On Friday, Governor Pritzker issued Executive Order 2020-15 allowing school districts to communicate, respond to, and open bids electronically for school construction projects. Section 10-20.21 of the Illinois School Code...more
We are aware that sample resolutions suspending policies and granting superintendents extraordinary powers during the Governor’s stay-home order are circulating among school boards. On March 23, for example, the Illinois...more
As with most issues relating to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), expectations regarding the holding of public meetings have been evolving rapidly over the past few days. ...more
In the face of mandated school closures beginning on March 17, 2020, Illinois school districts are assessing their ability to comply with sunshine laws, including the Illinois Open Meetings Act (OMA) and Illinois Freedom of...more
A recent informal Illinois Attorney General Public Access Counselor decision interpreting the Freedom of Information Act is an important reminder that redacting student names from public records is not always sufficient to...more
“FOIA is a record access law, not a record retention law.” We have all said it, the statute supports it, and no court has held otherwise. A recent opinion from the Illinois Attorney General Public Access Counselor calls that...more
A recent Illinois Appellate Court decision raises interesting questions about how provisions protecting “private information” in open records laws should be interpreted in a world in which a vast wealth of information about...more
2/3/2020
/ Appeals ,
Disclosure ,
Educational Institutions ,
FAFSA ,
Failure To Disclose ,
Financial Aid ,
FOIA ,
Grants ,
Public Access Laws ,
Public Records ,
Request For Information ,
Student Privacy
The Illinois Attorney General’s Public Access Counselor was once again busy during 2019, issuing binding decisions of interest to public entities governed by the Illinois Open Meetings Act and Freedom of Information Act....more
12/11/2019
/ Best Practices ,
Binding Precedent ,
FOIA ,
Non-Residents ,
Open Meetings Act ,
Public Access Laws ,
Public Entities ,
Public Meetings ,
Request For Information ,
School Boards ,
State and Local Government
In a recent Illinois Appellate Court decision, a taxpayer unsuccessfully challenged a school district’s guaranteed energy savings contract. School Board members should be aware of this decision because the favorable outcome...more
11/6/2019
/ Change Orders ,
Construction Project ,
Contract Terms ,
Delays ,
Dismissals ,
Energy Conservation ,
Laches ,
Liability ,
Municipalities ,
Open Meetings Act ,
Public Bidding ,
Public Projects ,
School Boards ,
School Districts ,
Sunshine Laws
Effective August 26, 2019, the Illinois Open Meetings Act has been amended, expanding the closed meeting exception to include discussion of personnel matters of independent contractors or volunteers in a closed meeting. ...more
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
In a recent decision, the Illinois Attorney General’s Public Access Counselor (PAC), which enforces the Illinois Open Meetings Act (OMA), found that a school district violated the OMA when it limited the public comment period...more
In a recent nonbinding letter, the Illinois Attorney General’s Public Access Counselor reportedly requested that public boards allow members of the public to speak about concerns with the conduct of specific board members. ...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
Boards try their best to avoid it, but you hear about it time and again—a board goes into closed session and the conversation turns away from the subject matter the board identified in open session as the reason for the...more
With November elections right around the corner and April board elections not far behind, it’s a good time to brush off the rules governing campaigning by school employees and board members. ...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
In a recent Illinois Appellate Court decision, the Court held that a public body was in violation of the Open Meetings Act (OMA) where the public body failed to include the key terms in its public recital approving two action...more
One of the most legally perilous jobs of a school board is to preside over the public participation portion of a meeting. The key for a board is to balance its need to run efficient and orderly meetings with the ability of...more
The Public Access Counselor (PAC) division of the Attorney General’s Office recently held that the reduction in force joint committee (the “Joint Committee”) was subject to the requirements of the Open Meetings Act (OMA)....more