103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2023 and 2024
SB3613
 
Introduced 2/9/2024, by Sen. Robert F. Martwick
 
SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:

5 ILCS 140/2 from Ch. 116, par. 202
5 ILCS 140/7
5 ILCS 140/9.5
 Amends the Freedom of Information Act. Provides that, for purposes of the Act, "public body" includes the judicial branch and components of the judicial branch of the State. Exempts records that pertain to the preparation of judicial opinions and orders. Excludes denials of requests of records from the judicial branch or components of the judicial branch from the jurisdiction of the Public Access Counselor.


LRB103 39195 AWJ 69342 b


 
 
A BILL FOR
 
SB3613LRB103 39195 AWJ 69342 b


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, 7, and 9.5 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, 
9judicial branch, components of the judicial branch, 
10administrative, or advisory bodies of the State, state 
11universities and colleges, counties, townships, cities, 
12villages, incorporated towns, school districts and all other 
13municipal corporations, boards, bureaus, committees, or 
14commissions of this State, any subsidiary bodies of any of the 
15foregoing including but not limited to committees and 
16subcommittees thereof, and a School Finance Authority created 
17under Article 1E of the School Code. "Public body" does not 
18include a child death review team or the Illinois Child Death 
19Review Teams Executive Council established under the Child 
20Death Review Team Act, or a regional youth advisory board or 
21the Statewide Youth Advisory Board established under the 
22Department of Children and Family Services Statewide Youth 
23Advisory Board Act.
 
 
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1 (b) "Person" means any individual, corporation, 
2partnership, firm, organization or association, acting 
3individually or as a group.
4 (c) "Public records" means all records, reports, forms, 
5writings, letters, memoranda, books, papers, maps, 
6photographs, microfilms, cards, tapes, recordings, electronic 
7data processing records, electronic communications, recorded 
8information and all other documentary materials pertaining to 
9the transaction of public business, regardless of physical 
10form or characteristics, having been prepared by or for, or 
11having been or being used by, received by, in the possession 
12of, or under the control of any public body.
13 (c-5) "Private information" means unique identifiers, 
14including a person's social security number, driver's license 
15number, employee identification number, biometric identifiers, 
16personal financial information, passwords or other access 
17codes, medical records, home or personal telephone numbers, 
18and personal email addresses. Private information also 
19includes home address and personal license plates, except as 
20otherwise provided by law or when compiled without possibility 
21of attribution to any person. For a public body that is a 
22HIPAA-covered entity, "private information" includes 
23electronic medical records and all information, including 
24demographic information, contained within or extracted from an 
25electronic medical records system operated or maintained by 
26the public body in compliance with State and federal medical 
 
 
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1privacy laws and regulations, including, but not limited to, 
2the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act and 
3its regulations, 45 CFR Parts 160 and 164. As used in this 
4subsection, "HIPAA-covered entity" has the meaning given to 
5the term "covered entity" in 45 CFR 160.103.
6 (c-10) "Commercial purpose" means the use of any part of a 
7public record or records, or information derived from public 
8records, in any form for sale, resale, or solicitation or 
9advertisement for sales or services. For purposes of this 
10definition, requests made by news media and non-profit, 
11scientific, or academic organizations shall not be considered 
12to be made for a "commercial purpose" when the principal 
13purpose of the request is (i) to access and disseminate 
14information concerning news and current or passing events, 
15(ii) for articles of opinion or features of interest to the 
16public, or (iii) for the purpose of academic, scientific, or 
17public research or education.
18 (d) "Copying" means the reproduction of any public record 
19by means of any photographic, electronic, mechanical or other 
20process, device or means now known or hereafter developed and 
21available to the public body.
22 (e) "Head of the public body" means the president, mayor, 
23chairman, presiding officer, director, superintendent, 
24manager, supervisor or individual otherwise holding primary 
25executive and administrative authority for the public body, or 
26such person's duly authorized designee.
 
 
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1 (f) "News media" means a newspaper or other periodical 
2issued at regular intervals whether in print or electronic 
3format, a news service whether in print or electronic format, 
4a radio station, a television station, a television network, a 
5community antenna television service, or a person or 
6corporation engaged in making news reels or other motion 
7picture news for public showing.
8 (g) "Recurrent requester", as used in Section 3.2 of this 
9Act, means a person that, in the 12 months immediately 
10preceding the request, has submitted to the same public body 
11(i) a minimum of 50 requests for records, (ii) a minimum of 15 
12requests for records within a 30-day period, or (iii) a 
13minimum of 7 requests for records within a 7-day period. For 
14purposes of this definition, requests made by news media and 
15non-profit, scientific, or academic organizations shall not be 
16considered in calculating the number of requests made in the 
17time periods in this definition when the principal purpose of 
18the requests is (i) to access and disseminate information 
19concerning news and current or passing events, (ii) for 
20articles of opinion or features of interest to the public, or 
21(iii) for the purpose of academic, scientific, or public 
22research or education.
23 For the purposes of this subsection (g), "request" means a 
24written document (or oral request, if the public body chooses 
25to honor oral requests) that is submitted to a public body via 
26personal delivery, mail, telefax, electronic mail, or other 
 
 
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1means available to the public body and that identifies the 
2particular public record the requester seeks. One request may 
3identify multiple records to be inspected or copied. 
4 (h) "Voluminous request" means a request that: (i) 
5includes more than 5 individual requests for more than 5 
6different categories of records or a combination of individual 
7requests that total requests for more than 5 different 
8categories of records in a period of 20 business days; or (ii) 
9requires the compilation of more than 500 letter or 
10legal-sized pages of public records unless a single requested 
11record exceeds 500 pages. "Single requested record" may 
12include, but is not limited to, one report, form, e-mail, 
13letter, memorandum, book, map, microfilm, tape, or recording.
14 "Voluminous request" does not include a request made by 
15news media and non-profit, scientific, or academic 
16organizations if the principal purpose of the request is: (1) 
17to access and disseminate information concerning news and 
18current or passing events; (2) for articles of opinion or 
19features of interest to the public; or (3) for the purpose of 
20academic, scientific, or public research or education.
21 For the purposes of this subsection (h), "request" means a 
22written document, or oral request, if the public body chooses 
23to honor oral requests, that is submitted to a public body via 
24personal delivery, mail, telefax, electronic mail, or other 
25means available to the public body and that identifies the 
26particular public record or records the requester seeks. One 
 
 
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1request may identify multiple individual records to be 
2inspected or copied. 
3 (i) "Severance agreement" means a mutual agreement between 
4any public body and its employee for the employee's 
5resignation in exchange for payment by the public body. 
6(Source: P.A. 103-554, eff. 1-1-24.)

7 (5 ILCS 140/7)
8 Sec. 7. Exemptions. 
9 (1) When a request is made to inspect or copy a public 
10record that contains information that is exempt from 
11disclosure under this Section, but also contains information 
12that is not exempt from disclosure, the public body may elect 
13to redact the information that is exempt. The public body 
14shall make the remaining information available for inspection 
15and copying. Subject to this requirement, the following shall 
16be exempt from inspection and copying: 
17  (a) Information specifically prohibited from 
18 disclosure by federal or State law or rules and 
19 regulations implementing federal or State law. 
20  (b) Private information, unless disclosure is required 
21 by another provision of this Act, a State or federal law, 
22 or a court order. 
23  (b-5) Files, documents, and other data or databases 
24 maintained by one or more law enforcement agencies and 
25 specifically designed to provide information to one or 
 
 
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1 more law enforcement agencies regarding the physical or 
2 mental status of one or more individual subjects. 
3  (c) Personal information contained within public 
4 records, the disclosure of which would constitute a 
5 clearly unwarranted invasion of personal privacy, unless 
6 the disclosure is consented to in writing by the 
7 individual subjects of the information. "Unwarranted 
8 invasion of personal privacy" means the disclosure of 
9 information that is highly personal or objectionable to a 
10 reasonable person and in which the subject's right to 
11 privacy outweighs any legitimate public interest in 
12 obtaining the information. The disclosure of information 
13 that bears on the public duties of public employees and 
14 officials shall not be considered an invasion of personal 
15 privacy. 
16  (d) Records in the possession of any public body 
17 created in the course of administrative enforcement 
18 proceedings, and any law enforcement or correctional 
19 agency for law enforcement purposes, but only to the 
20 extent that disclosure would: 
21   (i) interfere with pending or actually and 
22 reasonably contemplated law enforcement proceedings 
23 conducted by any law enforcement or correctional 
24 agency that is the recipient of the request; 
25   (ii) interfere with active administrative 
26 enforcement proceedings conducted by the public body 
 
 
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1 that is the recipient of the request; 
2   (iii) create a substantial likelihood that a 
3 person will be deprived of a fair trial or an impartial 
4 hearing; 
5   (iv) unavoidably disclose the identity of a 
6 confidential source, confidential information 
7 furnished only by the confidential source, or persons 
8 who file complaints with or provide information to 
9 administrative, investigative, law enforcement, or 
10 penal agencies; except that the identities of 
11 witnesses to traffic crashes, traffic crash reports, 
12 and rescue reports shall be provided by agencies of 
13 local government, except when disclosure would 
14 interfere with an active criminal investigation 
15 conducted by the agency that is the recipient of the 
16 request; 
17   (v) disclose unique or specialized investigative 
18 techniques other than those generally used and known 
19 or disclose internal documents of correctional 
20 agencies related to detection, observation, or 
21 investigation of incidents of crime or misconduct, and 
22 disclosure would result in demonstrable harm to the 
23 agency or public body that is the recipient of the 
24 request; 
25   (vi) endanger the life or physical safety of law 
26 enforcement personnel or any other person; or 
 
 
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1   (vii) obstruct an ongoing criminal investigation 
2 by the agency that is the recipient of the request. 
3  (d-5) A law enforcement record created for law 
4 enforcement purposes and contained in a shared electronic 
5 record management system if the law enforcement agency 
6 that is the recipient of the request did not create the 
7 record, did not participate in or have a role in any of the 
8 events which are the subject of the record, and only has 
9 access to the record through the shared electronic record 
10 management system. 
11  (d-6) Records contained in the Officer Professional 
12 Conduct Database under Section 9.2 of the Illinois Police 
13 Training Act, except to the extent authorized under that 
14 Section. This includes the documents supplied to the 
15 Illinois Law Enforcement Training Standards Board from the 
16 Illinois State Police and Illinois State Police Merit 
17 Board. 
18  (d-7) Information gathered or records created from the 
19 use of automatic license plate readers in connection with 
20 Section 2-130 of the Illinois Vehicle Code. 
21  (e) Records that relate to or affect the security of 
22 correctional institutions and detention facilities. 
23  (e-5) Records requested by persons committed to the 
24 Department of Corrections, Department of Human Services 
25 Division of Mental Health, or a county jail if those 
26 materials are available in the library of the correctional 
 
 
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1 institution or facility or jail where the inmate is 
2 confined. 
3  (e-6) Records requested by persons committed to the 
4 Department of Corrections, Department of Human Services 
5 Division of Mental Health, or a county jail if those 
6 materials include records from staff members' personnel 
7 files, staff rosters, or other staffing assignment 
8 information. 
9  (e-7) Records requested by persons committed to the 
10 Department of Corrections or Department of Human Services 
11 Division of Mental Health if those materials are available 
12 through an administrative request to the Department of 
13 Corrections or Department of Human Services Division of 
14 Mental Health. 
15  (e-8) Records requested by a person committed to the 
16 Department of Corrections, Department of Human Services 
17 Division of Mental Health, or a county jail, the 
18 disclosure of which would result in the risk of harm to any 
19 person or the risk of an escape from a jail or correctional 
20 institution or facility.
21  (e-9) Records requested by a person in a county jail 
22 or committed to the Department of Corrections or 
23 Department of Human Services Division of Mental Health, 
24 containing personal information pertaining to the person's 
25 victim or the victim's family, including, but not limited 
26 to, a victim's home address, home telephone number, work 
 
 
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1 or school address, work telephone number, social security 
2 number, or any other identifying information, except as 
3 may be relevant to a requester's current or potential case 
4 or claim. 
5  (e-10) Law enforcement records of other persons 
6 requested by a person committed to the Department of 
7 Corrections, Department of Human Services Division of 
8 Mental Health, or a county jail, including, but not 
9 limited to, arrest and booking records, mug shots, and 
10 crime scene photographs, except as these records may be 
11 relevant to the requester's current or potential case or 
12 claim. 
13  (f) Preliminary drafts, notes, recommendations, 
14 memoranda, and other records in which opinions are 
15 expressed, or policies or actions are formulated, except 
16 that a specific record or relevant portion of a record 
17 shall not be exempt when the record is publicly cited and 
18 identified by the head of the public body. The exemption 
19 provided in this paragraph (f) extends to all those 
20 records of officers and agencies of the General Assembly 
21 that pertain to the preparation of legislative documents 
22 and to all those records that pertain to the preparation 
23 of judicial opinions and orders. 
24  (g) Trade secrets and commercial or financial 
25 information obtained from a person or business where the 
26 trade secrets or commercial or financial information are 
 
 
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1 furnished under a claim that they are proprietary, 
2 privileged, or confidential, and that disclosure of the 
3 trade secrets or commercial or financial information would 
4 cause competitive harm to the person or business, and only 
5 insofar as the claim directly applies to the records 
6 requested.
7  The information included under this exemption includes 
8 all trade secrets and commercial or financial information 
9 obtained by a public body, including a public pension 
10 fund, from a private equity fund or a privately held 
11 company within the investment portfolio of a private 
12 equity fund as a result of either investing or evaluating 
13 a potential investment of public funds in a private equity 
14 fund. The exemption contained in this item does not apply 
15 to the aggregate financial performance information of a 
16 private equity fund, nor to the identity of the fund's 
17 managers or general partners. The exemption contained in 
18 this item does not apply to the identity of a privately 
19 held company within the investment portfolio of a private 
20 equity fund, unless the disclosure of the identity of a 
21 privately held company may cause competitive harm.
22  Nothing contained in this paragraph (g) shall be 
23 construed to prevent a person or business from consenting 
24 to disclosure. 
25  (h) Proposals and bids for any contract, grant, or 
26 agreement, including information which if it were 
 
 
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1 disclosed would frustrate procurement or give an advantage 
2 to any person proposing to enter into a contractor 
3 agreement with the body, until an award or final selection 
4 is made. Information prepared by or for the body in 
5 preparation of a bid solicitation shall be exempt until an 
6 award or final selection is made. 
7  (i) Valuable formulae, computer geographic systems, 
8 designs, drawings, and research data obtained or produced 
9 by any public body when disclosure could reasonably be 
10 expected to produce private gain or public loss. The 
11 exemption for "computer geographic systems" provided in 
12 this paragraph (i) does not extend to requests made by 
13 news media as defined in Section 2 of this Act when the 
14 requested information is not otherwise exempt and the only 
15 purpose of the request is to access and disseminate 
16 information regarding the health, safety, welfare, or 
17 legal rights of the general public. 
18  (j) The following information pertaining to 
19 educational matters:
20   (i) test questions, scoring keys, and other 
21 examination data used to administer an academic 
22 examination; 
23   (ii) information received by a primary or 
24 secondary school, college, or university under its 
25 procedures for the evaluation of faculty members by 
26 their academic peers; 
 
 
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1   (iii) information concerning a school or 
2 university's adjudication of student disciplinary 
3 cases, but only to the extent that disclosure would 
4 unavoidably reveal the identity of the student; and
5   (iv) course materials or research materials used 
6 by faculty members. 
7  (k) Architects' plans, engineers' technical 
8 submissions, and other construction related technical 
9 documents for projects not constructed or developed in 
10 whole or in part with public funds and the same for 
11 projects constructed or developed with public funds, 
12 including, but not limited to, power generating and 
13 distribution stations and other transmission and 
14 distribution facilities, water treatment facilities, 
15 airport facilities, sport stadiums, convention centers, 
16 and all government owned, operated, or occupied buildings, 
17 but only to the extent that disclosure would compromise 
18 security. 
19  (l) Minutes of meetings of public bodies closed to the 
20 public as provided in the Open Meetings Act until the 
21 public body makes the minutes available to the public 
22 under Section 2.06 of the Open Meetings Act. 
23  (m) Communications between a public body and an 
24 attorney or auditor representing the public body that 
25 would not be subject to discovery in litigation, and 
26 materials prepared or compiled by or for a public body in 
 
 
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1 anticipation of a criminal, civil, or administrative 
2 proceeding upon the request of an attorney advising the 
3 public body, and materials prepared or compiled with 
4 respect to internal audits of public bodies. 
5  (n) Records relating to a public body's adjudication 
6 of employee grievances or disciplinary cases; however, 
7 this exemption shall not extend to the final outcome of 
8 cases in which discipline is imposed. 
9  (o) Administrative or technical information associated 
10 with automated data processing operations, including, but 
11 not limited to, software, operating protocols, computer 
12 program abstracts, file layouts, source listings, object 
13 modules, load modules, user guides, documentation 
14 pertaining to all logical and physical design of 
15 computerized systems, employee manuals, and any other 
16 information that, if disclosed, would jeopardize the 
17 security of the system or its data or the security of 
18 materials exempt under this Section. 
19  (p) Records relating to collective negotiating matters 
20 between public bodies and their employees or 
21 representatives, except that any final contract or 
22 agreement shall be subject to inspection and copying. 
23  (q) Test questions, scoring keys, and other 
24 examination data used to determine the qualifications of 
25 an applicant for a license or employment. 
26  (r) The records, documents, and information relating 
 
 
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1 to real estate purchase negotiations until those 
2 negotiations have been completed or otherwise terminated. 
3 With regard to a parcel involved in a pending or actually 
4 and reasonably contemplated eminent domain proceeding 
5 under the Eminent Domain Act, records, documents, and 
6 information relating to that parcel shall be exempt except 
7 as may be allowed under discovery rules adopted by the 
8 Illinois Supreme Court. The records, documents, and 
9 information relating to a real estate sale shall be exempt 
10 until a sale is consummated. 
11  (s) Any and all proprietary information and records 
12 related to the operation of an intergovernmental risk 
13 management association or self-insurance pool or jointly 
14 self-administered health and accident cooperative or pool. 
15 Insurance or self-insurance (including any 
16 intergovernmental risk management association or 
17 self-insurance pool) claims, loss or risk management 
18 information, records, data, advice, or communications. 
19  (t) Information contained in or related to 
20 examination, operating, or condition reports prepared by, 
21 on behalf of, or for the use of a public body responsible 
22 for the regulation or supervision of financial 
23 institutions, insurance companies, or pharmacy benefit 
24 managers, unless disclosure is otherwise required by State 
25 law. 
26  (u) Information that would disclose or might lead to 
 
 
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1 the disclosure of secret or confidential information, 
2 codes, algorithms, programs, or private keys intended to 
3 be used to create electronic signatures under the Uniform 
4 Electronic Transactions Act. 
5  (v) Vulnerability assessments, security measures, and 
6 response policies or plans that are designed to identify, 
7 prevent, or respond to potential attacks upon a 
8 community's population or systems, facilities, or 
9 installations, but only to the extent that disclosure 
10 could reasonably be expected to expose the vulnerability 
11 or jeopardize the effectiveness of the measures, policies, 
12 or plans, or the safety of the personnel who implement 
13 them or the public. Information exempt under this item may 
14 include such things as details pertaining to the 
15 mobilization or deployment of personnel or equipment, to 
16 the operation of communication systems or protocols, to 
17 cybersecurity vulnerabilities, or to tactical operations. 
18  (w) (Blank). 
19  (x) Maps and other records regarding the location or 
20 security of generation, transmission, distribution, 
21 storage, gathering, treatment, or switching facilities 
22 owned by a utility, by a power generator, or by the 
23 Illinois Power Agency. 
24  (y) Information contained in or related to proposals, 
25 bids, or negotiations related to electric power 
26 procurement under Section 1-75 of the Illinois Power 
 
 
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1 Agency Act and Section 16-111.5 of the Public Utilities 
2 Act that is determined to be confidential and proprietary 
3 by the Illinois Power Agency or by the Illinois Commerce 
4 Commission. 
5  (z) Information about students exempted from 
6 disclosure under Section 10-20.38 or 34-18.29 of the 
7 School Code, and information about undergraduate students 
8 enrolled at an institution of higher education exempted 
9 from disclosure under Section 25 of the Illinois Credit 
10 Card Marketing Act of 2009. 
11  (aa) Information the disclosure of which is exempted 
12 under the Viatical Settlements Act of 2009. 
13  (bb) Records and information provided to a mortality 
14 review team and records maintained by a mortality review 
15 team appointed under the Department of Juvenile Justice 
16 Mortality Review Team Act. 
17  (cc) Information regarding interments, entombments, or 
18 inurnments of human remains that are submitted to the 
19 Cemetery Oversight Database under the Cemetery Care Act or 
20 the Cemetery Oversight Act, whichever is applicable.
21  (dd) Correspondence and records (i) that may not be 
22 disclosed under Section 11-9 of the Illinois Public Aid 
23 Code or (ii) that pertain to appeals under Section 11-8 of 
24 the Illinois Public Aid Code. 
25  (ee) The names, addresses, or other personal 
26 information of persons who are minors and are also 
 
 
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1 participants and registrants in programs of park 
2 districts, forest preserve districts, conservation 
3 districts, recreation agencies, and special recreation 
4 associations.
5  (ff) The names, addresses, or other personal 
6 information of participants and registrants in programs of 
7 park districts, forest preserve districts, conservation 
8 districts, recreation agencies, and special recreation 
9 associations where such programs are targeted primarily to 
10 minors.
11  (gg) Confidential information described in Section 
12 1-100 of the Illinois Independent Tax Tribunal Act of 
13 2012. 
14  (hh) The report submitted to the State Board of 
15 Education by the School Security and Standards Task Force 
16 under item (8) of subsection (d) of Section 2-3.160 of the 
17 School Code and any information contained in that report. 
18  (ii) Records requested by persons committed to or 
19 detained by the Department of Human Services under the 
20 Sexually Violent Persons Commitment Act or committed to 
21 the Department of Corrections under the Sexually Dangerous 
22 Persons Act if those materials: (i) are available in the 
23 library of the facility where the individual is confined; 
24 (ii) include records from staff members' personnel files, 
25 staff rosters, or other staffing assignment information; 
26 or (iii) are available through an administrative request 
 
 
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1 to the Department of Human Services or the Department of 
2 Corrections.
3  (jj) Confidential information described in Section 
4 5-535 of the Civil Administrative Code of Illinois. 
5  (kk) The public body's credit card numbers, debit card 
6 numbers, bank account numbers, Federal Employer 
7 Identification Number, security code numbers, passwords, 
8 and similar account information, the disclosure of which 
9 could result in identity theft or impression or defrauding 
10 of a governmental entity or a person. 
11  (ll) Records concerning the work of the threat 
12 assessment team of a school district, including, but not 
13 limited to, any threat assessment procedure under the 
14 School Safety Drill Act and any information contained in 
15 the procedure.
16  (mm) Information prohibited from being disclosed under 
17 subsections (a) and (b) of Section 15 of the Student 
18 Confidential Reporting Act. 
19  (nn) Proprietary information submitted to the 
20 Environmental Protection Agency under the Drug Take-Back 
21 Act. 
22  (oo) Records described in subsection (f) of Section 
23 3-5-1 of the Unified Code of Corrections. 
24  (pp) Any and all information regarding burials, 
25 interments, or entombments of human remains as required to 
26 be reported to the Department of Natural Resources 
 
 
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1 pursuant either to the Archaeological and Paleontological 
2 Resources Protection Act or the Human Remains Protection 
3 Act.
4  (qq) (pp) Reports described in subsection (e) of 
5 Section 16-15 of the Abortion Care Clinical Training 
6 Program Act. 
7  (rr) (pp) Information obtained by a certified local 
8 health department under the Access to Public Health Data 
9 Act. 
10  (ss) (pp) For a request directed to a public body that 
11 is also a HIPAA-covered entity, all information that is 
12 protected health information, including demographic 
13 information, that may be contained within or extracted 
14 from any record held by the public body in compliance with 
15 State and federal medical privacy laws and regulations, 
16 including, but not limited to, the Health Insurance 
17 Portability and Accountability Act and its regulations, 45 
18 CFR Parts 160 and 164. As used in this paragraph, 
19 "HIPAA-covered entity" has the meaning given to the term 
20 "covered entity" in 45 CFR 160.103 and "protected health 
21 information" has the meaning given to that term in 45 CFR 
22 160.103. 
23 (1.5) Any information exempt from disclosure under the 
24Judicial Privacy Act shall be redacted from public records 
25prior to disclosure under this Act. 
26 (2) A public record that is not in the possession of a 
 
 
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1public body but is in the possession of a party with whom the 
2agency has contracted to perform a governmental function on 
3behalf of the public body, and that directly relates to the 
4governmental function and is not otherwise exempt under this 
5Act, shall be considered a public record of the public body, 
6for purposes of this Act. 
7 (3) This Section does not authorize withholding of 
8information or limit the availability of records to the 
9public, except as stated in this Section or otherwise provided 
10in this Act. 
11(Source: P.A. 102-38, eff. 6-25-21; 102-558, eff. 8-20-21; 
12102-694, eff. 1-7-22; 102-752, eff. 5-6-22; 102-753, eff. 
131-1-23; 102-776, eff. 1-1-23; 102-791, eff. 5-13-22; 102-982, 
14eff. 7-1-23; 102-1055, eff. 6-10-22; 103-154, eff. 6-30-23; 
15103-423, eff. 1-1-24; 103-446, eff. 8-4-23; 103-462, eff. 
168-4-23; 103-540, eff. 1-1-24; 103-554, eff. 1-1-24; revised 
179-7-23.)

18 (5 ILCS 140/9.5)
19 Sec. 9.5. Public Access Counselor; opinions.
20 (a) A person whose request to inspect or copy a public 
21record is denied by a public body, except the General Assembly 
22and committees, commissions, and agencies thereof and the 
23judicial branch and the components of the judicial branch, may 
24file a request for review with the Public Access Counselor 
25established in the Office of the Attorney General not later 
 
 
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1than 60 days after the date of the final denial. The request 
2for review must be in writing, signed by the requester, and 
3include (i) a copy of the request for access to records and 
4(ii) any responses from the public body.
5 (b) A person whose request to inspect or copy a public 
6record is made for a commercial purpose as defined in 
7subsection (c-10) of Section 2 of this Act may not file a 
8request for review with the Public Access Counselor. A person 
9whose request to inspect or copy a public record was treated by 
10the public body as a request for a commercial purpose under 
11Section 3.1 of this Act may file a request for review with the 
12Public Access Counselor for the limited purpose of reviewing 
13whether the public body properly determined that the request 
14was made for a commercial purpose. 
15 (b-5) A person whose request to inspect or copy a public 
16record was treated by a public body, except the General 
17Assembly and committees, commissions, and agencies thereof and 
18the judicial branch and the components of the judicial branch, 
19as a voluminous request under Section 3.6 of this Act may file 
20a request for review with the Public Access Counselor for the 
21purpose of reviewing whether the public body properly 
22determined that the request was a voluminous request. 
23 (c) Upon receipt of a request for review, the Public 
24Access Counselor shall determine whether further action is 
25warranted. If the Public Access Counselor determines that the 
26alleged violation is unfounded, he or she shall so advise the 
 
 
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1requester and the public body and no further action shall be 
2undertaken. In all other cases, the Public Access Counselor 
3shall forward a copy of the request for review to the public 
4body within 7 business days after receipt and shall specify 
5the records or other documents that the public body shall 
6furnish to facilitate the review. Within 7 business days after 
7receipt of the request for review, the public body shall 
8provide copies of records requested and shall otherwise fully 
9cooperate with the Public Access Counselor. If a public body 
10fails to furnish specified records pursuant to this Section, 
11or if otherwise necessary, the Attorney General may issue a 
12subpoena to any person or public body having knowledge of or 
13records pertaining to a request for review of a denial of 
14access to records under the Act. Records or documents obtained 
15by the Public Access Counselor from a public body for the 
16purpose of addressing a request for review under this Section 
17may not be disclosed to the public, including the requester, 
18by the Public Access Counselor. These records, while in the 
19possession of the Public Access Counselor, are exempt under 
20this Act from disclosure by the Public Access Counselor.
21 (d) Within 7 business days after it receives a copy of a 
22request for review and request for production of records from 
23the Public Access Counselor, the public body may, but is not 
24required to, answer the allegations of the request for review. 
25The answer may take the form of a letter, brief, or memorandum. 
26The Public Access Counselor shall forward a copy of the answer 
 
 
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1to the person submitting the request for review, with any 
2alleged confidential information to which the request pertains 
3redacted from the copy. The requester may, but is not required 
4to, respond in writing to the answer within 7 business days and 
5shall provide a copy of the response to the public body.
6 (e) In addition to the request for review, and the answer 
7and the response thereto, if any, a requester or a public body 
8may furnish affidavits or records concerning any matter 
9germane to the review.
10 (f) Unless the Public Access Counselor extends the time by 
11no more than 30 business days by sending written notice to the 
12requester and the public body that includes a statement of the 
13reasons for the extension in the notice, or decides to address 
14the matter without the issuance of a binding opinion, the 
15Attorney General shall examine the issues and the records, 
16shall make findings of fact and conclusions of law, and shall 
17issue to the requester and the public body an opinion in 
18response to the request for review within 60 days after its 
19receipt. The opinion shall be binding upon both the requester 
20and the public body, subject to administrative review under 
21Section 11.5.
22 In responding to any request under this Section 9.5, the 
23Attorney General may exercise his or her discretion and choose 
24to resolve a request for review by mediation or by a means 
25other than the issuance of a binding opinion. The decision not 
26to issue a binding opinion shall not be reviewable.
 
 
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1 Upon receipt of a binding opinion concluding that a 
2violation of this Act has occurred, the public body shall 
3either take necessary action immediately to comply with the 
4directive of the opinion or shall initiate administrative 
5review under Section 11.5. If the opinion concludes that no 
6violation of the Act has occurred, the requester may initiate 
7administrative review under Section 11.5.
8 A public body that discloses records in accordance with an 
9opinion of the Attorney General is immune from all liabilities 
10by reason thereof and shall not be liable for penalties under 
11this Act. 
12 (g) If the requester files suit under Section 11 with 
13respect to the same denial that is the subject of a pending 
14request for review, the requester shall notify the Public 
15Access Counselor, and the Public Access Counselor shall take 
16no further action with respect to the request for review and 
17shall so notify the public body.
18 (h) The Attorney General may also issue advisory opinions 
19to public bodies regarding compliance with this Act. A review 
20may be initiated upon receipt of a written request from the 
21head of the public body or its attorney, which shall contain 
22sufficient accurate facts from which a determination can be 
23made. The Public Access Counselor may request additional 
24information from the public body in order to assist in the 
25review. A public body that relies in good faith on an advisory 
26opinion of the Attorney General in responding to a request is 
 
 
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