Public Act 104-0438 (effective January 1, 2026), amends the Illinois Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) by adding a new subsection allowing public bodies holding a reasonable belief that a request was not submitted by a person to require that the requester verify orally or in writing that they are a person within five business days after receipt of the request. The deadline for responding to such a request shall be tolled until the requester complies and if the requester does not comply within 30 days after the request, the public body is permitted to deny the request.
This new law does not allow the public body to request personal, private, or identifying information of the requester to prove they are a real person. It further defines “person” as “any individual or any individual acting as an agent of a corporation, partnership, firm, organization or association, acting individually or as a group.”
This Public Act also requires requesters who submit electronic requests to place such requests within the body of the request to prevent public bodies from having to open files or hyperlinks. If a requester fails to abide by this, the public body must notify the requester within five business days to comply with this requirement. Further, it explicitly shields officers and employees of public bodies from liability if they disclose records based on an opinion of the Illinois Attorney General.
The Public Act also makes a few changes to the Open Meetings Act (OMA). It mandates that public bodies cannot hold regular or special meetings on general primary election, general election, consolidated primary election, or consolidated election days. It also allows a public body with an in-person quorum to permit a board member to attend remotely if they are engaged in active military duty as a service member. The Public Act further expands the OMA exception allowing closed meetings with a statewide association to discuss self-evaluation, practices and procedures, or professional ethics to include both statewide and regional associations of which the public body is a member.
This law certainly is welcome news for those who are dealing with mass FOIAs that appear to be AI-generated. For your FOIA and OMA questions, please contact an attorney in our firm’s Corporate Group.
Source: Public Act 104-0438
