Ensuring Open and Honest Government

Illinois Freedom of Information Act:
New Legislation

Recent Amendments to the Freedom of Information Acts
93rd General Assembly, 2003 Regular Session

1. Easier to receive award of attorneys’ fees in FOI litigation. (Public Act 93-466 (SB690), effective January 1, 2004)

• The news media and other noncommercial requestors who are successful in lawsuits brought under the FOIA will be eligible for an award of attorneys’ fees without having to show that the records at issue are of clearly significant interest to the general public or that the public body lacked any reasonable basis in law for withholding the records.

• Successful plaintiffs will be able to recover costs in addition to fees.

2. Media requests for Geographic Information Systems (GIS) data (Public Act 93-43 (HB539), effective July 1, 2003)

Recent legislation had exempted “computer geographic systems” when disclosure could reasonably be expected to produce private gain or public loss. This exemption no longer applies when the request is made by the news media 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.

3. Additional exemptions for records the disclosure of which could facilitate threats to the infrastructure or safety of the community In light of 9/11, there was far greater concern about the extent to which information about community infrastructure could be released and used for terrorism. Exempt from disclosure under this legislation would be:

• Vulnerability assessments, security measures, and response policies or plans that are designed to identify, prevent, or respond to potential attacks upon a community’s population or systems, facilities, or installations, but only

• as to 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 and only

• to the extent that disclosure could reasonably be expected to jeopardize the effectiveness of the measures or the safety of the personnel who implement them or of the public.

• Examples of information that could be exempt under this provision are things such as details pertaining to the mobilization or deployment of personnel or equipment, the operation of communication systems or protocols, or tactical operations.

• Maps and other records regarding the location or security of a utility’s generation, transmission, distribution, storage, gathering, treatment, or switching facilities.

• Another exemption responding to such concerns was enacted as Public Act 93-325 (SB1034), effective July 23, 2003, which appears to have been intended to allow the withholding of architects’s plans and engineers’ technical submissions for water treatment facilities, airport facilities, sport stadiums, convention centers, and all government owned, operated or occupied buildings.

Other:

SB30, requiring compilation of traffic stop racial data, adds an exemption to FOIA for the identity of officers and stopped drivers. (Pub. Act 93-209, effective 7/18/03.)

HB1543 brought us the Residential Health Care Facility Resident Sexual Assault and Death Review Team Act, which exempts the records and meetings of the death review teams and their executive council from the disclosure and open meetings requirements of the FOIA and the OMA, respectively. (Public Act 93-577, effective 8/21/03)

HB1425 exempts from inspection and copying the names, addresses, or other personal information of participants and registrants in park district, forest preserve district, or conservation district programs. (P.A. 93-237, effective 7/22/03)