Local Government Law Bulletin
IHSA Not Subject to FOIA
June 2, 2017 In Better Gov’t Ass’n v. Ill. High Sch. Ass’n, 2017 IL 121124, the Illinois Supreme Court decided whether the Illinois Freedom of Information Act (“FOIA”) (5 ILCS 140/2) applied to the records maintained by the Illinois High School Association (“IHSA”)....
Illinois Attorney General Issues Third Binding Opinion of 2017
June 2, 2017 Last week, the Illinois Attorney General’s Office issued its third binding Public Access Opinion of 2017. In dispute was whether a sanitary district was exempt from disclosing contracts, budgets, and invoices with a company, Veolia, pursuant to section...
FOIA: The Blurry Line Between a Public College Foundation and a Public Body
The Second District Appellate Court ruled that the Foundation for the College of DuPage was so sufficiently intertwined with the College that records in the Foundation’s possession were subject to disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). The underlying...
Federal Appellate Court Upholds Donation Bin Ordinance
May 18, 2017 Last week, the Federal Ninth Circuit Appellate Court decided a case concerning the constitutionality of an ordinance regulating Unattended Donation Collection Boxes (UDCB). Specifically, a non-profit operator of UDCBs sought an injunction against the City...
Stop the Mining!
May 4, 2017 Last week, the Third District Appellate Court allowed 13 landowners to proceed with their lawsuit against the Village of North Utica (“Village”) and Aramoni, a mining company. The Circuit Court had previously dismissed a three-count complaint against the...
Attorney General Issues Second Binding PAC Opinion of 2017
May 3, 2017 Last month, the Illinois Attorney General released the second binding Public Access Opinion of 2017. In this opinion, the Attorney General found that a municipality violated the Illinois Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) by failing to disclose information...
Illinois Appellate Court Decides Case Concerning FOIA
April 20, 2017 Last week, an Illinois appellate court issued an opinion concerning Illinois’s Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). Specifically, the court considered the timing of when a new statutory amendment could impact a FOIA request. On January 21, 2013, the...
House Passes Bill Making It Easier to Dissolve Townships
April 6, 2017 Last week, the Illinois House of Representatives passed a bill that would amend Illinois’s Township Code. House Bill 496, which would take immediate effect if passed, proposes to amend the Township Code to make it easier for a city council of a township...
Police Reports Held to be FOIA-able Despite Open Investigation
March 21, 2017 In its first public access opinion of the year, the Public Access Bureau of the Attorney General has opined that the mere existence of an open police investigation will not exempt a police report from the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). One of the...