Newsflash: Rockweed Not a Fish
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
The Public Access Counselor (“PAC”) recently issued its Annual Report, which provides an overview of binding PAC opinions and non-binding determination letters issued in 2022, among other topics. We reported on several of the...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 Public Access Counselor (PAC) recently issued a binding decision, PAC 22-012, regarding the Open Meetings Act (OMA), finding that a board of education’s closed session discussions violated the OMA at separate...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
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
On May 21, 2015, the Ohio Supreme Court ruled in State ex rel. Schiffbauer v. Banaszak that police departments at private universities are “public offices” subject to Ohio’s public records law. This law requires such police...more
In its fourth binding opinion of 2020, the Illinois Public Access Counselor found that a Chicago Public School’s Local School Council violated Section 2(a) of the Open Meetings Act by improperly discussing the timing and...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
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
• The Illinois Attorney General (the AG) has concluded in a binding opinion that Western Illinois University's Board of Trustees (WIU Board) violated the Illinois Open Meetings Act (OMA) by improperly discussing budget issues...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
Seyfarth Synopsis: Fewer online videos from UC Berkeley will available to the public as a result of a DOJ demand that the videos have closed captioning....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
BOARDS OF EDUCATION - ENFORCEMENT OF BINDING PUBLIC ACCESS COUNSELOR OPINIONS - Public Act 99-586 - Effective Date: January 1, 2017 - Individuals who file lawsuits to enforce binding opinions from the PAC...more
Effective June 30, 2016, the Open Meetings Act (OMA) has been amended to allow elected board members, or those appointed to fill vacancies on the board, to access closed session recordings and minutes. Access must be granted...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
Earlier this year, the Public Access Counselor (PAC) issued an under-the-radar advisory opinion that could have an impact on responses to Illinois Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests. According to the non-binding...more
In June, the Public Access Counselor (PAC) issued a non-binding opinion holding that board members of a school district did not violate the Open Meetings Act (OMA) when partaking in intermittent private email exchanges...more