In a recent decision, the Illinois Appellate Court held that the nonexistence of requested documents is an affirmative defense to a complaint grounded in the Freedom of Information Act. The court also clarified that public...more
Since a 2013 Illinois Appellate Court decision, City of Champaign v. Madigan, Illinois public bodies have known that three categories of emails and text messages sent to or from personal technology devices are “public...more
A recent Illinois Appellate Court decision provides welcome support to a school district or other public body faced with a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request that is more akin to a “fishing expedition” than a targeted...more
Recently, an Illinois Court of Appeals issued a decision mandating disclosure of assessment records from the Cook County Assessor’s Office to the Chicago Tribune under the Illinois Freedom of Information Act (“FOIA”)....more
7/17/2018
/ Appeals ,
Exemptions ,
FOIA ,
Property Tax ,
Property Valuation ,
Public Access Laws ,
Public Records ,
Real Estate Market ,
Request For Information ,
State and Local Government ,
Tax Assessment ,
Taxation
An Illinois appellate court recently held that certain employee discipline records are exempt from FOIA disclosure under the Illinois Personnel Record Review Act (“Review Act”). ...more
The Public Access Counselor (PAC) of the Illinois Attorney General’s office recently issued two binding opinions addressing the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). Specifically, the opinions found two public entities violated...more
Recently, the Public Access Counselor (PAC) issued a rare binding opinion finding that the City Council of Bloomington violated the Open Meetings Act when it held a closed meeting to discuss potential litigation that the PAC...more
Recently the Second District Appellate Court issued an opinion holding that the Illinois Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) applied to certain records in the possession of the College of DuPage Foundation, a 501(c)(3) entity...more
Recently, the Illinois Appellate Court (First District) issued its decision in Better Government Association v. Illinois High School Association and Consolidated High School District 230 affirming the lower court’s dismissal...more
An Illinois Appellate Court has further limited the public records that a public body can withhold from disclosure under Section 7(1)(n) of the Freedom of Information Act, which exempts “records relating to a public body’s...more
The PAC recently issued a binding opinion finding that the office of Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner violated the requirements of the Freedom of Information Act by delaying its response to a FOIA request, and improperly...more
In October, the PAC released a written response to a FOIA request that it denied because it would be unduly burdensome under Section 3(g) of FOIA. 5 ILCS 140/3(g). The request asked for “Public Access Counselor determinations...more
The Illinois Attorney General’s Public Access Counselor (PAC) issued a non-binding opinion that provides guidance on what constitutes a school student record as provided in the Illinois School Student Records Act (ISSRA) and...more
Effective immediately, the General Assembly overrode the Governor’s veto to approve new amendments to the FOIA, which are designed to reduce the burden on public bodies. Public Act 98-1129 provides the following: 1) a...more
The summer is nearly behind us, and it has been a busy summer for the Public Access Counselor (PAC) office of the Illinois Attorney General, which issued five binding decisions since May on Open Meetings Act (OMA) and Freedom...more
The Attorney General’s Public Access Counselor (PAC) closed out the year by issuing two binding opinions. The following is a summary of key points from the opinions of which public bodies should be aware....more
In a recent Illinois Appellate Court decision, the Court held that a public body was in violation of the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) where the public body initially willfully ignored its obligation to respond to a FOIA...more
Recently, the Illinois Appellate Court clarified three key provisions of the Illinois Freedom of Information Act: the “predecisional” or “deliberative process” exemption; the exemption for unwarranted invasion of personal...more
The Appellate Court of Illinois (First District) recently issued an opinion clarifying how a public body can waive the Freedom of Information Act protection for predecisional records....more
The Illinois Appellate Court recently ruled that electronic communications about public business sent or received by members of a city council during a public meeting or study session are “public records” subject to the...more
The Illinois courts and the Attorney General’s Public Access Counselor (“PAC”) issued a flurry of decisions in May and June relating to the Illinois Freedom of Information Act (“FOIA”) and the Illinois Open Meetings Act...more