https://illinoisfoia.org/exemptions/5-ilcs-120-2-c-1/ 2026-01-02T00:00:00Z https://illinoisfoia.org/opinions/letter-84086/ 2026-01-02T00:00:00Z

A citizen complained that the Chicago Board of Ethics held a private meeting to discuss a specific advisory opinion, which the citizen believed should have been public. The Attorney General's office reviewed the meeting records and agreed that the Board broke the law by keeping that discussion private. The Board has been asked to release the minutes and recording of that specific portion of the meeting.

https://illinoisfoia.org/opinions/letter-72604/ 2024-09-18T00:00:00Z

A citizen complained that the Chicago Board of Ethics discussed policy issues in a private meeting that should have been held in public. The Attorney General's office reviewed the meeting recording and agreed that the Board improperly discussed these topics behind closed doors. The Board has been asked to release the portions of the meeting minutes and recordings related to those specific discussions.

https://illinoisfoia.org/opinions/letter-81010/ 2024-07-16T00:00:00Z

A college board held a closed-door meeting to discuss a trustee's conduct and subsequently voted on thirteen motions to censure her. The Attorney General's office found that the board failed to follow the law because they did not list these censure votes on the public meeting agenda beforehand. This means the board denied the public the required notice of the actions they intended to take.

https://illinoisfoia.org/opinions/letter-71217/ 2024-01-12T00:00:00Z

A reporter alleged that a Village Board improperly discussed a volunteer firefighter and a FOIA response in closed session. The Illinois Attorney General's Public Access Counselor found that the Board violated the Open Meetings Act by refusing to provide the closed session recording and unredacted minutes for confidential review, as required by law. The determination did not reach a final conclusion on whether the closed session discussion itself was improper.

https://illinoisfoia.org/opinions/letter-74629/ 2023-08-10T00:00:00Z

A citizen complained that the Chicago Board of Ethics held a private meeting to discuss a report that should have been discussed in public. The Attorney General's office reviewed the meeting recording and found that the Board did not have a legal reason to keep that specific discussion private. This means the Board failed to follow the transparency requirements of the Open Meetings Act.

https://illinoisfoia.org/opinions/2022-pac-71177/ 2022-07-12T00:00:00Z

The requester, a newspaper publisher, challenged three closed sessions held during a single school board meeting, alleging that discussion of the bidding process for the district's student transportation contract exceeded the scope of any Open Meetings Act exception. The Public Access Counselor held that the board properly discussed personnel matters during two of the sessions, but that its discussion of the transportation-bid dispute in the third session was not shown to involve probable or imm

https://illinoisfoia.org/opinions/letter-69573/ 2022-05-12T00:00:00Z

A citizen complained that a local school board discussed improper topics during a private, closed-door meeting. After reviewing the matter, the Illinois Attorney General's office found that the board stayed within the legal rules for closed sessions. As a result, the case is closed with no finding of a violation.

https://illinoisfoia.org/opinions/letter-58721/ 2019-08-12T00:00:00Z

A school board member complained that the Board voted on forming two committees at its May 3, 2019 meeting, even though that item was not listed on the public agenda. The Illinois Attorney General's Public Access Bureau found that the Board violated the Open Meetings Act by taking final action on an item not identified on the agenda for that regular meeting. The Bureau also found that the Board did not violate the Act regarding a closed session discussion at its May 20, 2019 special meeting, but

https://illinoisfoia.org/opinions/letter-58515/ 2019-07-12T00:00:00Z

A citizen complained that the Village of Sauk Village Board of Trustees did not properly announce why they were going into a private, closed-door meeting. The Attorney General's office agreed, finding that the Board failed to follow the law requiring them to publicly state the specific legal reason for closing the meeting. While the Board cannot undo the past meeting, they were asked to properly cite the law for any future closed sessions.

https://illinoisfoia.org/opinions/letter-54122/ 2019-05-31T00:00:00Z

A citizen complained that the Elmhurst Park District Board of Commissioners improperly closed a portion of its October 10, 2017, meeting to discuss a succession plan for the executive director, and may have taken final action on that plan in closed session. The Illinois Attorney General's Public Access Bureau found that the Board did not take final action in closed session, but did discuss certain topics that were outside the scope of the legal exception it used to close the meeting, violating t

https://illinoisfoia.org/opinions/letter-56288/ 2019-05-06T00:00:00Z

A citizen complained that the Village of Lisbon Board of Trustees held an improper closed-door meeting. The Attorney General's office found that the Board did not follow the correct legal steps to enter the closed session and discussed a topic that should have been handled in public. While the Board did not violate the law regarding final actions taken in that meeting, the overall process for entering and conducting the closed session was legally deficient.

https://illinoisfoia.org/opinions/letter-57245/ 2019-04-29T00:00:00Z

A reporter alleged that a school board improperly discussed topics in a private meeting that should have been held in public. The Attorney General's office agreed, finding that the board discussed issues not covered by the legal exceptions they claimed. The board was asked to release the audio recording of those specific parts of the meeting to the public.

https://illinoisfoia.org/opinions/letter-21622/ 2018-11-09T00:00:00Z

A citizen complained that a school board discussed staffing and retirement issues behind closed doors. The Attorney General's office found that the board broke the law because they discussed general staffing plans, which must be done in public, rather than specific personnel matters. No further action was required because the board had already received training on the issue.

https://illinoisfoia.org/opinions/2018-pac-54229/ 2018-10-30T00:00:00Z

The requester, an elected county auditor, sought review after a county board committee entered closed session, citing the exception for discussing specific employees, to discuss the salaries and duties of independently elected county officials including herself. The Public Access Counselor held that elected officials such as a county auditor or coroner are not "employees" of the county for purposes of the specific-employees exception, since the county does not direct their work or have authority

https://illinoisfoia.org/opinions/letter-52881/ 2018-07-06T00:00:00Z

A member of the Beasley Academic Center Local School Council complained that the Council failed to post the agenda for its April 2, 2018, special meeting 48 hours in advance, and also raised issues about adding an agenda item and voting in closed session during its April 10, 2018, meeting. The Illinois Attorney General's Public Access Bureau found that the Council violated the Open Meetings Act by not continuously posting the agenda for the April 2 meeting, but because the general subject matter

https://illinoisfoia.org/opinions/letter-52158/ 2018-06-14T00:00:00Z

A school board member complained that their board held a private meeting to discuss appointing members to a negotiations committee. The Attorney General's office reviewed the recording and found that this topic was not allowed to be discussed in private under the Open Meetings Act. This means the board should have held that specific discussion in an open, public meeting.

https://illinoisfoia.org/opinions/letter-51599/ 2018-03-28T00:00:00Z

A citizen complained that the Pekin City Council discussed bidding processes in a closed session, which should have been public. The Public Access Bureau of the Illinois Attorney General's Office reviewed the matter and concluded that the Council violated the Open Meetings Act by discussing matters in closed session that were outside the scope of the exception they cited. This means the Council failed to follow the law's requirement that public business be conducted openly.

https://illinoisfoia.org/opinions/letter-49854/ 2017-11-28T00:00:00Z

A news reporter alleged that the City of Sandwich City Council improperly terminated an employee during a closed session. The Illinois Attorney General's Public Access Bureau determined that the Council improperly took final action when it approved terminating an employee in closed session without first voting in open session after providing an adequate public recital of the matter. The Bureau also found that the Council's closed session discussions on four dates did not exceed the scope of the

https://illinoisfoia.org/opinions/letter-47429/ 2017-07-14T00:00:00Z

Parkland College held an 'emergency' meeting without giving the public the required 48 hours' notice. The Attorney General's office found that the situation did not qualify as a true emergency, meaning the college broke the law by not providing proper notice. However, the office also ruled that the topics discussed during the meeting's private session were legally allowed to be discussed behind closed doors.

https://illinoisfoia.org/opinions/2016-pac-44249/ 2016-12-23T00:00:00Z

The requester, a newspaper publisher, alleged that a city council closed part of a meeting to discuss and then approved an across-the-board cost-of-living raise for city employees under the exception for discussing specific employees. The Public Access Counselor held that the specific-employees exception does not extend to a general budgetary discussion affecting a broad category of employees, and that a second exception the city council later invoked for salary schedules could not be relied on

https://illinoisfoia.org/opinions/letter-44262/ 2016-12-12T00:00:00Z

A citizen complained that a school board cut off his public comments and failed to explain why they were going into a private closed-door meeting. The Attorney General's office agreed, finding that the board violated the Open Meetings Act by enforcing a restriction on public comment that was not among its established and recorded rules, and by not adequately informing the public of the reason for entering a second closed session. The determination did not address whether the closed session itsel

https://illinoisfoia.org/opinions/2012-pac-19265/ 2012-07-11T00:00:00Z

The requester, a journalist, challenged a village government's practice of discussing its budget during personnel- and finance-committee sessions closed to the public under the Open Meetings Act's employee-related exception. The Public Access Counselor found that while some closed-session discussion of individual employees was proper, significant portions instead addressed general budgetary and staffing issues that fall outside that narrow exception and must be conducted in open session. The vil