Revised FOIA under attack | Daily Chronicle

FOIA under attack
The following is a list of bills before the General Assembly aimed at curtailing the state Freedom of Information Act, as well as their chief sponsors:
• House Bill 5069 (Rep. Patrick Verschoore, D-Rock Island): The bill would increase the amount that public bodies can charge for copies by eliminating the limit of 15 cents a page, the $1 limit for certification, and the requirement that the first 50 pages be provided free. It also would eliminate the requirement for public bodies to provide files kept electronically in an electronic format.
• Senate Bill 2978 (Sen. John Millner, R-Bloomingdale): The bill would eliminate the requirement that courts award attorneys fees to requesters who successfully sue public agencies over a denied FOIA request. It also allows agencies to withhold employee disciplinary records short of a criminal conviction, and expands governments' ability to withhold records by citing ongoing investigations.
• House Bill 5154 (Rep. Linda Chapa LaVia, D-Aurora): The bill would exempt from FOIA performance evaluations for all public employees.
• Senate Bill 3040 (Sen. William Haine, D-Alton): The bill would exempt from FOIA the performance evaluations of police officers and sworn peace officers.
• House Bill 5143 (Rep. Michael Connelly, R-Naperville): The bill would prohibit the release of "files and personal information" of any applicant for a professional license or any license holder facing discipline. It also bars release of "files and personal information" of people who receive social, medical, educational, financial and other services from public bodies, and the personal information of participants in park, forest preserve and conservation district programs.
• House Bill 5007 (Rep. Art Turner, D-Chicago): The bill creates a Juvenile Justice Mortality Review Team to review deaths of juveniles in state correctional custody. It exempts the team's records from release, and exempts it from compliance with the Illinois Open Meetings Act.

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