Local Government Law

(Burke, D-Oak Lawn; Crotty, D-Oak Forest) changes the compliance date for the Attorney General's electronic training of elected or appointed members of a public body. If you are a member on Jan. 1, 2012, you must complete the training by Jan. 1, 2013. If you become a member after Jan. 1, 2012, you must complete the training no later than 90 days after you are sworn into office or assume the duties of office. School board members may comply by participating in training sponsored or conducted by an organization under Section 23 of the School Code. Effective Jan. 1, 2012.

(Currie, D-Chicago; Harmon, D-Oak Park) creates separate FOIA guidelines for "recurrent requestors" to be answered within a reasonable period considering the size and complexity of the request. A "recurrent requestors" is a person who in the 12 months immediately preceding a request has submitted to the same public body any of the following: (1) a minimum of 50 requests for records, (2) a minimum of 15 requests for records within a 30-day period, or (3)seven requests within a seven-day period. News media and non-profit, scientific or academic organizations are exempt if the principal purpose of the request is academic, scientific, or public research or education. A requestor for commercial purposes may not appeal to the public access counselor except for the limited purpose of reviewing whether the public body properly determined that the request was made for a commercial purpose. Effective August 26, 2011.

(Senger; R-Naperville; Sandack, R-Downers Grove) allows municipalities of fewer than 500,000 to adopt rules of procedure or authorize zoning board of appeals and any other board, commission, or committee that conducts similar public hearings to do so. Effective August 25, 2011.

(Gordon, D-Peoria; Koehler, D-Peoria) allows a “repeat offender” of property maintenance codes to be served by a notice to appear. A repeat offender is any person who has been found guilty of two or more similar violations of a property maintenance code at the same location in a 36-month period. Effective January 1, 2012.

(Gordon, D-Peoria; Koehler, D-Peoria) allows a “repeat offender” of property maintenance codes to be served by a notice to appear. A repeat offender is any person who has been found guilty of two or more similar violations of a property maintenance code at the same location in a 36-month period. Effective January 1, 2012.

(Burke, D-Oak Lawn; Maloney, D-Chicago) requires entities that suffer security breaches to notify affected individuals without unreasonable delay. The law now includes several specific requirements for those breach notification letters. “The disclosure notification to an Illinois resident shall include, but need not be limited to, (i) the toll-free numbers and addresses for consumer reporting agencies, (ii) the toll-free number, address, and website address for the Federal Trade Commission, and (iii) a statement that the individual can obtain information from these sources about fraud alerts and security freezes. The notification shall not, however, include information concerning the number of Illinois residents affected by the breach.” The Act also requires entities to properly dispose of paper documents and electronic data in such a way as to render personal information unreadable or indecipherable. State and local government agencies are subject to the requirements of this Act. Effective January 1, 2012.

(Althoff, R-Crystal Lake; Mautino, D-Spring Valley) prohibits a deed restriction or restrictive covenant from waiving or restricting the statutory rights to notice of a public hearing or the right to object, oppose, or challenge (1) the creation of a special-service area; (2) the levy of any tax of a special-service area; or (3) the issuance of bonds of a special-service area. Effective August 23, 2011.