Local Government Law

was issued by Governor Pritzker yesterday. It orders the following for the duration of the Gubernatorial Disaster Proclamation for COVIR-19:

(1) the requirement that a person must "appear before" a notary public commissioned under the Illinois Notary Public Act is satisfied if: the notary public performs a remote notarization via two-way audio-video communication technology; the notary public is physically within the State while performing the notarial act; and the transaction follows the guidance posted by the Illinois Secretary of State on its website;

(2) any act of witnessing required by Illinois law may be completed remotely by via two-way audio-video communication technology if specified requirements are met;

(3) specified provisions of the Electronic Commerce Security Act that prohibit electronic signatures on certain documents remain in full effect;

(4) notwithstanding any law or rule of the State to the contrary, absent an express prohibition in a document against signing in counterparts, all legal documents, including deeds, last wills and testaments, trusts, durable powers of attorney for property, and powers of attorney for health care, may be signed in counterparts by the witnesses and the signatory; a notary public must be presented with a fax or electronic copy of the document signature pages showing the witness signatures on the same date the document is signed by the signatory if the notary public is being asked to certify to the appearance of the witnesses to a document.

(Sosnowski, R-Rockford) provides that the Illinois State Toll Highway Authority may make personally identifiable information of a person available to a law enforcement agency only under a search warrant. Requires the Authority to immediately but no later than five days to notify the person that his or her records have been obtained and shall provide the person with a copy of the search warrant and the identity of the law enforcement agency or peace officer to whom the records were provided unless the search warrant provides otherwise. Just introduced. 

(Mayfield, D-Waukegan) authorizes the chair of the county board or the executive of a county board of commissioners to appoint the public defender with the advice and consent of the county board. The chair or executive may do this after receiving a recommendation or recommendations provided by an independent citizen's advisory council. This begins on July 1, 2021, on the expiration of each public defender's term of office in a county with under 1,000,000 population. It also provides for citizen advisory council membership and appointment requirements and excludes appointments of the same public defender in adjoining counties. Just introduced. 

 (Welch, D-Westchester; Bush, D-Grayslake) allows a public body to hold closed meetings to consider the appointment, employment, compensation, discipline, performance, or dismissal of specific individuals who serve as independent contractors in a park, recreational, or educational setting, or specific volunteers of the public body. This would include hearing testimony on a complaint lodged against these individuals. Sent to the Governor. 

(Koehler, D-Peoria; Burke, D-Oak Lawn) exempts from disclosure a public body's credit card numbers, debit card numbers, bank account numbers, Federal Employer Identification Number, security code numbers, passwords, and similar account information if the disclosure could result in identity theft or impression or defrauding of a governmental entity or a person. Sent to the Governor on June 21, 2019. 

(Kifowit, D-Aurora; Holmes, D-Aurora) allows an elected or appointed member of a public body of a municipality to satisfy the Open Meetings Act training requirements by participating in a course of training sponsored or conducted by an organization that represents municipalities as designated under a specified Section of the Illinois Municipal Code. Provides content requirements for the training. Effective January 1, 2020.