Sec. 25-95. Exemptions.

471 words·~2 min read·/il/chapter-5/act-430/25-95

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(a)Documents generated by an ethics officer under this Act, except Section 5-50, are exempt from the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act.

(a-5) Requests from ethics officers, members, and State employees to the Office of the Legislative Inspector General, a Special Legislative Inspector General, the Legislative Ethics Commission, an ethics officer, or a person designated by a legislative leader for guidance on matters involving the interpretation or application of this Act or rules promulgated under this Act are exempt from the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act. Guidance provided to an ethics officer, member, or State employee at the request of an ethics officer, member, or State employee by the Office of the Legislative Inspector General, a Special Legislative Inspector General, the Legislative Ethics Commission, an ethics officer, or a person designated by a legislative leader on matters involving the interpretation or application of this Act or rules promulgated under this Act is exempt from the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act.

(b)Summary investigation reports released by the Legislative Ethics Commission as provided in Section 25-52 are public records. Otherwise, any allegations and related documents submitted to the Legislative Inspector General and any pleadings and related documents brought before the Legislative Ethics Commission are exempt from the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act so long as the Legislative Ethics Commission does not make a finding of a violation of this Act. If the Legislative Ethics Commission finds that a violation has occurred, the entire record of proceedings before the Commission, the decision and recommendation, and the mandatory report from the agency head or ultimate jurisdictional authority to the Legislative Ethics Commission are not exempt from the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act but information contained therein that is exempt from the Freedom of Information Act must be redacted before disclosure as provided in Section 8 of the Freedom of Information Act.

(c)Meetings of the Commission are exempt from the provisions of the Open Meetings Act.

(d)Unless otherwise provided in this Act, all investigatory files and reports of the Office of the Legislative Inspector General, other than quarterly reports under Section 25-85, are confidential, are exempt from disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act, and shall not be divulged to any person or agency, except as necessary

(i)to the appropriate law enforcement authority if the matter is referred pursuant to this Act,

(ii)to the ultimate jurisdictional authority,

(iii)to the Legislative Ethics Commission, or

(iv)to the Executive Director of the Legislative Ethics Commission to the extent necessary to advise the Commission of all open investigations and any new allegations or complaints received in the Office of the Inspector General when there is a vacancy in the Office of Inspector General pursuant to subparagraph (b-5) of Section 25-10.