval, along with any supplemental
materials not posted prior to a meeting.
(3) The annual budget and appropriation ordinances.
(4) Any ordinances under which the unit of local
government or school district operates as of the effective
date of this Act, which shall be updated as ordinances are
thereafter adopted. If codified, current ordinances shall
be posted in codified form.
(5) Any current procedures required to apply for
building permits and zoning variances.
(6) If not already posted on the website hosted by the
Office of the State Comptroller, any budget, compliance or
financial audit prepared by an external or independent
auditor, audit schedule, or special project report,
including, without limitation, the comprehensive annual

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financial report, performance audits, and reports required
under the Tax Increment Allocation Redevelopment Act of
the Illinois Municipal Code. All reports should include
the following:
(A) All actual revenues and expenditures for at
least the 3 previous fiscal years. Any report focusing
on any subset of total should specify that only
partial amounts are shown and identify the total
amount and the nature of items not included in the
report.
(B) Revenues should be broken out by source,
including the broad categories of local, State, and
federal tax dollars.
(C) Expenditures should be separated into current
operating, capital, and debt service.
(D) Expenditure summaries for units of local
government should reflect the per-resident calculation
for comparison to other governmental bodies. For
schools, a per-pupil calculation should be made based
on full-time or equivalent enrollment.
(E) Audits should include a management letter.
(7) Contracts with lobbying firms hired by the unit of
local government or school district, as well as a list of
the names and amounts of money paid to lobbying
associations by the unit of local government or school
district.

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(8) A detailed list of the taxes and fees imposed by
the unit of local government or school district.
(9) The names of the recipients of, the amounts
awarded for, and descriptions of all bids and contracts
for purchase in the amount of $25,000 or more.
(10) Public notices.
(b) The postings required by this Section are in addition
to any other posting requirements required by law or
ordinance.
(c) No home rule unit may adopt posting requirements that
are less restrictive than this Section. This Section is a
limitation under subsection (i) of Section 6 of Article VII of
the Illinois Constitution on the concurrent exercise by home
rule units of powers and functions exercised by the State.
(d) Except in the case of records covered under paragraphs
(1), (4), (5), and (8) subsection (a), local records required
to be posted to a website by this Act shall remain posted on
the entity's website, or subsequent websites until receiving
written approval of the appropriate local records commission
for the disposal of the public record under Section 7 of the
Local Records Act, when approval of disposal is required.
(e) Records covered under paragraphs (1), (4), (5) and (8)
of subsection (a) shall be regularly updated to remain current
on the entity's website.
(f) This Section shall not apply to the Department of
Juvenile Justice School District.

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(g) No provision of this Section shall be interpreted to
affect public notice requirements otherwise established by
law.
(h) This section shall not be interpreted to require a
unit of local government to maintain a separate mobile website
in addition to a standard desktop website.
(i) Information exempt from disclosure under Section 7.5
of the Freedom of Information Act shall be exempt from posting
requirements under this Act. When posting a public record that
contains information that is exempt from disclosure, but also
contains information that is not exempt from disclosure, the
public body shall redact the information that is exempt.
Section 10. Request to post public record.
(a) When a unit of local government or school district has
failed to post a local record as required under this Act, a
person may request that the unit of local government or school
district be posted on the website. Requests shall be made in
writing and directed to the unit of local government or school
district. Written requests may be submitted to a unit of local
government or school district via personal delivery, mail,
telefax, or other means available to the unit of local
government or school district.
(b) A unit of local government or school district may not
require that a request be submitted on a standard form or
require the requester to specify the purpose for a request.

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All requests to post a public record under this Act received by
a unit of local government or school district shall
immediately be forwarded to its Freedom of Information officer
established under Section 3.5 of the Freedom of Information
Act, or his or her designee.
(c) Each public body shall, promptly, either comply with
or deny a request for posting public records within 20
business days after its receipt of the request, unless the
time for response is properly extended under subsection (d) of
this Section. Denial shall be in writing as provided in
Section 15 of this Act. Failure to comply with a written
request, extend the time for response, or deny a request
within 20 business days after its receipt shall be considered
a denial of the request.
(d) The time for response under this Section may be
extended by the public body for not more than 20 business days
from the original due date for any of the following reasons:
(1) the requested records are stored in whole or in
part at other locations than the office having charge of
the requested records;
(2) the request requires the collection of a
substantial number of specified records;
(3) the request is couched in categorical terms and
requires an extensive search for the records responsive to
it;
(4) the requested records have not been located in the

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course of routine search and additional efforts are being
made to locate them;
(5) the requested records require examination and
evaluation by personnel having the necessary competence
and discretion to determine if they are exempt from
disclosure under subsection (i) of Section 5 of this Act
or should be revealed only with appropriate deletions;
(6) the request for records cannot be complied with by
the public body within the time limits prescribed by
subsection (c) without unduly burdening or interfering
with the operations of the public body; and
(7) 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.
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.
(e) When additional time is required for any of the
reasons specified under subsection (d), the public body shall,
within 20 business days after receipt of the request, notify
the person making the request of the reasons for the extension

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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.
(f) Each public body may adopt 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.
Section 15. Notice of denial.
(a) Each unit of local government or school district
denying a request to post public records shall notify the
requester in writing of the decision to deny the request, the
reasons for the denial, including a detailed factual basis for
the application of any exemption claimed, and the names and
titles or positions of each person responsible for the denial.
Each notice of denial by a unit of local government or school
district shall also inform such person of the right to review
by the Public Access Counselor and provide the address and
phone number for the Public Access Counselor. Each notice of
denial shall inform such person of his or her right to judicial
review under Section 25.
(b) When a request for public records is denied on the
grounds that the records are exempt under subsection (i) of
Section 5, the notice of denial shall specify the exemption

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claimed to authorize the denial and the specific reasons for
the denial, including a detailed factual basis and a citation
to supporting legal authority. Copies of all notices of denial
shall be retained by each public body in a single central
office file that is open to the public and indexed according to
the type of exemption asserted and, to the extent feasible,
according to the types of records requested.
(c) Any person making a request to post public records
shall be deemed to have exhausted his or her administrative
remedies with respect to that request if the public body fails
to act within the time periods provided in Section 10.
Section 20. Public Access Counselor; opinions.
(a) A person whose request to post a public record
required under this Act is denied by a unit of local government
or school district 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 for review must be in writing,
signed by the requester, and include (i) a copy of the request
to post the record and (ii) any responses from the unit of
local government or school district.
(b) Upon receipt of a request for review, the Public
Access Counselor may determine whether further action is
warranted. If the Public Access Counselor determines that the
alleged violation is unfounded or otherwise determines not to

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pursue the request, he or she shall so advise the requester and
the public body and no further action shall be undertaken.
Otherwise, the Public Access Counselor shall forward a copy of
the request for review to the unit of local government or
school district within 7 business days after receipt and shall
specify the records or other documents that the unit of local
government or school district shall furnish to facilitate the
review. Within 7 business days after receipt of the request
for review, the unit of local government or school district
shall provide copies of records requested and shall otherwise
fully cooperate with the Public Access Counselor. If a unit of
local government or school district 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. To the extent that records or documents produced by a
public body contain information that is claimed to be exempt
from disclosure under this Act, the Public Access Counselor
shall not further disclose that information.
(c) 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 unit of local government or
school district 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

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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
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.
(d) In addition to the request for review, and the answer
and the response thereto, if any, a requester or a unit of
local government or school district may furnish affidavits or
records concerning any matter germane to the review.
(e) 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 30.
In responding to any request under this Section, 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

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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
either take necessary action immediately to comply with the
directive of the opinion or shall initiate administrative
review under Section 30. If the opinion concludes that no
violation of the Act has occurred, the requester may initiate
administrative review under Section 30.
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.
(f) If the requester files suit under Section 25 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.
(g) 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

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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
disclosed to the Public Access Counselor.
Section 25. Injunctive or declaratory relief.
(a) Any person denied a request to post a public record by
a unit of local government or school district may file suit for
injunctive or declaratory relief.
(b) In accordance with Section 35, a requester may file an
action to enforce a binding opinion issued under Section 20.
(c) Suit may be filed in the circuit court for the county
where the unit of local government or school district is
located.
(d) The circuit court shall have the jurisdiction to order
the posting of any public records improperly omitted from the
official website of the unit of local government or school
district. If the unit of local government or school district
can show that exceptional circumstances exist, and that the
body is exercising due diligence in responding to the request,
the court may retain jurisdiction and allow the agency
additional time to complete its review of the records.
(e) On motion of the plaintiff, prior to or after in camera
inspection, the court shall order the public body to provide
an index of the records to which access has been denied. The
index shall include the following: (i) a description of the

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nature or contents of each document withheld, or each deletion
from a released document, provided, however, that the public
body shall not be required to disclose the information which
it asserts is exempt; and (ii) a statement of the exemption or
exemptions claimed for each such deletion or withheld
document.
(f) In any action considered by the court, the court shall
consider the matter de novo, and shall conduct such in camera
examination of the requested records as it finds appropriate
to determine if such records or any part thereof may be
withheld under any provision of this Act. The burden shall be
on the public body to establish that its refusal to post a
record is in accordance with the provisions of this Act. Any
public body that asserts that a record is exempt from
disclosure has the burden of proving that it is exempt by clear
and convincing evidence.
(g) In the event of noncompliance with an order of the
court to disclose, the court may enforce its order against any
public official or employee so ordered or primarily
responsible for such noncompliance through the court's
contempt powers.
(h) If the court determines that a public body willfully
and intentionally failed to comply with this Act, or otherwise
acted in bad faith, the court shall also impose upon the public
body a civil penalty of not less than $2,500 nor more than
$5,000 for each occurrence. In assessing the civil penalty,

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the court shall consider in aggravation or mitigation the
budget of the public body and whether the public body has
previously been assessed penalties for violations of this Act.
The court may impose an additional penalty of up to $1,000 for
each day the violation continues if:
(1) the public body fails to comply with the court's
order after 30 days;
(2) the court's order is not on appeal or stayed; and
(3) the court does not grant the public body
additional time to comply with the court's order to
disclose public records.
Section 30. Administrative Review. A binding opinion
issued by the Attorney General shall be considered a final
decision of an administrative agency, for purposes of
administrative review under the Administrative Review Law
under Article III of the Code of Civil Procedure. An action for
administrative review of a binding opinion of the Attorney
General shall be commenced in Cook or Sangamon County. An
advisory opinion issued to a public body shall not be
considered a final decision of the Attorney General for
purposes of this Section.
Section 35. Noncompliance with binding opinion.
(a) The requester may file an action under Section 25 and
there shall be a rebuttable presumption that the public body

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willfully and intentionally failed to comply with this Act for
purposes of subsection (h) of Section 25 if:
(1) the Attorney General issues a binding opinion
pursuant to Section 20;
(2) the public body does not file for administrative
review of the binding opinion within 35 days after the
binding opinion is served on the public body; and
(3) the public body does not comply with the binding
opinion within 35 days after the binding opinion is served
on the public body.
For purposes of this subsection (a), service of the
binding opinion shall be by personal delivery or by depositing
the opinion in the United States mail as provided in Section
3-103 of the Code of Civil Procedure.
(b) The presumption in subsection (a) may be rebutted by
the public body showing that it is making a good faith effort
to comply with the binding opinion, but compliance was not
possible within the 35-day time frame.
Section 100. The Department of Central Management Services
Law of the Civil Administrative Code of Illinois is amended by
changing Section 405-335 as follows:
(20 ILCS 405/405-335)
Sec. 405-335. Illinois Transparency and Accountability
Portal (ITAP).

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(a) The Department, within 12 months after the effective
date of this amendatory Act of the 96th General Assembly,
shall establish and maintain a website, known as the Illinois
Transparency and Accountability Portal (ITAP), with a
full-time webmaster tasked with compiling and updating the
ITAP database with information received from all State
agencies as defined in this Section. Within 6 months after the
effective date of this amendatory Act of the 102nd General
Assembly, ITAP shall have the capability to compile and update
the ITAP database with information received from all school
districts and units of local government, including, but not
limited to, counties, townships, library districts, and
municipalities. Subject to appropriation, the full-time
webmaster must also compile and update the ITAP database with
information received from all school districts and units of
local government including, but not limited to, counties,
townships, library districts, and municipalities.
(b) For purposes of this Section:
"State agency" means the offices of the constitutional
officers identified in Article V of the Illinois Constitution,
executive agencies, and departments, boards, commissions, and
Authorities under the Governor.
"Contracts" means payment obligations with vendors on file
with the Office of the Comptroller to purchase goods and
services exceeding $10,000 in value (or, in the case of
professional or artistic services, exceeding $5,000 in value).

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"Appropriation" means line-item detail of spending
approved by the General Assembly and Governor, categorized by
object of expenditure.
"Individual consultants" means temporary workers eligible
to receive State benefits paid on a State payroll.
"Recipients" means State agencies receiving
appropriations.
(c) The ITAP shall provide direct access to each of the
following:
(1) A database of all current State employees and
individual consultants, except sworn law enforcement
officers, sorted separately by:
(i) Name.
(ii) Employing State agency.
(iii) Employing State division.
(iv) Employment position title.
(v) Current pay rate and year-to-date pay.
(2) A database of all current State expenditures,
sorted separately by agency, category, recipient, and
Representative District.
(3) A database of all development assistance
reportable pursuant to the Corporate Accountability for
Tax Expenditures Act, sorted separately by tax credit
category, taxpayer, and Representative District.
(4) A database of all revocations and suspensions of
State occupation and use tax certificates of registration

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and all revocations and suspensions of State professional
licenses, sorted separately by name, geographic location,
and certificate of registration number or license number,
as applicable. Professional license revocations and
suspensions shall be posted only if resulting from a
failure to pay taxes, license fees, or child support.
(5) A database of all current State contracts, sorted
separately by contractor name, awarding officer or agency,
contract value, and goods or services provided.
(6) A database of all employees hired after the
effective date of this amendatory Act of 2010, sorted
searchably by each of the following at the time of
employment:
(i) Name.
(ii) Employing State agency.
(iii) Employing State division.
(iv) Employment position title.
(v) Current pay rate and year-to-date pay.
(vi) County of employment location.
(vii) Rutan status.
(viii) Status of position as subject to collective
bargaining, subject to merit compensation, or exempt
under Section 4d of the Personnel Code.
(ix) Employment status as probationary, trainee,
intern, certified, or exempt from certification.
(x) Status as a military veteran.

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(7) A searchable database of all current county,
township, library district, and municipal employees sorted
separately by:
(i) Employing unit of local government.
(ii) Employment position title.
(iii) Current pay rate and year-to-date pay.
(8) A searchable database of all county, township, and
municipal employees hired on or after the effective date
of this amendatory Act of the 97th General Assembly,
sorted separately by each of the following at the time of
employment:
(i) Employing unit of local government.
(ii) Employment position title.
(iii) Current pay rate and year-to-date pay.
(9) A searchable database of all library district
employees hired on or after August 9, 2013 (the effective
date of Public Act 98-246), sorted separately by each of
the following at the time of employment:
(i) Employing unit of local government.
(ii) Employment position title.
(iii) Current pay rate and year-to-date pay.
(10) A link to a website maintained by the Department
that contains a list of contact information for each State
agency, including a telephone number and a link to the
Agency's website. Each State agency shall be responsible
for providing and updating the Department with this

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information.
(11) Information provided to ITAP under the FOIA
Relief Act.
(d) The ITAP shall include all information required to be
published by subsection (c) of this Section that is available
to the Department in a format the Department can compile and
publish on the ITAP. The Department shall update the ITAP as
additional information becomes available in a format that can
be compiled and published on the ITAP by the Department.
(e) Each State agency, county, township, library district,
and municipality shall cooperate with the Department in
furnishing the information necessary for the implementation of
this Section within a timeframe specified by the Department.
(f) Each county, township, library district, or
municipality submitting information to be displayed on the
Illinois Transparency and Accountability Portal (ITAP) is
responsible for the accuracy of the information provided.
(g) The Department, within 6 months after January 1, 2014
(the effective date of Public Act 98-283), shall distribute a
spreadsheet or otherwise make data entry available to each
State agency to facilitate the collection of data on the
State's annual workforce characteristics, workforce
compensation, and employee mobility. The Department shall
determine the data to be collected by each State agency. Each
State agency shall cooperate with the Department in furnishing
the data necessary for the implementation of this subsection

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within the timeframe specified by the Department. The
Department shall publish the data received from each State
agency on the ITAP or another open data site annually.
(Source: P.A. 97-744, eff. 1-1-13; 98-246, eff. 8-9-13;
98-283, eff. 1-1-14; 98-756, eff. 7-16-14; 98-1084, eff.
1-1-15.)
Section 105. The State Mandates Act is amended by adding
Section 8.45 as follows:
(30 ILCS 805/8.45 new)
Sec. 8.45. Exempt mandate. Notwithstanding Sections 6 and
8 of this Act, no reimbursement by the State is required for
the implementation of any mandate created by this amendatory
Act of the 102nd General Assembly.
Section 997. Severability. The provisions of this Act are
severable under Section 1.31 of the Statute on Statutes.
Section 999. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
becoming law.".