IL HB0290

Local governments serving 5,000+ residents and school districts with 500+ students must maintain websites posting specified information for the current fiscal/calendar year, including contact information for officials, meeting agendas (48 hours advance notice for regular meetings, 24 hours for emergency meetings), budgets, financial audits, employee compensation, taxes and fees, contracts over $25,000, and monthly check registers.

All posted records must remain accessible and searchable on the entity's website in perpetuity, with a document database and RSS feed for updates easily accessible from the website homepage.

Residents of qualifying local governments or school districts may file mandamus or injunction actions in circuit court to compel compliance, with courts authorized to impose penalties and award reasonable attorneys' fees and costs to prevailing citizens.

Public bodies are not required to copy Freedom of Information Act requests if records are published on their website and certified as accurate by their FOIA officer, though they must provide copies if the requesting person cannot access the online record.

Home rule units cannot adopt less restrictive posting requirements than those established in this Act; State Mandates Act exempts implementation from requiring state reimbursement.