Public Act 93-0079

HB0105 Enrolled                      LRB093 02080 JAM 02084 b

    AN ACT concerning open meetings.

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

    Section  5.  The Open Meetings Act is amended by changing
Section 2 as follows:

    (5 ILCS 120/2) (from Ch. 102, par. 42)
    Sec. 2.  Open meetings.
    (a)  Openness required.  All meetings  of  public  bodies
shall be open to the public unless excepted in subsection (c)
and closed in accordance with Section 2a.
    (b)  Construction    of   exceptions.    The   exceptions
contained  in  subsection  (c)  are  in  derogation  of   the
requirement   that  public  bodies  meet  in  the  open,  and
therefore, the  exceptions  are  to  be  strictly  construed,
extending  only to subjects clearly within their scope.   The
exceptions authorize but do not  require  the  holding  of  a
closed  meeting  to  discuss  a  subject  included  within an
enumerated exception.
    (c)  Exceptions.  A public body may hold closed  meetings
to consider the following subjects:
         (1)  The   appointment,   employment,  compensation,
    discipline,  performance,  or   dismissal   of   specific
    employees of the public body, including hearing testimony
    on  a  complaint  lodged against an employee to determine
    its validity.
         (2)  Collective  negotiating  matters  between   the
    public  body  and its employees or their representatives,
    or deliberations concerning salary schedules for  one  or
    more classes of employees.
         (3)  The  selection  of  a  person  to fill a public
    office, as defined in this Act, including a vacancy in  a
    public  office,  when  the  public body is given power to
    appoint  under  law  or  ordinance,  or  the  discipline,
    performance or  removal  of  the  occupant  of  a  public
    office, when the public body is given power to remove the
    occupant under law or ordinance.
         (4)  Evidence   or   testimony   presented  in  open
    hearing,  or  in  closed   hearing   where   specifically
    authorized  by  law,  to  a  quasi-adjudicative  body, as
    defined in this Act, provided that the body prepares  and
    makes  available for public inspection a written decision
    setting forth its determinative reasoning.
         (5)  The purchase or lease of real property for  the
    use  of  the public body, including meetings held for the
    purpose of discussing whether a particular parcel  should
    be acquired.
         (6)  The  setting  of  a  price for sale or lease of
    property owned by the public body.
         (7)  The   sale   or   purchase    of    securities,
    investments, or investment contracts.
         (8)  Security  procedures  and  the use of personnel
    and equipment to respond to an actual, a threatened, or a
    reasonably potential danger to the safety  of  employees,
    students, staff, the public, or public property.
         (9)  Student disciplinary cases.
         (10)  The   placement   of  individual  students  in
    special education programs and other matters relating  to
    individual students.
         (11)  Litigation,  when an action against, affecting
    or on behalf of the particular public body has been filed
    and is pending before a court or administrative tribunal,
    or when the public body finds that an action is  probable
    or  imminent,  in  which  case  the basis for the finding
    shall be recorded and entered into  the  minutes  of  the
    closed meeting.
         (12)  The establishment of reserves or settlement of
    claims   as   provided  in  the  Local  Governmental  and
    Governmental Employees Tort Immunity  Act,  if  otherwise
    the  disposition  of  a claim or potential claim might be
    prejudiced, or the review or discussion of  claims,  loss
    or  risk management information, records, data, advice or
    communications from or with respect to any insurer of the
    public body  or  any  intergovernmental  risk  management
    association  or  self  insurance pool of which the public
    body is a member.
         (13)  Conciliation of complaints  of  discrimination
    in  the  sale  or rental of housing, when closed meetings
    are authorized by the law or ordinance  prescribing  fair
    housing   practices   and   creating   a   commission  or
    administrative agency for their enforcement.
         (14)  Informant sources, the hiring or assignment of
    undercover personnel or equipment, or ongoing,  prior  or
    future  criminal  investigations,  when  discussed  by  a
    public body with criminal investigatory responsibilities.
         (15)  Professional   ethics   or   performance  when
    considered by an advisory  body  appointed  to  advise  a
    licensing  or regulatory agency on matters germane to the
    advisory body's field of competence.
         (16)  Self evaluation, practices and  procedures  or
    professional  ethics,  when meeting with a representative
    of a statewide association of which the public body is  a
    member.
         (17)  The  recruitment, credentialing, discipline or
    formal peer review of physicians  or  other  health  care
    professionals   for  a  hospital,  or  other  institution
    providing medical care, that is operated  by  the  public
    body.
         (18)  Deliberations  for  decisions  of the Prisoner
    Review Board.
         (19)  Review or discussion of applications  received
    under  the  Experimental Organ Transplantation Procedures
    Act.
         (20)  The classification and discussion  of  matters
    classified  as  confidential or continued confidential by
    the State Employees Suggestion Award Board.
         (21)  Discussion of  minutes  of  meetings  lawfully
    closed  under  this Act, whether for purposes of approval
    by the body of the minutes or semi-annual review  of  the
    minutes as mandated by Section 2.06.
         (22)  Deliberations   for  decisions  of  the  State
    Emergency Medical Services Disciplinary Review Board.
         (23)  The operation by a municipality of a municipal
    utility or the operation of a municipal power  agency  or
    municipal natural gas agency when the discussion involves
    (i) contracts relating to the purchase, sale, or delivery
    of  electricity  or  natural  gas  or (ii) the results or
    conclusions of load forecast studies.

    (d)  Definitions.  For purposes of this Section:
    "Employee" means a person employed by a public body whose
relationship   with   the   public   body   constitutes    an
employer-employee  relationship  under  the  usual common law
rules, and who is not an independent contractor.
    "Public office" means a position created by or under  the
Constitution  or laws of this State, the occupant of which is
charged with the exercise of some portion  of  the  sovereign
power  of  this State. The term "public office" shall include
members  of  the  public  body,  but  it  shall  not  include
organizational positions filled by members  thereof,  whether
established  by law or by a public body itself, that exist to
assist the body in the conduct of its business.
    "Quasi-adjudicative body" means  an  administrative  body
charged  by  law  or  ordinance  with  the  responsibility to
conduct hearings, receive  evidence  or  testimony  and  make
determinations  based  thereon,  but  does  not include local
electoral boards when such bodies  are  considering  petition
challenges.
    (e)  Final  action.   No  final  action may be taken at a
closed meeting. Final action shall be preceded  by  a  public
recital  of  the  nature  of  the matter being considered and
other information that will inform the public of the business
being conducted.
(Source: P.A. 90-144, eff. 7-23-97; 91-730, eff. 1-1-01.)

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