Illinois Strengthens Open Government Laws - August 25, 2003 Vol.4 No.17

August 25, 2003 Vol.4 No.17:

Published: 08/25/2003

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Illinois Strengthens Open Government Laws

Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich (D) recently signed two pieces of legislation into law that expand current open government laws. The first requires local government bodies to record closed meetings; the second allows attorneys fees and court costs to be awarded to plaintiffs in Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) cases.

The “verbatim record” bill (SB 1586) requires closed meetings held by government to maintain a verbatim record, amending the state’s open meetings law. Up until this law, closed meetings were not subject to any record keeping, allowing for a great deal of secrecy and inadequate government accountability. Illinois has over 6,700 government bodies that would be subject to the law and is the first state to pass such legislation.

The second bill (SB 0690) mandates that all costs and attorneys fees be awarded to the plaintiff when the individual successfully proves that a public body illegally withheld materials under FOIA. Previously, fees were only recoverable if plaintiffs could “prove that the record was highly significant to the general public and that the public body lacked a reasonable basis for the denial.” The new law will allow those previously deterred from costly FOIA litigation to engage in the process. The increased threat of litigation could also encourage government agencies to be more open when considering FOIA requests.