Bill Text: IL HB0344 | 2021-2022 | 102nd General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Amends the Illinois Gambling Act. Instead of prohibiting an employee of the corporate authority of a host community from having financial interests in a riverboat or casino, receiving certain things of value from a riverboat or casino, or accepting employment from a casino or riverboat, requires the employee to make a public disclosure to the Illinois Gaming Board. Requires the spouse, child, or parent of an employee of the corporate authority of a host community or a former employee of the corporate authority of a host community to make a public disclosure of certain conduct. Makes conforming changes in the Freedom of Information Act. Effective immediately.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2021-03-27 - Rule 19(a) / Re-referred to Rules Committee [HB0344 Detail]

Download: Illinois-2021-HB0344-Introduced.html

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102ND GENERAL ASSEMBLY State of Illinois 2021 and 2022 HB0344 Introduced , by Rep. Joe Sosnowski SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
5 ILCS 140/7 from Ch. 116, par. 207
230 ILCS 10/5.3
Amends the Illinois Gambling Act. Instead of prohibiting an employee of the corporate authority of a host community from having financial interests in a riverboat or casino, receive certain things of value from a riverboat or casino, or accept employment from a casino or riverboat, requires the employee to make a public disclosure to the Illinois Gaming Board. Makes conforming changes in the Freedom of Information Act. Effective immediately.
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A BILL FOR
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AN ACT concerning gaming.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
Section 5. The Freedom of Information Act is amended by
changing Section 7 as follows:
(5 ILCS 140/7) (from Ch. 116, par. 207)
Sec. 7. Exemptions.
(1) When a request is made to inspect or copy a public
record that contains information that is exempt from
disclosure under this Section, but also contains information
that is not exempt from disclosure, the public body may elect
to redact the information that is exempt. The public body
shall make the remaining information available for inspection
and copying. Subject to this requirement, the following shall
be exempt from inspection and copying:
(a) Information specifically prohibited from
disclosure by federal or State law or rules and
regulations implementing federal or State law.
(b) Private information, unless disclosure is required
by another provision of this Act, a State or federal law or
a court order.
(b-5) Files, documents, and other data or databases
maintained by one or more law enforcement agencies and

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specifically designed to provide information to one or
more law enforcement agencies regarding the physical or
mental status of one or more individual subjects.
(c) Personal information contained within public
records, the disclosure of which would constitute a
clearly unwarranted invasion of personal privacy, unless
the disclosure is consented to in writing by the
individual subjects of the information. "Unwarranted
invasion of personal privacy" means the disclosure of
information that is highly personal or objectionable to a
reasonable person and in which the subject's right to
privacy outweighs any legitimate public interest in
obtaining the information. The disclosure of information
that bears on the public duties of public employees and
officials shall not be considered an invasion of personal
privacy.
(d) Records in the possession of any public body
created in the course of administrative enforcement
proceedings, and any law enforcement or correctional
agency for law enforcement purposes, but only to the
extent that disclosure would:
(i) interfere with pending or actually and
reasonably contemplated law enforcement proceedings
conducted by any law enforcement or correctional
agency that is the recipient of the request;
(ii) interfere with active administrative

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enforcement proceedings conducted by the public body
that is the recipient of the request;
(iii) create a substantial likelihood that a
person will be deprived of a fair trial or an impartial
hearing;
(iv) unavoidably disclose the identity of a
confidential source, confidential information
furnished only by the confidential source, or persons
who file complaints with or provide information to
administrative, investigative, law enforcement, or
penal agencies; except that the identities of
witnesses to traffic accidents, traffic accident
reports, and rescue reports shall be provided by
agencies of local government, except when disclosure
would interfere with an active criminal investigation
conducted by the agency that is the recipient of the
request;
(v) disclose unique or specialized investigative
techniques other than those generally used and known
or disclose internal documents of correctional
agencies related to detection, observation or
investigation of incidents of crime or misconduct, and
disclosure would result in demonstrable harm to the
agency or public body that is the recipient of the
request;
(vi) endanger the life or physical safety of law

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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
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.
(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

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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
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

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crime scene photographs, except as these records may be
relevant to the requester's current or potential case or
claim.
(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

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equity fund as a result of either investing or evaluating
a potential investment of public funds in a private equity
fund. The exemption contained in this item does not apply
to the aggregate financial performance information of a
private equity fund, nor to the identity of the fund's
managers or general partners. The exemption contained in
this item does not apply to the identity of a privately
held company within the investment portfolio of a private
equity fund, unless the disclosure of the identity of a
privately held company may cause competitive harm.
Nothing contained in this paragraph (g) shall be
construed to prevent a person or business from consenting
to disclosure.
(h) Proposals and bids for any contract, grant, or
agreement, including information which if it were
disclosed would frustrate procurement or give an advantage
to any person proposing to enter into a contractor
agreement with the body, until an award or final selection
is made. Information prepared by or for the body in
preparation of a bid solicitation shall be exempt until an
award or final selection is made.
(i) Valuable formulae, computer geographic systems,
designs, drawings and research data obtained or produced
by any public body when disclosure could reasonably be
expected to produce private gain or public loss. The
exemption for "computer geographic systems" provided in

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this paragraph (i) does not extend to requests made by
news media as defined in Section 2 of this Act when the
requested information is not otherwise exempt and the only
purpose of the request is to access and disseminate
information regarding the health, safety, welfare, or
legal rights of the general public.
(j) The following information pertaining to
educational matters:
(i) test questions, scoring keys and other
examination data used to administer an academic
examination;
(ii) information received by a primary or
secondary school, college, or university under its
procedures for the evaluation of faculty members by
their academic peers;
(iii) information concerning a school or
university's adjudication of student disciplinary
cases, but only to the extent that disclosure would
unavoidably reveal the identity of the student; and
(iv) course materials or research materials used
by faculty members.
(k) Architects' plans, engineers' technical
submissions, and other construction related technical
documents for projects not constructed or developed in
whole or in part with public funds and the same for
projects constructed or developed with public funds,

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including, but not limited to, power generating and
distribution stations and other transmission and
distribution facilities, water treatment facilities,
airport facilities, sport stadiums, convention centers,
and all government owned, operated, or occupied buildings,
but only to the extent that disclosure would compromise
security.
(l) Minutes of meetings of public bodies closed to the
public as provided in the Open Meetings Act until the
public body makes the minutes available to the public
under Section 2.06 of the Open Meetings Act.
(m) Communications between a public body and an
attorney or auditor representing the public body that
would not be subject to discovery in litigation, and
materials prepared or compiled by or for a public body in
anticipation of a criminal, civil, or administrative
proceeding upon the request of an attorney advising the
public body, and materials prepared or compiled with
respect to internal audits of public bodies.
(n) Records relating to a public body's adjudication
of employee grievances or disciplinary cases; however,
this exemption shall not extend to the final outcome of
cases in which discipline is imposed.
(o) Administrative or technical information associated
with automated data processing operations, including, but
not limited to, software, operating protocols, computer

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program abstracts, file layouts, source listings, object
modules, load modules, user guides, documentation
pertaining to all logical and physical design of
computerized systems, employee manuals, and any other
information that, if disclosed, would jeopardize the
security of the system or its data or the security of
materials exempt under this Section.
(p) Records relating to collective negotiating matters
between public bodies and their employees or
representatives, except that any final contract or
agreement shall be subject to inspection and copying.
(q) Test questions, scoring keys, and other
examination data used to determine the qualifications of
an applicant for a license or employment.
(r) The records, documents, and information relating
to real estate purchase negotiations until those
negotiations have been completed or otherwise terminated.
With regard to a parcel involved in a pending or actually
and reasonably contemplated eminent domain proceeding
under the Eminent Domain Act, records, documents, and
information relating to that parcel shall be exempt except
as may be allowed under discovery rules adopted by the
Illinois Supreme Court. The records, documents, and
information relating to a real estate sale shall be exempt
until a sale is consummated.
(s) Any and all proprietary information and records

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related to the operation of an intergovernmental risk
management association or self-insurance pool or jointly
self-administered health and accident cooperative or pool.
Insurance or self insurance (including any
intergovernmental risk management association or self
insurance pool) claims, loss or risk management
information, records, data, advice or communications.
(t) Information contained in or related to
examination, operating, or condition reports prepared by,
on behalf of, or for the use of a public body responsible
for the regulation or supervision of financial
institutions, 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 or digital signatures under
the Electronic Commerce Security Act.
(v) Vulnerability assessments, security measures, and
response policies or plans that are designed to identify,
prevent, or respond to potential attacks upon a
community's population or systems, facilities, or
installations, the destruction or contamination of which
would constitute a clear and present danger to the health
or safety of the community, but only to the extent that

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disclosure could reasonably be expected to jeopardize the
effectiveness of the measures or the safety of the
personnel who implement them or the public. Information
exempt under this item may include such things as details
pertaining to the mobilization or deployment of personnel
or equipment, to the operation of communication systems or
protocols, or to tactical operations.
(w) (Blank).
(x) Maps and other records regarding the location or
security of generation, transmission, distribution,
storage, gathering, treatment, or switching facilities
owned by a utility, by a power generator, or by the
Illinois Power Agency.
(y) Information contained in or related to proposals,
bids, or negotiations related to electric power
procurement under Section 1-75 of the Illinois Power
Agency Act and Section 16-111.5 of the Public Utilities
Act that is determined to be confidential and proprietary
by the Illinois Power Agency or by the Illinois Commerce
Commission.
(z) Information about students exempted from
disclosure under Sections 10-20.38 or 34-18.29 of the
School Code, and information about undergraduate students
enrolled at an institution of higher education exempted
from disclosure under Section 25 of the Illinois Credit
Card Marketing Act of 2009.

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(aa) Information the disclosure of which is exempted
under the Viatical Settlements Act of 2009.
(bb) Records and information provided to a mortality
review team and records maintained by a mortality review
team appointed under the Department of Juvenile Justice
Mortality Review Team Act.
(cc) 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.

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(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
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.

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(ll) (kk) Records concerning the work of the threat
assessment team of a school district.
(mm) The public disclosures to the Illinois Gaming
Board required under subsection (j-1) of Section 5.3 of
the Illinois Gambling Act.
(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
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. 100-26, eff. 8-4-17; 100-201, eff. 8-18-17;
100-732, eff. 8-3-18; 101-434, eff. 1-1-20; 101-452, eff.
1-1-20; 101-455, eff. 8-23-19; revised 9-27-19.)
Section 10. The Illinois Gambling Act is amended by
changing Section 5.3 as follows:

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(230 ILCS 10/5.3)
Sec. 5.3. Ethical conduct.
(a) Officials and employees of the corporate authority of
a host community must carry out their duties and
responsibilities in such a manner as to promote and preserve
public trust and confidence in the integrity and conduct of
gaming.
(b) Officials and employees of the corporate authority of
a host community shall not use or attempt to use his or her
official position to secure or attempt to secure any
privilege, advantage, favor, or influence for himself or
herself or others.
(c) Officials and employees of the corporate authority of
a host community may not have a financial interest, directly
or indirectly, in his or her own name or in the name of any
other person, partnership, association, trust, corporation, or
other entity in any contract or subcontract for the
performance of any work for a riverboat or casino that is
located in the host community. This prohibition shall extend
to the holding or acquisition of an interest in any entity
identified by Board action that, in the Board's judgment,
could represent the potential for or the appearance of a
financial interest. The holding or acquisition of an interest
in such entities through an indirect means, such as through a
mutual fund, shall not be prohibited, except that the Board
may identify specific investments or funds that, in its

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judgment, are so influenced by gaming holdings as to represent
the potential for or the appearance of a conflict of interest.
(d) Officials and employees of the corporate authority of
a host community may not accept any gift, gratuity, service,
compensation, travel, lodging, or thing of value, with the
exception of unsolicited items of an incidental nature, from
any person, corporation, or entity doing business with the
riverboat or casino that is located in the host community.
(e) Officials and employees of the corporate authority of
a host community shall not, during the period that the person
is an official or employee of the corporate authority or for a
period of 2 years immediately after leaving such office,
knowingly accept employment or receive compensation or fees
for services from a person or entity, or its parent or
affiliate, that has engaged in business with the riverboat or
casino that is located in the host community that resulted in
contracts with an aggregate value of at least $25,000 or if
that official or employee has made a decision that directly
applied to the person or entity, or its parent or affiliate.
(f) A spouse, child, or parent of an official or employee
of the corporate authority of a host community may not have a
financial interest, directly or indirectly, in his or her own
name or in the name of any other person, partnership,
association, trust, corporation, or other entity in any
contract or subcontract for the performance of any work for a
riverboat or casino in the host community. This prohibition

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shall extend to the holding or acquisition of an interest in
any entity identified by Board action that, in the judgment of
the Board, could represent the potential for or the appearance
of a conflict of interest. The holding or acquisition of an
interest in such entities through an indirect means, such as
through a mutual fund, shall not be prohibited, expect that
the Board may identify specific investments or funds that, in
its judgment, are so influenced by gaming holdings as to
represent the potential for or the appearance of a conflict of
interest.
(g) A spouse, child, or parent of an official or employee
of the corporate authority of a host community may not accept
any gift, gratuity, service, compensation, travel, lodging, or
thing of value, with the exception of unsolicited items of an
incidental nature, from any person, corporation, or entity
doing business with the riverboat or casino that is located in
the host community.
(h) A spouse, child, or parent of an official or employee
of the corporate authority of a host community may not, during
the period that the person is an official of the corporate
authority or for a period of 2 years immediately after leaving
such office or employment, knowingly accept employment or
receive compensation or fees for services from a person or
entity, or its parent or affiliate, that has engaged in
business with the riverboat or casino that is located in the
host community that resulted in contracts with an aggregate

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value of at least $25,000 or if that official or employee has
made a decision that directly applied to the person or entity,
or its parent or affiliate.
(i) Officials and employees of the corporate authority of
a host community shall not attempt, in any way, to influence
any person or entity doing business with the riverboat or
casino that is located in the host community or any officer,
agent, or employee thereof to hire or contract with any person
or entity for any compensated work.
(j) Any communication between an official of the corporate
authority of a host community and any applicant for an owners
license in the host community, or an officer, director, or
employee of a riverboat or casino in the host community,
concerning any matter relating in any way to gaming shall be
disclosed to the Board. Such disclosure shall be in writing by
the official within 30 days after the communication and shall
be filed with the Board. Disclosure must consist of the date of
the communication, the identity and job title of the person
with whom the communication was made, a brief summary of the
communication, the action requested or recommended, all
responses made, the identity and job title of the person
making the response, and any other pertinent information.
Public disclosure of the written summary provided to the Board
and the Gaming Board shall be subject to the exemptions
provided under the Freedom of Information Act.
This subsection (j) shall not apply to communications

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regarding traffic, law enforcement, security, environmental
issues, city services, transportation, or other routine
matters concerning the ordinary operations of the riverboat or
casino. For purposes of this subsection (j), "ordinary
operations" means operations relating to the casino or
riverboat facility other than the conduct of gambling
activities, and "routine matters" includes the application
for, issuance of, renewal of, and other processes associated
with municipal permits and licenses.
(j-1) Any employee of the corporate authority of a host
community who has, within the previous calendar year,
committed conduct of the types enumerated in subsections (c)
and (d) must by January 31 of the following calendar year file
a description of this conduct with the Board. Public
disclosure of the description provided to the Board shall be
subject to the exemptions provided under the Freedom of
Information Act.
Any former employee of the corporate authority of a host
community who has, within the previous calendar year,
committed conduct of the types enumerated in subsection (e)
must by January 31 of the following calendar year file a
description of this conduct with the Board. Public disclosure
of the description provided to the Board shall be subject to
the exemptions provided under the Freedom of Information Act.
Any spouse, child, or parent of an employee of the
corporate authority of a host community who has, within the

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previous calendar year, committed conduct of the types
enumerated in subsections (f), (g), and (h) must by January 31
of the following calendar year file a description of this
conduct with the Board. Public disclosure of the description
provided to the Board shall be subject to the exemptions
provided under the Freedom of Information Act.
(k) Any official or employee who violates any provision of
this Section is guilty of a Class 4 felony.
(l) For purposes of this Section: , "host community"
"Employee of the corporate authority of a host community"
means an employee of the corporate authority of a host
community who is not an official of the corporate authority of
a host community.
"Host community" or "host municipality" means a unit of
local government that contains a riverboat or casino within
its borders.
"Official of the corporate authority of a host community"
means a person who is: (1) an elected official of the corporate
authority of a host community or (2) a department head or
executive official of a host community.
(Source: P.A. 101-31, eff. 6-28-19.)
Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
becoming law.