|
 “Seven years after we implemented stronger sunshine laws in
Illinois, the demand for help from my Public Access Bureau remains
high,” Madigan said. “We continue to resolve thousands of disputes
every year on behalf of the public and the media and educate and
enforce the law to increase transparency without the need for
intervention.”
The Public Access Bureau received 4,720 formal requests for
assistance pursuant to FOIA and OMA in 2016 or an average of nearly
400 new matters per month. In response to these requests from
members of the public and the media, the Bureau made determinations,
closing over 4,450 pending requests for review. The Bureau also
works informally to resolve disputes over records or government
meetings without having to issue a binding or non-binding decision.
Last year, the PAC’s intervention in matters led to either a
response or the release of records in nearly 1,300 of the matters
filed.
In addition, the Bureau issued 15 binding opinions in response to
requests for review of open government disputes. These opinions are
an important tool to enforce rulings in court and create legal
precedent in Illinois to increase transparency in government.
 The binding opinions issued in 2016 addressed significant barriers
that the public and the media encounter when seeking to obtaining
records and understand public business. One of the most important
issues the Bureau addressed in a binding opinion involves the
ongoing debate nationwide over whether emails relating to government
business that are sent or received using personal email addresses
are subject to disclosure under FOIA. In this ruling prompted by a
request filed by a member of the media, the Bureau found that the
use of personal emails to hide the public’s business “would be
contrary to the General Assembly’s intent of ensuring public access
to full and complete information regarding the affairs of
government.”
Among other notable matters that resulted in binding opinions were
the following:
Ill. Att’y Gen. Pub. Acc. Op. No. 16-002, issued February 10,
2016
In response to a request for records from the Illinois State
Police (ISP) regarding the death of a close family member, ISP
withheld crime scene and autopsy photographs under the personal
privacy exemption in section 7(1)(c) of FOIA. The Bureau concluded
that while a person’s personal privacy interest ceases after death,
close relatives retain a privacy interest in postmortem images of a
family member. In this case, however, the requester was a close
family member and the appointed executor of the family member’s
estate. As a result, the Bureau concluded that the requester was the
holder of the personal privacy interest, and ISP violated FOIA by
withholding the responsive photographs.
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Ill. Att’y Gen. Pub.
Acc. Op. No. 16-007, issued September 13, 2016
A member of the public alleged the village of Lisle board of
trustees improperly entered into a closed session meeting under the
exception in section 2(c)(11) of OMA which allows public bodies to
discuss pending, probable or imminent litigation during closed
sessions. The member of the public had raised the prospect of
litigation in a previous meeting, but later explained that a lawsuit
would not be filed. The Board argued that the closed session was
appropriate not because of the previous threat of litigation but
because of other indications of potential litigation. In reviewing
the Board’s arguments and the facts, however, the Bureau concluded
the Board lacked a specific basis for finding that litigation was
probable or imminent, as is expressly required by section 2(c)(11)
of OMA. Consequently, the Bureau found that the Board violated OMA
by entering into closed session and informed the Board that it
should publicly release the verbatim recording of the closed
session.
Ill. Att'y Gen. PAC Req. Rev. Ltr. 16-014, issued December 28,
2016
A member of the public alleged that the Board of Education of
Norridge School District 80 violated OMA by prohibiting him from
recording the open session of a Board meeting. The member of the
public had approached the Board president shortly before the start
of the meeting and asked to record the open session and was told
that he could not. In response to the Bureau’s request for an
explanation of the Board’s decision, the Board stated that it
requires 24-hours’ advance notice of any request to record a meeting
and argued that this policy is a “reasonable rule govern[ing] the
right to make such recordings” as allowed by section 2.05 of OMA.
After reviewing the Board’s arguments, the Bureau concluded that the
Board had not met its burden of demonstrating that its requirement
of advance notice of recording is reasonable. Specifically, the
Bureau noted that the Board did not cite any compelling reason for
requiring advance notice or allege that advance notice is necessary
to prevent disruptions or avoid safety hazards.
2016 Public Access Bureau Activities
The Public Access Bureau received 4,720 new matters in 2016. The
role of the Public Access Bureau is to analyze and work to resolve
disputes regarding the release of public records and the public’s
access to government meetings.
Of the 4,720 new matters received by the Public Access Bureau:
- 4,354 requests for review came from those who were denied
records under FOIA:
- 3,640 from members of the public,
681 from the media or other organizations, and 33 from
public bodies.
- 366 requests for review raised issues under OMA: 297
from members of the public, 66 from the media or other
organizations, and 3 from public bodies.
More information about Illinois’ sunshine laws can be found
at Madigan’s website. For assistance from the Public Access
Bureau, contact the hotline at 1-877-299-FOIA (3642) or send an
email to publicaccess@atg.state.il.us.
[Office of the Attorney General Lisa
Madigan] |
-Lincoln-IL/2831225863)
