Public Act 095-0506
 		





SB1434 Enrolled
LRB095 11109 AJO 31442 b






    AN ACT concerning citizen participation.

 
    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
 
represented in the General Assembly:

 
    Section 1. Short title.   This Act may be cited as the 
Citizen Participation
Act.


 
    Section 5. Public policy.   Pursuant to the fundamental 
philosophy of the
American
constitutional form of government, 
it is declared to be the public policy of
the State of Illinois 
that the constitutional rights of citizens and
organizations to 
be involved and participate freely in the process of
government 
must be
encouraged and safeguarded with great diligence.  The 
information, reports,
opinions, claims, arguments, and other 
expressions provided by citizens are
vital to effective law 
enforcement, the operation of government, the making of
public 
policy and decisions, and the continuation of representative 
democracy.
The laws, courts, and other agencies of this State 
must provide the utmost
protection for the free exercise of 
these rights of petition, speech,
association, and
government 
participation.


    Civil actions for money damages have been filed against 
citizens and
organizations of this State as a result of their 
valid exercise of their
constitutional rights to petition, 
speak freely, associate freely, and
otherwise
participate in 
and communicate with government.  There has been a disturbing

increase in lawsuits termed "Strategic Lawsuits Against Public 
Participation"
in
government or "SLAPPs" as they are popularly 
called.


    The threat of SLAPPs
significantly chills and diminishes 
citizen participation in government,
voluntary public service, 
and the exercise of these important constitutional
rights.  This 
abuse of the judicial process can and has been used as a means 
of
intimidating, harassing, or punishing citizens and 
organizations for involving
themselves in public affairs.


    It is in the public interest and it is the purpose of this 
Act to strike a
balance between the rights of persons to file 
lawsuits for injury and the
constitutional rights of persons to 
petition, speak freely, associate freely,
and
otherwise 
participate in government; to protect and encourage public

participation in government to the maximum extent permitted by 
law; to
establish an efficient process for identification and 
adjudication of SLAPPs;
and to provide for attorney's fees and 
costs
to prevailing movants.



 
    Section 10. Definitions.
In this Act:


    "Government" includes a branch, department, agency,

instrumentality, official, employee, agent, or other person 
acting under color
of law of the United States, a state, a 
subdivision of a state, or another
public authority including 
the electorate.


    "Person" includes any individual, corporation, 
association,
organization, partnership, 2 or more persons 
having a joint or common
interest, or other legal entity.


    "Judicial claim" or "claim" include any lawsuit, cause of

action, claim, cross-claim, counterclaim, or other judicial 
pleading or filing
alleging injury.


    "Motion" includes any motion to dismiss, for summary

judgment, or to strike, or any other judicial pleading filed to 
dispose
of a judicial claim.


    "Moving party" means any person on whose behalf a motion

described in subsection (a) of Section 20 is filed seeking 
dismissal of a
judicial claim.


    "Responding party" means any person against whom a motion

described in subsection (a) of Section 20 is filed.



 
    Section 15. Applicability.
This Act applies to any motion 
to dispose of a claim in a judicial proceeding
on the grounds 
that the claim is based on, relates to, or is in response to 
any
act or acts of the moving party in furtherance of the 
moving party's rights of
petition, speech, association, or to 
otherwise participate in government.


    Acts in furtherance of the constitutional rights to 
petition, speech,
association, and participation in government 
are immune from liability,
regardless of intent or purpose, 
except when not genuinely aimed at procuring
favorable 
government action, result, or outcome.



 
    Section 20. Motion procedure and standards.


    (a) On the filing of any motion as described in Section 15, 
a hearing and
decision on the motion must occur within 90 days 
after notice of the motion is
given to the
respondent.
An 
appellate
court shall expedite any appeal or other writ, 
whether interlocutory or not,
from a trial court order denying 
that motion or from a trial court's failure to
rule on that 
motion within 90 days after that trial court order or failure 
to
rule.


    (b) Discovery shall be suspended pending a decision on the 
motion. However,
discovery may be taken, upon leave of court 
for good cause shown, on the issue
of whether the movants
acts 
are not immunized from, or are not in furtherance of acts 
immunized
 from, liability by this Act.


    (c) The court shall grant the motion and dismiss the 
judicial claim unless
the court finds that the responding party 
has produced clear and convincing
evidence that the acts of the 
moving party are not immunized from, or are not
in
furtherance 
of acts immunized from, liability by this Act.



 
    Section 25. Attorney's fees and costs.
The court shall 
award a moving party who prevails in a motion under this Act

reasonable attorney's fees and costs incurred in connection 
with the motion.



 
    Section 30. Construction of Act.


    (a) Nothing in this Act shall limit or preclude any rights 
the
moving party may have under any other constitutional, 
statutory, case or common
law, or rule provisions.


    (b) This Act shall be construed liberally to effectuate its 
purposes and
intent fully.



 
    Section 35. Severability.   The provisions of this Act
are 
severable under Section 1.31 of the Statute on Statutes.



 
    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon 
becoming law.