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HB5778 • 2026
FOIA-STUDENT COMMS
This bill passed both chambers and reached final enrollment, even if later executive action is not shown here.
Using official source text because the generated explanation was unavailable or could not be confirmed against the official bill text.
FOIA-STUDENT COMMS
First Reading
Referred to Rules Committee
Filed with the Clerk by Rep. Justin Cochran
FOIA-STUDENT COMMS
Illinois General Assembly - Full Text of HB5778 Select Language × The Illinois General Assembly offers the Google Translate™ service for visitor convenience. In no way should it be considered accurate as to the translation of any content herein. Visitors of the Illinois General Assembly website are encouraged to use other translation services available on the internet. The English language version is always the official and authoritative version of this website. NOTE: To return to the original English language version, select the "Show Original" button on the Google Translate™ menu bar at the top of the window. 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Full Text of HB5778 Home Legislation Full Text HB5778 - 104th General Assembly Bill Status Full Text Votes Witness Slips Select Menu Bill Status Full Text Votes Witness Slips Printer Friendly Version Introduced Printer Friendly Version Introduced Open PDF 104TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY State of Illinois 2025 and 2026 HB5778 Introduced , by Rep. Justin Cochran SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED: 5 ILCS 140/7 Amends the Freedom of Information Act. Exempts from inspection and copying under the Act written communication and attachments that pertain to a current or former student and that were sent between an educational institution and the student or between an educational institution and the student's parent or guardian, except if the Illinois School Student Records Act or the federal Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act applies. LRB104 21943 BDA 37867 b A BILL FOR HB5778 LRB104 21943 BDA 37867 b 1 AN ACT concerning government. 2 Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, 3 represented in the General Assembly: 4 Section 5. The Freedom of Information Act is amended by 5 changing Section 7 as follows: 6 (5 ILCS 140/7) 7 (Text of Section before amendment by P.A. 104-300 ) 8 Sec. 7. Exemptions. 9 (1) When a request is made to inspect or copy a public 10 record that contains information that is exempt from 11 disclosure under this Section, but also contains information 12 that is not exempt from disclosure, the public body may elect 13 to redact the information that is exempt. The public body 14 shall make the remaining information available for inspection 15 and copying. Subject to this requirement, the following shall 16 be exempt from inspection and copying: 17 (a) Information specifically prohibited from 18 disclosure by federal or State law or rules and 19 regulations implementing federal or State law. 20 (b) Private information, unless disclosure is required 21 by another provision of this Act, a State or federal law, 22 or a court order. 23 (b-5) Files, documents, and other data or databases HB5778 - 2 - LRB104 21943 BDA 37867 b 1 maintained by one or more law enforcement agencies and 2 specifically designed to provide information to one or 3 more law enforcement agencies regarding the physical or 4 mental status of one or more individual subjects. 5 (c) Personal information contained within public 6 records, the disclosure of which would constitute a 7 clearly unwarranted invasion of personal privacy, unless 8 the disclosure is consented to in writing by the 9 individual subjects of the information. "Unwarranted 10 invasion of personal privacy" means the disclosure of 11 information that is highly personal or objectionable to a 12 reasonable person and in which the subject's right to 13 privacy outweighs any legitimate public interest in 14 obtaining the information. The disclosure of information 15 that bears on the public duties of public employees and 16 officials shall not be considered an invasion of personal 17 privacy. 18 (d) Records in the possession of any public body 19 created in the course of administrative enforcement 20 proceedings, and any law enforcement or correctional 21 agency for law enforcement purposes, but only to the 22 extent that disclosure would: 23 (i) interfere with pending or actually and 24 reasonably contemplated law enforcement proceedings 25 conducted by any law enforcement or correctional 26 agency that is the recipient of the request; HB5778 - 3 - LRB104 21943 BDA 37867 b 1 (ii) interfere with active administrative 2 enforcement proceedings conducted by the public body 3 that is the recipient of the request; 4 (iii) create a substantial likelihood that a 5 person will be deprived of a fair trial or an impartial 6 hearing; 7 (iv) unavoidably disclose the identity of a 8 confidential source, confidential information 9 furnished only by the confidential source, or persons 10 who file complaints with or provide information to 11 administrative, investigative, law enforcement, or 12 penal agencies; except that the identities of 13 witnesses to traffic crashes, traffic crash reports, 14 and rescue reports shall be provided by agencies of 15 local government, except when disclosure would 16 interfere with an active criminal investigation 17 conducted by the agency that is the recipient of the 18 request; 19 (v) disclose unique or specialized investigative 20 techniques other than those generally used and known 21 or disclose internal documents of correctional 22 agencies related to detection, observation, or 23 investigation of incidents of crime or misconduct, and 24 disclosure would result in demonstrable harm to the 25 agency or public body that is the recipient of the 26 request; HB5778 - 4 - LRB104 21943 BDA 37867 b 1 (vi) endanger the life or physical safety of law 2 enforcement personnel or any other person; or 3 (vii) obstruct an ongoing criminal investigation 4 by the agency that is the recipient of the request. 5 (d-5) A law enforcement record created for law 6 enforcement purposes and contained in a shared electronic 7 record management system if the law enforcement agency or 8 criminal justice agency that is the recipient of the 9 request did not create the record, did not participate in 10 or have a role in any of the events which are the subject 11 of the record, and only has access to the record through 12 the shared electronic record management system. As used in 13 this subsection (d-5), "criminal justice agency" means the 14 Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority or the 15 Illinois Sentencing Policy Advisory Council. 16 (d-6) Records contained in the Officer Professional 17 Conduct Database under Section 9.2 of the Illinois Police 18 Training Act, except to the extent authorized under that 19 Section. This includes the documents supplied to the 20 Illinois Law Enforcement Training Standards Board from the 21 Illinois State Police and Illinois State Police Merit 22 Board. 23 (d-7) Information gathered or records created from the 24 use of automatic license plate readers in connection with 25 Section 2-130 of the Illinois Vehicle Code. 26 (e) Records that relate to or affect the security of HB5778 - 5 - LRB104 21943 BDA 37867 b 1 correctional institutions and detention facilities. 2 (e-5) Records requested by persons committed to the 3 Department of Corrections, Department of Human Services 4 Division of Mental Health, or a county jail if those 5 materials are available in the library of the correctional 6 institution or facility or jail where the inmate is 7 confined. 8 (e-6) Records requested by persons committed to the 9 Department of Corrections, Department of Human Services 10 Division of Mental Health, or a county jail if those 11 materials include records from staff members' personnel 12 files, staff rosters, or other staffing assignment 13 information. 14 (e-7) Records requested by persons committed to the 15 Department of Corrections or Department of Human Services 16 Division of Mental Health if those materials are available 17 through an administrative request to the Department of 18 Corrections or Department of Human Services Division of 19 Mental Health. 20 (e-8) Records requested by a person committed to the 21 Department of Corrections, Department of Human Services 22 Division of Mental Health, or a county jail, the 23 disclosure of which would result in the risk of harm to any 24 person or the risk of an escape from a jail or correctional 25 institution or facility. 26 (e-9) Records requested by a person in a county jail HB5778 - 6 - LRB104 21943 BDA 37867 b 1 or committed to the Department of Corrections or 2 Department of Human Services Division of Mental Health, 3 containing personal information pertaining to the person's 4 victim or the victim's family, including, but not limited 5 to, a victim's home address, home telephone number, work 6 or school address, work telephone number, social security 7 number, or any other identifying information, except as 8 may be relevant to a requester's current or potential case 9 or claim. 10 (e-10) Law enforcement records of other persons 11 requested by a person committed to the Department of 12 Corrections, Department of Human Services Division of 13 Mental Health, or a county jail, including, but not 14 limited to, arrest and booking records, mug shots, and 15 crime scene photographs, except as these records may be 16 relevant to the requester's current or potential case or 17 claim. 18 (f) Preliminary drafts, notes, recommendations, 19 memoranda, and other records in which opinions are 20 expressed, or policies or actions are formulated, except 21 that a specific record or relevant portion of a record 22 shall not be exempt when the record is publicly cited and 23 identified by the head of the public body. The exemption 24 provided in this paragraph (f) extends to all those 25 records of officers and agencies of the General Assembly 26 that pertain to the preparation of legislative documents. HB5778 - 7 - LRB104 21943 BDA 37867 b 1 (g) Trade secrets and commercial or financial 2 information obtained from a person or business where the 3 trade secrets or commercial or financial information are 4 furnished under a claim that they are proprietary, 5 privileged, or confidential, and that disclosure of the 6 trade secrets or commercial or financial information would 7 cause competitive harm to the person or business, and only 8 insofar as the claim directly applies to the records 9 requested. 10 The information included under this exemption includes 11 all trade secrets and commercial or financial information 12 obtained by a public body, including a public pension 13 fund, from a private equity fund or a privately held 14 company within the investment portfolio of a private 15 equity fund as a result of either investing or evaluating 16 a potential investment of public funds in a private equity 17 fund. The exemption contained in this item does not apply 18 to the aggregate financial performance information of a 19 private equity fund, nor to the identity of the fund's 20 managers or general partners. The exemption contained in 21 this item does not apply to the identity of a privately 22 held company within the investment portfolio of a private 23 equity fund, unless the disclosure of the identity of a 24 privately held company may cause competitive harm. 25 Nothing contained in this paragraph (g) shall be 26 construed to prevent a person or business from consenting HB5778 - 8 - LRB104 21943 BDA 37867 b 1 to disclosure. 2 (h) Proposals and bids for any contract, grant, or 3 agreement, including information which if it were 4 disclosed would frustrate procurement or give an advantage 5 to any person proposing to enter into a contractor 6 agreement with the body, until an award or final selection 7 is made. Information prepared by or for the body in 8 preparation of a bid solicitation shall be exempt until an 9 award or final selection is made. 10 (i) Valuable formulae, computer geographic systems, 11 designs, drawings, and research data obtained or produced 12 by any public body when disclosure could reasonably be 13 expected to produce private gain or public loss. The 14 exemption for "computer geographic systems" provided in 15 this paragraph (i) does not extend to requests made by 16 news media as defined in Section 2 of this Act when the 17 requested information is not otherwise exempt and the only 18 purpose of the request is to access and disseminate 19 information regarding the health, safety, welfare, or 20 legal rights of the general public. 21 (j) The following information pertaining to 22 educational matters: 23 (i) test questions, scoring keys, and other 24 examination data used to administer an academic 25 examination; 26 (ii) information received by a primary or HB5778 - 9 - LRB104 21943 BDA 37867 b 1 secondary school, college, or university under its 2 procedures for the evaluation of faculty members by 3 their academic peers; 4 (iii) information concerning a school or 5 university's adjudication of student disciplinary 6 cases, but only to the extent that disclosure would 7 unavoidably reveal the identity of the student; and 8 (iv) course materials or research materials used 9 by faculty members. 10 (k) Architects' plans, engineers' technical 11 submissions, and other construction related technical 12 documents for projects not constructed or developed in 13 whole or in part with public funds and the same for 14 projects constructed or developed with public funds, 15 including, but not limited to, power generating and 16 distribution stations and other transmission and 17 distribution facilities, water treatment facilities, 18 airport facilities, sport stadiums, convention centers, 19 and all government owned, operated, or occupied buildings, 20 but only to the extent that disclosure would compromise 21 security. 22 (l) Minutes of meetings of public bodies closed to the 23 public as provided in the Open Meetings Act until the 24 public body makes the minutes available to the public 25 under Section 2.06 of the Open Meetings Act. 26 (m) Communications between a public body and an HB5778 - 10 - LRB104 21943 BDA 37867 b 1 attorney or auditor representing the public body that 2 would not be subject to discovery in litigation, and 3 materials prepared or compiled by or for a public body in 4 anticipation of a criminal, civil, or administrative 5 proceeding upon the request of an attorney advising the 6 public body, and materials prepared or compiled with 7 respect to internal audits of public bodies. 8 (n) Records relating to a public body's adjudication 9 of employee grievances or disciplinary cases; however, 10 this exemption shall not extend to the final outcome of 11 cases in which discipline is imposed. 12 (o) Administrative or technical information associated 13 with automated data processing operations, including, but 14 not limited to, software, operating protocols, computer 15 program abstracts, file layouts, source listings, object 16 modules, load modules, user guides, documentation 17 pertaining to all logical and physical design of 18 computerized systems, employee manuals, and any other 19 information that, if disclosed, would jeopardize the 20 security of the system or its data or the security of 21 materials exempt under this Section. 22 (p) Records relating to collective negotiating matters 23 between public bodies and their employees or 24 representatives, except that any final contract or 25 agreement shall be subject to inspection and copying. 26 (q) Test questions, scoring keys, and other HB5778 - 11 - LRB104 21943 BDA 37867 b 1 examination data used to determine the qualifications of 2 an applicant for a license or employment. 3 (r) The records, documents, and information relating 4 to real estate purchase negotiations until those 5 negotiations have been completed or otherwise terminated. 6 With regard to a parcel involved in a pending or actually 7 and reasonably contemplated eminent domain proceeding 8 under the Eminent Domain Act, records, documents, and 9 information relating to that parcel shall be exempt except 10 as may be allowed under discovery rules adopted by the 11 Illinois Supreme Court. The records, documents, and 12 information relating to a real estate sale shall be exempt 13 until a sale is consummated. 14 (s) Any and all proprietary information and records 15 related to the operation of an intergovernmental risk 16 management association or self-insurance pool or jointly 17 self-administered health and accident cooperative or pool. 18 Insurance or self-insurance (including any 19 intergovernmental risk management association or 20 self-insurance pool) claims, loss or risk management 21 information, records, data, advice, or communications. 22 (t) Information contained in or related to 23 examination, operating, or condition reports prepared by, 24 on behalf of, or for the use of a public body responsible 25 for the regulation or supervision of financial 26 institutions, insurance companies, or pharmacy benefit HB5778 - 12 - LRB104 21943 BDA 37867 b 1 managers, unless disclosure is otherwise required by State 2 law. 3 (u) Information that would disclose or might lead to 4 the disclosure of secret or confidential information, 5 codes, algorithms, programs, or private keys intended to 6 be used to create electronic signatures under the Uniform 7 Electronic Transactions Act. 8 (v) Vulnerability assessments, security measures, and 9 response policies or plans that are designed to identify, 10 prevent, or respond to potential attacks upon a 11 community's population or systems, facilities, or 12 installations, but only to the extent that disclosure 13 could reasonably be expected to expose the vulnerability 14 or jeopardize the effectiveness of the measures, policies, 15 or plans, or the safety of the personnel who implement 16 them or the public. Information exempt under this item may 17 include such things as details pertaining to the 18 mobilization or deployment of personnel or equipment, to 19 the operation of communication systems or protocols, to 20 cybersecurity vulnerabilities, or to tactical operations. 21 (w) (Blank). 22 (x) Maps and other records regarding the location or 23 security of generation, transmission, distribution, 24 storage, gathering, treatment, or switching facilities 25 owned by a utility, by a power generator, or by the 26 Illinois Power Agency. HB5778 - 13 - LRB104 21943 BDA 37867 b 1 (y) Information contained in or related to proposals, 2 bids, or negotiations related to electric power 3 procurement under Section 1-75 of the Illinois Power 4 Agency Act and Section 16-111.5 of the Public Utilities 5 Act that is determined to be confidential and proprietary 6 by the Illinois Power Agency or by the Illinois Commerce 7 Commission. 8 (z) Information about students exempted from 9 disclosure under Section 10-20.38 or 34-18.29 of the 10 School Code, and information about undergraduate students 11 enrolled at an institution of higher education exempted 12 from disclosure under Section 25 of the Illinois Credit 13 Card Marketing Act of 2009. 14 (aa) Information the disclosure of which is exempted 15 under the Viatical Settlements Act of 2009. 16 (bb) Records and information provided to a mortality 17 review team and records maintained by a mortality review 18 team appointed under the Department of Juvenile Justice 19 Mortality Review Team Act. 20 (cc) Information regarding interments, entombments, or 21 inurnments of human remains that are submitted to the 22 Cemetery Oversight Database under the Cemetery Care Act or 23 the Cemetery Oversight Act, whichever is applicable. 24 (dd) Correspondence and records (i) that may not be 25 disclosed under Section 11-9 of the Illinois Public Aid 26 Code or (ii) that pertain to appeals under Section 11-8 of HB5778 - 14 - LRB104 21943 BDA 37867 b 1 the Illinois Public Aid Code. 2 (ee) The names, addresses, or other personal 3 information of persons who are minors and are also 4 participants and registrants in programs of park 5 districts, forest preserve districts, conservation 6 districts, recreation agencies, and special recreation 7 associations. 8 (ff) The names, addresses, or other personal 9 information of participants and registrants in programs of 10 park districts, forest preserve districts, conservation 11 districts, recreation agencies, and special recreation 12 associations where such programs are targeted primarily to 13 minors. 14 (gg) Confidential information described in Section 15 1-100 of the Illinois Independent Tax Tribunal Act of 16 2012. 17 (hh) The report submitted to the State Board of 18 Education by the School Security and Standards Task Force 19 under item (8) of subsection (d) of Section 2-3.160 of the 20 School Code and any information contained in that report. 21 (ii) Records requested by persons committed to or 22 detained by the Department of Human Services under the 23 Sexually Violent Persons Commitment Act or committed to 24 the Department of Corrections under the Sexually Dangerous 25 Persons Act if those materials: (i) are available in the 26 library of the facility where the individual is confined; HB5778 - 15 - LRB104 21943 BDA 37867 b 1 (ii) include records from staff members' personnel files, 2 staff rosters, or other staffing assignment information; 3 or (iii) are available through an administrative request 4 to the Department of Human Services or the Department of 5 Corrections. 6 (jj) Confidential information described in Section 7 5-535 of the Civil Administrative Code of Illinois. 8 (kk) The public body's credit card numbers, debit card 9 numbers, bank account numbers, Federal Employer 10 Identification Number, security code numbers, passwords, 11 and similar account information, the disclosure of which 12 could result in identity theft or impression or defrauding 13 of a governmental entity or a person. 14 (ll) Records concerning the work of the threat 15 assessment team of a school district, including, but not 16 limited to, any threat assessment procedure under the 17 School Safety Drill Act and any information contained in 18 the procedure. 19 (mm) Information prohibited from being disclosed under 20 subsections (a) and (b) of Section 15 of the Student 21 Confidential Reporting Act. 22 (nn) Proprietary information submitted to the 23 Environmental Protection Agency under the Drug Take-Back 24 Act. 25 (oo) Records described in subsection (f) of Section 26 3-5-1 of the Unified Code of Corrections. HB5778 - 16 - LRB104 21943 BDA 37867 b 1 (pp) Any and all information regarding burials, 2 interments, or entombments of human remains as required to 3 be reported to the Department of Natural Resources 4 pursuant either to the Archaeological and Paleontological 5 Resources Protection Act or the Human Remains Protection 6 Act. 7 (qq) Reports described in subsection (e) of Section 8 16-15 of the Abortion Care Clinical Training Program Act. 9 (rr) Information obtained by a certified local health 10 department under the Access to Public Health Data Act. 11 (ss) For a request directed to a public body that is 12 also a HIPAA-covered entity, all information that is 13 protected health information, including demographic 14 information, that may be contained within or extracted 15 from any record held by the public body in compliance with 16 State and federal medical privacy laws and regulations, 17 including, but not limited to, the Health Insurance 18 Portability and Accountability Act and its regulations, 45 19 CFR Parts 160 and 164. As used in this paragraph, 20 "HIPAA-covered entity" has the meaning given to the term 21 "covered entity" in 45 CFR 160.103 and "protected health 22 information" has the meaning given to that term in 45 CFR 23 160.103. 24 (tt) Proposals or bids submitted by engineering 25 consultants in response to requests for proposal or other 26 competitive bidding requests by the Department of HB5778 - 17 - LRB104 21943 BDA 37867 b 1 Transportation or the Illinois Toll Highway Authority. 2 (uu) Documents that, pursuant to the State of 3 Illinois' 1987 Agreement with the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory 4 Commission and the corresponding requirement to maintain 5 compatibility with the National Materials Program, have 6 been determined to be security sensitive. These documents 7 include information classified as safeguards, 8 safeguards-modified, and sensitive unclassified 9 nonsafeguards information, as identified in U.S. Nuclear 10 Regulatory Commission regulatory information summaries, 11 security advisories, and other applicable communications 12 or regulations related to the control and distribution of 13 security sensitive information. 14 (vv) Written communications and attachments in their 15 entirety pertaining to a current or former student that 16 were sent between an educational institution and the 17 student or between an educational institution and the 18 student's parent or guardian. This paragraph does not 19 apply when the requester is entitled to access the record 20 under the Illinois School Student Records Act or the 21 federal Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act. 22 (1.5) Any information exempt from disclosure under the 23 Judicial Privacy Act shall be redacted from public records 24 prior to disclosure under this Act. 25 (1.6) Any information exempt from disclosure under the 26 Public Official Safety and Privacy Act shall be redacted from HB5778 - 18 - LRB104 21943 BDA 37867 b 1 public records prior to disclosure under this Act. 2 (1.7) Any information exempt from disclosure under 3 paragraph (3.5) of Section 9-15 of the Election Code shall be 4 redacted from public records prior to disclosure under this 5 Act. 6 (2) A public record that is not in the possession of a 7 public body but is in the possession of a party with whom the 8 agency has contracted to perform a governmental function on 9 behalf of the public body, and that directly relates to the 10 governmental function and is not otherwise exempt under this 11 Act, shall be considered a public record of the public body, 12 for purposes of this Act. 13 (3) This Section does not authorize withholding of 14 information or limit the availability of records to the 15 public, except as stated in this Section or otherwise provided 16 in this Act. 17 (Source: P.A. 103-154, eff. 6-30-23; 103-423, eff. 1-1-24; 18 103-446, eff. 8-4-23; 103-462, eff. 8-4-23; 103-540, eff. 19 1-1-24; 103-554, eff. 1-1-24; 103-605, eff. 7-1-24; 103-865, 20 eff. 1-1-25; 104-438, eff. 1-1-26; 104-443, eff. 1-1-26; 21 revised 1-7-26.) 22 (Text of Section after amendment by P.A. 104-300 ) 23 Sec. 7. Exemptions. 24 (1) When a request is made to inspect or copy a public 25 record that contains information that is exempt from HB5778 - 19 - LRB104 21943 BDA 37867 b 1 disclosure under this Section, but also contains information 2 that is not exempt from disclosure, the public body may elect 3 to redact the information that is exempt. The public body 4 shall make the remaining information available for inspection 5 and copying. Subject to this requirement, the following shall 6 be exempt from inspection and copying: 7 (a) Records created or compiled by a State public 8 defender agency or commission subject to the State Public 9 Defender Act that contain: individual client identity; 10 individual case file information; individual investigation 11 records and other records that are otherwise subject to 12 attorney-client privilege; records that would not be 13 discoverable in litigation; records under Section 2.15; 14 training materials; records related to attorney 15 consultation and representation strategy; or any of the 16 above concerning clients of county public defenders or 17 other defender agencies and firms. This exclusion does not 18 apply to deidentified, aggregated, administrative records, 19 such as general case processing and workload information. 20 (a-5) Information specifically prohibited from 21 disclosure by federal or State law or rules and 22 regulations implementing federal or State law. 23 (b) Private information, unless disclosure is required 24 by another provision of this Act, a State or federal law, 25 or a court order. 26 (b-5) Files, documents, and other data or databases HB5778 - 20 - LRB104 21943 BDA 37867 b 1 maintained by one or more law enforcement agencies and 2 specifically designed to provide information to one or 3 more law enforcement agencies regarding the physical or 4 mental status of one or more individual subjects. 5 (c) Personal information contained within public 6 records, the disclosure of which would constitute a 7 clearly unwarranted invasion of personal privacy, unless 8 the disclosure is consented to in writing by the 9 individual subjects of the information. "Unwarranted 10 invasion of personal privacy" means the disclosure of 11 information that is highly personal or objectionable to a 12 reasonable person and in which the subject's right to 13 privacy outweighs any legitimate public interest in 14 obtaining the information. The disclosure of information 15 that bears on the public duties of public employees and 16 officials shall not be considered an invasion of personal 17 privacy. 18 (d) Records in the possession of any public body 19 created in the course of administrative enforcement 20 proceedings, and any law enforcement or correctional 21 agency for law enforcement purposes, but only to the 22 extent that disclosure would: 23 (i) interfere with pending or actually and 24 reasonably contemplated law enforcement proceedings 25 conducted by any law enforcement or correctional 26 agency that is the recipient of the request; HB5778 - 21 - LRB104 21943 BDA 37867 b 1 (ii) interfere with active administrative 2 enforcement proceedings conducted by the public body 3 that is the recipient of the request; 4 (iii) create a substantial likelihood that a 5 person will be deprived of a fair trial or an impartial 6 hearing; 7 (iv) unavoidably disclose the identity of a 8 confidential source, confidential information 9 furnished only by the confidential source, or persons 10 who file complaints with or provide information to 11 administrative, investigative, law enforcement, or 12 penal agencies; except that the identities of 13 witnesses to traffic crashes, traffic crash reports, 14 and rescue reports shall be provided by agencies of 15 local government, except when disclosure would 16 interfere with an active criminal investigation 17 conducted by the agency that is the recipient of the 18 request; 19 (v) disclose unique or specialized investigative 20 techniques other than those generally used and known 21 or disclose internal documents of correctional 22 agencies related to detection, observation, or 23 investigation of incidents of crime or misconduct, and 24 disclosure would result in demonstrable harm to the 25 agency or public body that is the recipient of the 26 request; HB5778 - 22 - LRB104 21943 BDA 37867 b 1 (vi) endanger the life or physical safety of law 2 enforcement personnel or any other person; or 3 (vii) obstruct an ongoing criminal investigation 4 by the agency that is the recipient of the request. 5 (d-5) A law enforcement record created for law 6 enforcement purposes and contained in a shared electronic 7 record management system if the law enforcement agency or 8 criminal justice agency that is the recipient of the 9 request did not create the record, did not participate in 10 or have a role in any of the events which are the subject 11 of the record, and only has access to the record through 12 the shared electronic record management system. As used in 13 this subsection (d-5), "criminal justice agency" means the 14 Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority or the 15 Illinois Sentencing Policy Advisory Council. 16 (d-6) Records contained in the Officer Professional 17 Conduct Database under Section 9.2 of the Illinois Police 18 Training Act, except to the extent authorized under that 19 Section. This includes the documents supplied to the 20 Illinois Law Enforcement Training Standards Board from the 21 Illinois State Police and Illinois State Police Merit 22 Board. 23 (d-7) Information gathered or records created from the 24 use of automatic license plate readers in connection with 25 Section 2-130 of the Illinois Vehicle Code. 26 (e) Records that relate to or affect the security of HB5778 - 23 - LRB104 21943 BDA 37867 b 1 correctional institutions and detention facilities. 2 (e-5) Records requested by persons committed to the 3 Department of Corrections, Department of Human Services 4 Division of Mental Health, or a county jail if those 5 materials are available in the library of the correctional 6 institution or facility or jail where the inmate is 7 confined. 8 (e-6) Records requested by persons committed to the 9 Department of Corrections, Department of Human Services 10 Division of Mental Health, or a county jail if those 11 materials include records from staff members' personnel 12 files, staff rosters, or other staffing assignment 13 information. 14 (e-7) Records requested by persons committed to the 15 Department of Corrections or Department of Human Services 16 Division of Mental Health if those materials are available 17 through an administrative request to the Department of 18 Corrections or Department of Human Services Division of 19 Mental Health. 20 (e-8) Records requested by a person committed to the 21 Department of Corrections, Department of Human Services 22 Division of Mental Health, or a county jail, the 23 disclosure of which would result in the risk of harm to any 24 person or the risk of an escape from a jail or correctional 25 institution or facility. 26 (e-9) Records requested by a person in a county jail HB5778 - 24 - LRB104 21943 BDA 37867 b 1 or committed to the Department of Corrections or 2 Department of Human Services Division of Mental Health, 3 containing personal information pertaining to the person's 4 victim or the victim's family, including, but not limited 5 to, a victim's home address, home telephone number, work 6 or school address, work telephone number, social security 7 number, or any other identifying information, except as 8 may be relevant to a requester's current or potential case 9 or claim. 10 (e-10) Law enforcement records of other persons 11 requested by a person committed to the Department of 12 Corrections, Department of Human Services Division of 13 Mental Health, or a county jail, including, but not 14 limited to, arrest and booking records, mug shots, and 15 crime scene photographs, except as these records may be 16 relevant to the requester's current or potential case or 17 claim. 18 (f) Preliminary drafts, notes, recommendations, 19 memoranda, and other records in which opinions are 20 expressed, or policies or actions are formulated, except 21 that a specific record or relevant portion of a record 22 shall not be exempt when the record is publicly cited and 23 identified by the head of the public body. The exemption 24 provided in this paragraph (f) extends to all those 25 records of officers and agencies of the General Assembly 26 that pertain to the preparation of legislative documents. HB5778 - 25 - LRB104 21943 BDA 37867 b 1 (g) Trade secrets and commercial or financial 2 information obtained from a person or business where the 3 trade secrets or commercial or financial information are 4 furnished under a claim that they are proprietary, 5 privileged, or confidential, and that disclosure of the 6 trade secrets or commercial or financial information would 7 cause competitive harm to the person or business, and only 8 insofar as the claim directly applies to the records 9 requested. 10 The information included under this exemption includes 11 all trade secrets and commercial or financial information 12 obtained by a public body, including a public pension 13 fund, from a private equity fund or a privately held 14 company within the investment portfolio of a private 15 equity fund as a result of either investing or evaluating 16 a potential investment of public funds in a private equity 17 fund. The exemption contained in this item does not apply 18 to the aggregate financial performance information of a 19 private equity fund, nor to the identity of the fund's 20 managers or general partners. The exemption contained in 21 this item does not apply to the identity of a privately 22 held company within the investment portfolio of a private 23 equity fund, unless the disclosure of the identity of a 24 privately held company may cause competitive harm. 25 Nothing contained in this paragraph (g) shall be 26 construed to prevent a person or business from consenting HB5778 - 26 - LRB104 21943 BDA 37867 b 1 to disclosure. 2 (h) Proposals and bids for any contract, grant, or 3 agreement, including information which if it were 4 disclosed would frustrate procurement or give an advantage 5 to any person proposing to enter into a contractor 6 agreement with the body, until an award or final selection 7 is made. Information prepared by or for the body in 8 preparation of a bid solicitation shall be exempt until an 9 award or final selection is made. 10 (i) Valuable formulae, computer geographic systems, 11 designs, drawings, and research data obtained or produced 12 by any public body when disclosure could reasonably be 13 expected to produce private gain or public loss. The 14 exemption for "computer geographic systems" provided in 15 this paragraph (i) does not extend to requests made by 16 news media as defined in Section 2 of this Act when the 17 requested information is not otherwise exempt and the only 18 purpose of the request is to access and disseminate 19 information regarding the health, safety, welfare, or 20 legal rights of the general public. 21 (j) The following information pertaining to 22 educational matters: 23 (i) test questions, scoring keys, and other 24 examination data used to administer an academic 25 examination; 26 (ii) information received by a primary or HB5778 - 27 - LRB104 21943 BDA 37867 b 1 secondary school, college, or university under its 2 procedures for the evaluation of faculty members by 3 their academic peers; 4 (iii) information concerning a school or 5 university's adjudication of student disciplinary 6 cases, but only to the extent that disclosure would 7 unavoidably reveal the identity of the student; and 8 (iv) course materials or research materials used 9 by faculty members. 10 (k) Architects' plans, engineers' technical 11 submissions, and other construction related technical 12 documents for projects not constructed or developed in 13 whole or in part with public funds and the same for 14 projects constructed or developed with public funds, 15 including, but not limited to, power generating and 16 distribution stations and other transmission and 17 distribution facilities, water treatment facilities, 18 airport facilities, sport stadiums, convention centers, 19 and all government owned, operated, or occupied buildings, 20 but only to the extent that disclosure would compromise 21 security. 22 (l) Minutes of meetings of public bodies closed to the 23 public as provided in the Open Meetings Act until the 24 public body makes the minutes available to the public 25 under Section 2.06 of the Open Meetings Act. 26 (m) Communications between a public body and an HB5778 - 28 - LRB104 21943 BDA 37867 b 1 attorney or auditor representing the public body that 2 would not be subject to discovery in litigation, and 3 materials prepared or compiled by or for a public body in 4 anticipation of a criminal, civil, or administrative 5 proceeding upon the request of an attorney advising the 6 public body, and materials prepared or compiled with 7 respect to internal audits of public bodies. 8 (n) Records relating to a public body's adjudication 9 of employee grievances or disciplinary cases; however, 10 this exemption shall not extend to the final outcome of 11 cases in which discipline is imposed. 12 (o) Administrative or technical information associated 13 with automated data processing operations, including, but 14 not limited to, software, operating protocols, computer 15 program abstracts, file layouts, source listings, object 16 modules, load modules, user guides, documentation 17 pertaining to all logical and physical design of 18 computerized systems, employee manuals, and any other 19 information that, if disclosed, would jeopardize the 20 security of the system or its data or the security of 21 materials exempt under this Section. 22 (p) Records relating to collective negotiating matters 23 between public bodies and their employees or 24 representatives, except that any final contract or 25 agreement shall be subject to inspection and copying. 26 (q) Test questions, scoring keys, and other HB5778 - 29 - LRB104 21943 BDA 37867 b 1 examination data used to determine the qualifications of 2 an applicant for a license or employment. 3 (r) The records, documents, and information relating 4 to real estate purchase negotiations until those 5 negotiations have been completed or otherwise terminated. 6 With regard to a parcel involved in a pending or actually 7 and reasonably contemplated eminent domain proceeding 8 under the Eminent Domain Act, records, documents, and 9 information relating to that parcel shall be exempt except 10 as may be allowed under discovery rules adopted by the 11 Illinois Supreme Court. The records, documents, and 12 information relating to a real estate sale shall be exempt 13 until a sale is consummated. 14 (s) Any and all proprietary information and records 15 related to the operation of an intergovernmental risk 16 management association or self-insurance pool or jointly 17 self-administered health and accident cooperative or pool. 18 Insurance or self-insurance (including any 19 intergovernmental risk management association or 20 self-insurance pool) claims, loss or risk management 21 information, records, data, advice, or communications. 22 (t) Information contained in or related to 23 examination, operating, or condition reports prepared by, 24 on behalf of, or for the use of a public body responsible 25 for the regulation or supervision of financial 26 institutions, insurance companies, or pharmacy benefit HB5778 - 30 - LRB104 21943 BDA 37867 b 1 managers, unless disclosure is otherwise required by State 2 law. 3 (u) Information that would disclose or might lead to 4 the disclosure of secret or confidential information, 5 codes, algorithms, programs, or private keys intended to 6 be used to create electronic signatures under the Uniform 7 Electronic Transactions Act. 8 (v) Vulnerability assessments, security measures, and 9 response policies or plans that are designed to identify, 10 prevent, or respond to potential attacks upon a 11 community's population or systems, facilities, or 12 installations, but only to the extent that disclosure 13 could reasonably be expected to expose the vulnerability 14 or jeopardize the effectiveness of the measures, policies, 15 or plans, or the safety of the personnel who implement 16 them or the public. Information exempt under this item may 17 include such things as details pertaining to the 18 mobilization or deployment of personnel or equipment, to 19 the operation of communication systems or protocols, to 20 cybersecurity vulnerabilities, or to tactical operations. 21 (w) (Blank). 22 (x) Maps and other records regarding the location or 23 security of generation, transmission, distribution, 24 storage, gathering, treatment, or switching facilities 25 owned by a utility, by a power generator, or by the 26 Illinois Power Agency. HB5778 - 31 - LRB104 21943 BDA 37867 b 1 (y) Information contained in or related to proposals, 2 bids, or negotiations related to electric power 3 procurement under Section 1-75 of the Illinois Power 4 Agency Act and Section 16-111.5 of the Public Utilities 5 Act that is determined to be confidential and proprietary 6 by the Illinois Power Agency or by the Illinois Commerce 7 Commission. 8 (z) Information about students exempted from 9 disclosure under Section 10-20.38 or 34-18.29 of the 10 School Code, and information about undergraduate students 11 enrolled at an institution of higher education exempted 12 from disclosure under Section 25 of the Illinois Credit 13 Card Marketing Act of 2009. 14 (aa) Information the disclosure of which is exempted 15 under the Viatical Settlements Act of 2009. 16 (bb) Records and information provided to a mortality 17 review team and records maintained by a mortality review 18 team appointed under the Department of Juvenile Justice 19 Mortality Review Team Act. 20 (cc) Information regarding interments, entombments, or 21 inurnments of human remains that are submitted to the 22 Cemetery Oversight Database under the Cemetery Care Act or 23 the Cemetery Oversight Act, whichever is applicable. 24 (dd) Correspondence and records (i) that may not be 25 disclosed under Section 11-9 of the Illinois Public Aid 26 Code or (ii) that pertain to appeals under Section 11-8 of HB5778 - 32 - LRB104 21943 BDA 37867 b 1 the Illinois Public Aid Code. 2 (ee) The names, addresses, or other personal 3 information of persons who are minors and are also 4 participants and registrants in programs of park 5 districts, forest preserve districts, conservation 6 districts, recreation agencies, and special recreation 7 associations. 8 (ff) The names, addresses, or other personal 9 information of participants and registrants in programs of 10 park districts, forest preserve districts, conservation 11 districts, recreation agencies, and special recreation 12 associations where such programs are targeted primarily to 13 minors. 14 (gg) Confidential information described in Section 15 1-100 of the Illinois Independent Tax Tribunal Act of 16 2012. 17 (hh) The report submitted to the State Board of 18 Education by the School Security and Standards Task Force 19 under item (8) of subsection (d) of Section 2-3.160 of the 20 School Code and any information contained in that report. 21 (ii) Records requested by persons committed to or 22 detained by the Department of Human Services under the 23 Sexually Violent Persons Commitment Act or committed to 24 the Department of Corrections under the Sexually Dangerous 25 Persons Act if those materials: (i) are available in the 26 library of the facility where the individual is confined; HB5778 - 33 - LRB104 21943 BDA 37867 b 1 (ii) include records from staff members' personnel files, 2 staff rosters, or other staffing assignment information; 3 or (iii) are available through an administrative request 4 to the Department of Human Services or the Department of 5 Corrections. 6 (jj) Confidential information described in Section 7 5-535 of the Civil Administrative Code of Illinois. 8 (kk) The public body's credit card numbers, debit card 9 numbers, bank account numbers, Federal Employer 10 Identification Number, security code numbers, passwords, 11 and similar account information, the disclosure of which 12 could result in identity theft or impression or defrauding 13 of a governmental entity or a person. 14 (ll) Records concerning the work of the threat 15 assessment team of a school district, including, but not 16 limited to, any threat assessment procedure under the 17 School Safety Drill Act and any information contained in 18 the procedure. 19 (mm) Information prohibited from being disclosed under 20 subsections (a) and (b) of Section 15 of the Student 21 Confidential Reporting Act. 22 (nn) Proprietary information submitted to the 23 Environmental Protection Agency under the Drug Take-Back 24 Act. 25 (oo) Records described in subsection (f) of Section 26 3-5-1 of the Unified Code of Corrections. HB5778 - 34 - LRB104 21943 BDA 37867 b 1 (pp) Any and all information regarding burials, 2 interments, or entombments of human remains as required to 3 be reported to the Department of Natural Resources 4 pursuant either to the Archaeological and Paleontological 5 Resources Protection Act or the Human Remains Protection 6 Act. 7 (qq) Reports described in subsection (e) of Section 8 16-15 of the Abortion Care Clinical Training Program Act. 9 (rr) Information obtained by a certified local health 10 department under the Access to Public Health Data Act. 11 (ss) For a request directed to a public body that is 12 also a HIPAA-covered entity, all information that is 13 protected health information, including demographic 14 information, that may be contained within or extracted 15 from any record held by the public body in compliance with 16 State and federal medical privacy laws and regulations, 17 including, but not limited to, the Health Insurance 18 Portability and Accountability Act and its regulations, 45 19 CFR Parts 160 and 164. As used in this paragraph, 20 "HIPAA-covered entity" has the meaning given to the term 21 "covered entity" in 45 CFR 160.103 and "protected health 22 information" has the meaning given to that term in 45 CFR 23 160.103. 24 (tt) Proposals or bids submitted by engineering 25 consultants in response to requests for proposal or other 26 competitive bidding requests by the Department of HB5778 - 35 - LRB104 21943 BDA 37867 b 1 Transportation or the Illinois Toll Highway Authority. 2 (uu) Documents that, pursuant to the State of 3 Illinois' 1987 Agreement with the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory 4 Commission and the corresponding requirement to maintain 5 compatibility with the National Materials Program, have 6 been determined to be security sensitive. These documents 7 include information classified as safeguards, 8 safeguards-modified, and sensitive unclassified 9 nonsafeguards information, as identified in U.S. Nuclear 10 Regulatory Commission regulatory information summaries, 11 security advisories, and other applicable communications 12 or regulations related to the control and distribution of 13 security sensitive information. 14 (vv) Written communications and attachments in their 15 entirety pertaining to a current or former student that 16 were sent between an educational institution and the 17 student or between an educational institution and the 18 student's parent or guardian. This paragraph does not 19 apply when the requester is entitled to access the record 20 under the Illinois School Student Records Act or the 21 federal Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act. 22 (1.5) Any information exempt from disclosure under the 23 Judicial Privacy Act shall be redacted from public records 24 prior to disclosure under this Act. 25 (1.6) Any information exempt from disclosure under the 26 Public Official Safety and Privacy Act shall be redacted from HB5778 - 36 - LRB104 21943 BDA 37867 b 1 public records prior to disclosure under this Act. 2 (1.7) Any information exempt from disclosure under 3 paragraph (3.5) of Section 9-15 of the Election Code shall be 4 redacted from public records prior to disclosure under this 5 Act. 6 (2) A public record that is not in the possession of a 7 public body but is in the possession of a party with whom the 8 agency has contracted to perform a governmental function on 9 behalf of the public body, and that directly relates to the 10 governmental function and is not otherwise exempt under this 11 Act, shall be considered a public record of the public body, 12 for purposes of this Act. 13 (3) This Section does not authorize withholding of 14 information or limit the availability of records to the 15 public, except as stated in this Section or otherwise provided 16 in this Act. 17 (Source: P.A. 103-154, eff. 6-30-23; 103-423, eff. 1-1-24; 18 103-446, eff. 8-4-23; 103-462, eff. 8-4-23; 103-540, eff. 19 1-1-24; 103-554, eff. 1-1-24; 103-605, eff. 7-1-24; 103-865, 20 eff. 1-1-25; 104-300, eff. 1-1-27; 104-438, eff. 1-1-26; 21 104-443, eff. 1-1-26; revised 1-7-26.) 22 Section 95. No acceleration or delay. Where this Act makes 23 changes in a statute that is represented in this Act by text 24 that is not yet or no longer in effect (for example, a Section 25 represented by multiple versions), the use of that text does HB5778 - 37 - LRB104 21943 BDA 37867 b 1 not accelerate or delay the taking effect of (i) the changes 2 made by this Act or (ii) provisions derived from any other 3 Public Act. Footer Disclaimer This site is maintained for the Illinois General Assembly by the Legislative Information System, 705 Stratton Building, Springfield, Illinois 62706. Contact ILGA Webmaster ILGA.gov uses cookies to ensure you get the best experience on our website. By continuing to browse ILGA.gov you consent to our use of cookies. Read About Cookies ILGA.GOV 2026 ILGA.gov | All Rights Reserved | ADA | Disclaimers | Learn This site is maintained for the Illinois General Assembly by the Legislative Information System, 705 Stratton Building, Springfield, Illinois 62706. Contact ILGA Webmaster ILGA.gov uses cookies to ensure you get the best experience on our website. By continuing to browse ILGA.gov you consent to our use of cookies. Read About Cookies ILGA.GOV 2026 ILGA.gov | All Rights Reserved | ADA | Disclaimers | Learn