The Illinois Public Access Counselor (PAC) issued a binding opinion, finding a school board violated the Open Meetings Act (OMA) when it improperly discussed school curriculum during closed session....more
Early this year, the Illinois Appellate Court issued an opinion responding to challenges asserted under the Open Meetings Act (OMA) and the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). The Appellate Court held that the Village of Oak...more
1/23/2024
/ Attorney-Client Privilege ,
Budgets ,
Compensation & Benefits ,
Employees ,
Firemen ,
FOIA ,
Open Meetings Act ,
Public Access Laws ,
Public Hearing ,
Public Meetings ,
State and Local Government ,
Statutory Violations
The Illinois Appellate Court recently ruled that the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) does not obligate a public body to produce records that it does not already maintain in response to a FOIA request. Further, the Court...more
Recently, the Public Access Counselor (PAC) issued a new binding opinion concerning the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). In the opinion, the PAC concluded that a police department violated the FOIA by withholding records...more
Recently, the Public Access Counselor (PAC) issued a binding opinion concerning the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). In the decision, the PAC upholds a school’s decision to utilize the Section 7(1)(f) (predecisional)...more
Recently, the Public Access Counselor (PAC) issued two non-binding opinions concerning the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), both upholding school district decisions to exert exemptions and withhold key documents under the...more
The Illinois Appellate Court recently issued a new decision regarding the FOIA. In Kraft v. Chicago Police Department, the Court ruled in favor of the police department, finding it properly exempted records as unduly...more
The PAC recently released its second binding opinion of 2022, which provides helpful analysis and guidance regarding the personal and pre-decisional exemptions under the FOIA. The PAC determined that the City of Chicago...more
In its first binding opinion of the year, the Public Access Counselor (PAC) provides further clarity to the attorney-client privilege exemption under Section 7(1)(m) of the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). Specifically, the...more
Recently, the Illinois Supreme Court issued a decision regarding the FOIA, upholding a public body’s redaction of traffic accident reports pursuant to Sections 7(1)(b) and 7(1)(c) of the FOIA....more
In a rare binding opinion, the Public Access Counselor (PAC)—the division of the Attorney General that reviews appeals regarding the Illinois Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and Open Meetings Act (OMA)—issued a new binding...more
The Public Access Counselor (PAC)—the division of the Attorney General that reviews appeals regarding the Illinois Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and Open Meetings Act (OMA)—recently issued two binding opinions clarifying...more
In a recent decision, the Public Access Counselor (PAC)—the division of the Attorney General that reviews appeals regarding the Illinois Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and Open Meetings Act (OMA)—found that a board of...more
Two recent Illinois Appellate Court opinions provide public bodies clarity regarding the pre-decisional, attorney-client, and security measures exemptions of the FOIA. In the first case, Chicago Public Media v. Cook County...more
The Illinois Attorney General’s Public Access Counselor recently issued a binding opinion holding that the Illinois Freedom of Information Act exemption for predecisional records does not apply to communications from a public...more
In a recent decision, the Public Access Counselor (PAC)—the division of the Attorney General that reviews appeals regarding the Illinois Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and Open Meetings Act (OMA)—found that a city...more
PRE-DECISIONAL & DELIBERATIVE PROCESS UPDATES U.S. -
SUPREME COURT DECISION -
On March 4, 2021, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a decision in United States Fish and Wildlife Service v. Sierra Club addressing the “deliberative...more
4/20/2021
/ Attorney's Fees ,
FOIA ,
Open Meetings Act ,
Police Reports ,
Public Access Laws ,
Public Entities ,
Public Meetings ,
Public Records ,
Public Schools ,
Reasonableness Factors ,
Sexual Assault
In a rare binding opinion, the Illinois Attorney General’s Public Access Counselor (PAC) opined that certain information in the sole possession of a vendor that had contracted with the Illinois Department of Corrections...more
8/18/2020
/ Department of Corrections ,
Exemptions ,
FOIA ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
PACs ,
Proprietary Information ,
Public Access Laws ,
Public Records ,
Request For Information ,
Third-Party ,
Trade Secrets
Last week, the Illinois Appellate Court issued three separate opinions addressing the scope of the Illinois Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). The opinions provide additional guidance related to what constitutes a reasonable...more
8/12/2020
/ Civil Monetary Penalty ,
Criminal Investigations ,
Email ,
Failure to Comply ,
FOIA ,
Mobile Devices ,
Murder ,
Public Access Laws ,
Public Records ,
Request for Production ,
School Districts ,
Search & Seizure ,
Text Messages
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
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 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