Local Government Law Bulletin
PAC Reiterates That Public Bodies May Only Discuss Specific Employees, Not a Class of Employees, in Closed Sessions
October 30, 2018 In October, the Office of the Attorney General’s Public Access Counselor (PAC) published Public Access Opinion 18-012 in which it repeated its position that the 2(c)(1) exception of the Illinois Open Meetings Act (OMA) authorizing closed session to...
FCC Issues Regulations Covering Small Cell Facilities on Public Rights of Way
October 2, 2018 On September 26 of this year, the Federal Communications Commission (the “FCC”) approved new regulations governing the installation of wireless and small cell facilities in public rights of way. According to the FCC, this is part of its ongoing effort...
Law Strengthens Employment Protections for Service Members
September 28, 2018 On August 26, 2018, Senate Bill 3547 became law. This public act creates the Service-Member Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (ISERRA) which seeks to clarify and strengthen existing laws designed to protect Illinois service members' employment...
Law Expands Time to File Discrimination Complaint, Expedites Time to File Civil Lawsuit
September 18, 2018 Public Act 100-1066, which took effect on August 24, 2018, expands the time limit to file a discrimination complaint with the Illinois Department of Human Rights (IDHR), among other changes it makes to the department’s practices and procedures. As a...
Municipal Election Filing Season Is Upon Us
September 18, 2018 Preparations for the April 2, 2019, Consolidated Election for municipal offices are now underway. The Illinois election regulations can be very confusing with different rules, petition requirements and filing deadlines for partisan and non-partisan...
General Information Related to Public Duties in Settlement Agreements Not Excludable Under FOIA
September 4, 2018 In August 2018, the Office of the Attorney General published Public Access Opinion 18-010 which emphasized that information regarding claims against a school district stated in broad, general terms and that was related to a public employee’s public...
Law Adds Mandates Regarding Officer-Involved Shootings
August 31, 2018 On August 19, 2018, the Governor signed into law Senate Bill 2378 which amends the Police and Community Relations Improvement Act to require every law enforcement agency to adopt a written policy for the internal review of officer-involved shootings....
Amendment Expands Mandates for Local Government Financial Audits
August 21, 2018 On August 13, 2018, Senate Bill 2638 became law. It amends the Municipal Code, along with other Codes affecting local government, by expanding the mandates applicable to local government financial audits. First, the new law requires that local...
Amendment Tempers Truancy Law
August 21, 2018 On August 10, 2018, the Governor signed into law Public Act 100-0810 loosening the state’s truancy laws and mandating employee training on available support services to promote student attendance and engagement. First, the amendment expands the meaning...