Senate Bill 2799

(Currie, D-Chicago) amends the FOIA Act to do two things. (1) It expands exemption (f) to include “correspondence” as exempt from a FOIA request. But this exemption is waived if and only if the specific record is publicly cited and identified by the head of the public body. If the specific record is publicly cited and identified by the head of the public body, then only those portions of the specific record publicly cited and identified are no longer exempt. Records exempt from disclosure under this subsection and not publicly cited and identified by the head of the public body, including, but not limited to, purely factual material, remain exempt regardless of whether the record was adopted or incorporated into a final decision of the public body. (2) If the public body produces the records after a suit has been filed under this Section, but before the court renders a final judgment, the court must award reasonable attorney’s fees and costs if the court imposes a civil penalty under subsection (j). For purposes of this subsection (i), a requester “prevails” if the person obtains relief through: (a) a court-approved settlement or consent decree; or (b) a final unappealable judgment from a court of competent jurisdiction. House Amendment No. 3 remains in House Executive Committee.